Perfume

the story of a murderer

255 pages

English language

Published Nov. 7, 2001 by Vintage International.

ISBN:
978-0-375-72584-5
Copied ISBN!
OCLC Number:
50208049

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Follows an odorless baby found orphaned in Paris in 1738 as he grows into a monster obsessed with his perfect sense of smell and a desire to capture, by any means, the ultimate scent that will make him human.

43 editions

Old-fashioned

Set in 18th Century Paris, a man with no scent possesses an incredible sense of smell. If it were written today, it could easily be a super-villain story: scent is the key to power and control here. It avoids those tropes, but gets mired in others that are unfortunately very gendered and tired. Interesting details on perfumery though, and the language can be entertaining in its hyperbole.

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Subjects

  • Perfumes industry
  • Murder
  • Fiction

Places

  • Paris (France)