Perfume by Patrick Suskind
The Story of a Murderer
Set in 18th-century France, this novel tells the story of Jean-Baptiste Grenouille, a man born with an extraordinary sense of smell but no personal scent of his own. He becomes an apprentice to a prominent perfumer and learns to create the world's most intoxicating perfumes. However, his obsession with capturing the perfect scent leads him down a dark path, as he begins to kill young women to extract their scent. The book is a chilling exploration of obsession, identity, and the power of scent.
The 498th greatest book of all time
- Published
- 1985
- Nationality
- German
- Type
- Fiction
- Pages
- 250-300
- Words
- 51,000
- Original Language
- German
- Alternate Titles
-
Das Parfum
Le Parfum
Il Profumo
El Perfume
If you're interested in seeing the ranking details on this book go here
This book is on the following 17 lists:
- 4th on Big Read (German) (Germany)
- 10th on The 500 best books of all time from Culture Café users (Culture Café)
- 32nd on My Favourite Book - Australian Big Read (Australian Big Read)
- 35th on The 100 Favorite Books of the French (Lire Magazine)
- 40th on The 101 Favorite Novels of 'Le Monde' Readers (Le Monde)
- 53rd on Waterstone's Books of the Century (LibraryThing)
- 56th on Big Read (Bulgarian) (Bulgaria)
- 71st on The Big Read (BBC)
- 72nd on 100 Must-Read Classics, as Chosen by our Readers (Penguin (UK))
- 564th on Fantasy and Horror: A Critical and Historical Guide (Book)
- 782nd on Our Users' Honorable Mention Favorite Books of All Time (The Greatest Books Users)
- 857th on Our Users' Favorite Books of All Time (The Greatest Books Users)
- Horror: Another 100 Best Books (Book)
- 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die (The Book)
- World Fantasy Award—Novel (World Fantasy Awards)
- 1000 Novels Everyone Must Read (The Guardian)
- The Bigger Read List (English PEN)