Perfume.
I've just finished reading a classic called 'Perfume: The Story of a Murderer' by Patrick Süskind. This post will have spoilers so I'll have a cut for that. It's kind of like a summary/over view/review thing on it u.u""""
The story is set in France (starting in 1738) and focuses on the life of the character Jean-Baptiste Grenouille, a boy who sees more with his nose then he does with his eyes. He can smell any scent and remember it perfectly from when he was born but has no scent of his own. Since he has no scent, everyone had some sort of feeling of discord towards him without ever really knowing why.
Through his life, he makes it his 'goal' to create the best scent that he can using smells he remembers which leads him to the art of making perfume. His actual character through out this is both simple and very in depth at the same time, and the style of writing through is view is amazing. Süskind at one point refers to him both as evil, but completely normal at the same time with no stereotypical behaviour of megalomaniacs. Indeed he's actually very calm, sure of himself and learns exactly how to act to further his on plans. He's also compared very often to a tick, which sounds strange and dodgy but really suits the character well.
Süskind also goes through other points of view and even when the character isn't made known immediately you can feel the tone change in the writing. Each character, minor or otherwise, is shown to their fullest and never down played and it makes the story that much more enjoyable.
That aside, Grenouille (starting in Paris) eventually finds himself in Grasse, said to be renown for it's business in creating world class perfumes. Through his life and the story, Grenouille is very firm and strong in his pure hate towards humans and their scent. He doesn't care about the actual person themselves, only the smell which is described using the most pungent comparisons; usually molded cheese, garbage, fish, manure, urine and the like. There is only one human scent that he becomes obsessed with, this being the scent of a virgin female, which slowly becomes his passion even when he doesn't realise that himself. In order to preserve this scent, however, he strangles the first girl he finds with this scent to death so that nothing can spoil it. This scene is written in his point of view and it really shows his disregard to human beings and his love of the scent; it doesn't read as someone being killed, but more of the 'process' of preserving the scent for himself. When he gets to Grasse, he finds another girl like this with, he deems, an even better scent and plans to make it his own. He 'practices' and 'refines' his process on 24 other such girls over the course a few months, having practiced on other objects and animals before hand to see what would work.
It's these scents that he intended to use for himself, seeing that he has none of his own and wants it to be the most impressive and controlling scent out of any human. In these moments of the book, you really see how 'unhinged' Grenouille is as he pictures himself as 'Grenouille the Great', taking over the throne, having everyone falling over themselves to love him and his scent and often considers himself better then God and any other religion/Gods he hears of. Eventually he gets caught after making his final perfume from the girl he first found in Grasse and everyone in the village is set on seeing him killed in the most public and gruesome way possible. It's made out to be a grand event, more like a royal fair then an execution in description. Grenouille escape his fate, however, by using the smallest drop of his final perfume. The scent drives everyone to love him and they get so involved in their 'love' that it morphs into lust... which is turned to each other. Very strange and a little unnerving to read.
The story doesn't end there, but I won't give the ending away because you should all read it. It's wonderfully written, precise and feels real. If that character were to use a swear word or course language, for example, in a situation, they would use it. I found that to be a nice change from some books where reactions feel censored and you think 'no, I'm fairly certain that character would have said something far more explicit in that situation. At least something more then 'oh God', anyway'.
Read it~~~~~~~~~~~!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The story is set in France (starting in 1738) and focuses on the life of the character Jean-Baptiste Grenouille, a boy who sees more with his nose then he does with his eyes. He can smell any scent and remember it perfectly from when he was born but has no scent of his own. Since he has no scent, everyone had some sort of feeling of discord towards him without ever really knowing why.
Through his life, he makes it his 'goal' to create the best scent that he can using smells he remembers which leads him to the art of making perfume. His actual character through out this is both simple and very in depth at the same time, and the style of writing through is view is amazing. Süskind at one point refers to him both as evil, but completely normal at the same time with no stereotypical behaviour of megalomaniacs. Indeed he's actually very calm, sure of himself and learns exactly how to act to further his on plans. He's also compared very often to a tick, which sounds strange and dodgy but really suits the character well.
Süskind also goes through other points of view and even when the character isn't made known immediately you can feel the tone change in the writing. Each character, minor or otherwise, is shown to their fullest and never down played and it makes the story that much more enjoyable.
That aside, Grenouille (starting in Paris) eventually finds himself in Grasse, said to be renown for it's business in creating world class perfumes. Through his life and the story, Grenouille is very firm and strong in his pure hate towards humans and their scent. He doesn't care about the actual person themselves, only the smell which is described using the most pungent comparisons; usually molded cheese, garbage, fish, manure, urine and the like. There is only one human scent that he becomes obsessed with, this being the scent of a virgin female, which slowly becomes his passion even when he doesn't realise that himself. In order to preserve this scent, however, he strangles the first girl he finds with this scent to death so that nothing can spoil it. This scene is written in his point of view and it really shows his disregard to human beings and his love of the scent; it doesn't read as someone being killed, but more of the 'process' of preserving the scent for himself. When he gets to Grasse, he finds another girl like this with, he deems, an even better scent and plans to make it his own. He 'practices' and 'refines' his process on 24 other such girls over the course a few months, having practiced on other objects and animals before hand to see what would work.
It's these scents that he intended to use for himself, seeing that he has none of his own and wants it to be the most impressive and controlling scent out of any human. In these moments of the book, you really see how 'unhinged' Grenouille is as he pictures himself as 'Grenouille the Great', taking over the throne, having everyone falling over themselves to love him and his scent and often considers himself better then God and any other religion/Gods he hears of. Eventually he gets caught after making his final perfume from the girl he first found in Grasse and everyone in the village is set on seeing him killed in the most public and gruesome way possible. It's made out to be a grand event, more like a royal fair then an execution in description. Grenouille escape his fate, however, by using the smallest drop of his final perfume. The scent drives everyone to love him and they get so involved in their 'love' that it morphs into lust... which is turned to each other. Very strange and a little unnerving to read.
The story doesn't end there, but I won't give the ending away because you should all read it. It's wonderfully written, precise and feels real. If that character were to use a swear word or course language, for example, in a situation, they would use it. I found that to be a nice change from some books where reactions feel censored and you think 'no, I'm fairly certain that character would have said something far more explicit in that situation. At least something more then 'oh God', anyway'.
Read it~~~~~~~~~~~!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!