Staff Pick
"He coveted the odor of certain human beings: those rare humans who inspire love." So begins Jean-Baptiste Grenouille's single-minded plot to capture the scent that will change him, and ultimately, the world. But the scent and the person, so intertwined, must first be wrenched apart and sacrificed to his evil plan. Creepy, gripping, and fabulous! Recommended By Dianah H., Powells.com
Synopses & Reviews
An acclaimed bestseller and international sensation, Patrick Suskind's classic novel provokes a terrifying examination of what happens when one man's indulgence in his greatest passion-his sense of smell-leads to murder.
In the slums of eighteenth-century France, the infant Jean-Baptiste Grenouille is born with one sublime gift-an absolute sense of smell. As a boy, he lives to decipher the odors of Paris, and apprentices himself to a prominent perfumer who teaches him the ancient art of mixing precious oils and herbs. But Grenouille's genius is such that he is not satisfied to stop there, and he becomes obsessed with capturing the smells of objects such as brass doorknobs and frest-cut wood. Then one day he catches a hint of a scent that will drive him on an ever-more-terrifying quest to create the ultimate perfume-the scent of a beautiful young virgin. Told with dazzling narrative brillance, Perfume is a hauntingly powerful tale of murder and sensual depravity.
Translated by John E. Woods
A fable of crimial genius.... Remarkable.
--The New York Times
Superb storytelling all the way...the climax is a savage shocker.
--The Plain Dealer
An astonishing performance, a masterwork of artistic conception and execution. A totally gripping page-turner.
--The San Francisco Chronicle
Synopsis
An odorless baby grows to become a monster obsessed with his perfect sense of smell, and a desire to capture, by any means, the ultimate scent which will make him human.
Synopsis
Uno de los grandes fenomenos editoriales a escala mundial llevado al cine.
Para conseguir el favor de las damas y el dominio de los poderosos, Baptiste elabora un raro perfume que subyuga la voluntad de quien lo huele. La esencia proviene de los fluidos de jovencitas virgenes y para conseguirla debera convertirse en un asesino...
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Synopsis
Uno de los grandes fen menos editoriales a escala mundial llevado al cine.Antes del tacto, sucede el olor, como mensajero de una esencia que sabe desaparecer en el aire y ser agente de un gran poder. La seducci n que despliega el olor es implacable: se instala en nosotros y sella su poder o en los tejidos de la memoria.
Jean-Baptiste Grenouille tiene su marca de nacimiento: no despide ning n olor y por ello hace temer la presencia de alg n demonio. Al mismo tiempo posee un don excepcional: un olfato prodigioso que le permite percibir todos los olores del mundo. Desde la miseria en que nace, abandonado al cuidado de unos monjes, Jean-Baptiste Grenouille lucha contra su condici n y escala posiciones sociales convirti ndose en un afamado perfumista. Crea perfumes capaces de hacerle pasar inadvertido o inspirar simpat a, amor, compasi n... Para obtener estas f rmulas magistrales debe asesinar a j venes muchachas v rgenes, obtener sus fluidos corporales y licuar sus olores ntimos. Su arte se convierte en una suprema e inquietante prestidigitaci n.
Patrick S skind, convertido en maestro del naturalismo ir nico, nos transmite una visi n cida y desenga ada del hombre en un libro repleto de sabidur a olfativa, imaginaci n y enorme amenidad. Su persuasi n iguala la de su personaje y nos propone una inmersi n literaria en el arco iris natural de los olores y en los turbadores abismos del esp ritu humano.