Perfume

The Story of a Murderer

By: Patrick Süskind, John E. Woods - translator

Narrated by: Nigel Patterson

In the slums of 18th-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 fresh-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 brilliance, Perfume is a hauntingly powerful tale of murder and sensual depravity.

©1985 Diogenes Verlag AG; copyright 1986 by Alfred A. Knopf (P)2018 HighBridge, a division of Recorded Books

dark and yet interesting

great job by the performer. I loved the voices of the characters. I thought the mid part and ending were more enjoyable than the beginning. slow start. some of the scenes were brutal and disgusting. maybe that is what makes this book apealing. also kurt cobain himself liked the book, so it gives some perspective on the great musical artist's mind.

A must read

What a fantastic story! It’s a definite must read or in this case a must listen!

Yikes

Weirdest book I have ever read, with the weirdest main character ever. Although, I have to say, that it was really interesting to read a book about a serial killer, holy from the perspective of the killer. We get to live inside his brain, where everything he does feels normal to him and almost normal to us, because we spend so much time there, and then we realized wait this is far from normal as it gets. And the ending is perfect. I can't say that about too many books. it was truly a creative venture.

The Scent of Murder Can Be Sweet

This well-plotted out story follows an antagonist's POV and pleasantly doesn't have you root for him. The thing about this story is it basically tells you the events of a murderer, from life to death. Think of a crime documentary or podcast, as though read from a case file and not going into specific details, only the ones that were noticeable patterns.

Great story, would definitely recommend to anyone, and wouldn't mind listening to another time.

Beautifully written, with an absurd ending.

This book was a gorgeous gothic horror, deeply engrossing and very creepy. Then the last few chapters happened. It felt like a parody of the rest of the book.

amazing language, unique story

I loved this book. Addictive read. The narrator was good (but not as good as the one who did the cassette tape version about 15 years ago).

A ‘different’ story

Bizarre and macabre…perfect
The lengths one will go to to just pass for human

Lovely Descriptions

This book is wonderfully crafted. Like the finest perfume created by the lead character. Beautiful descriptions and a vast knowledge of Paris, France and the art of scent can easily make this your favorite book before you finish chapter 10

Intriguing & Disgusting

Interesting storytelling, where you wish desperately for the main character to be ended but can't help but want to know what he is capable of.

Performed well.

delicate descriptions.

dark heinous side of story nearly obliterated the bouyant feeling of ecstasy obtained through descriptions of beautiful floral scents.