Home › Literary Fiction › Perfume
Perfume book cover
Literary Fiction · Dark

A man with a perfect sense of smell and no scent of his own

Perfume

by Patrick Süskind

See it on Amazon
1985Moderate readSteady pace

What it is about

Jean-Baptiste Grenouille, born in the stench of eighteenth-century Paris, has a gift for smell and becomes a perfumer obsessed with capturing the scent of young women. Süskind’s 1985 novel is dark and strange.

Who will enjoy it

Readers who enjoy literary fiction that puts character and language first, with a dark mood and a steady pace. It is a read that rewards some attention.

Themes: Obsession · Smell · Murder

Screen adaptation

Perfume: The Story of a Murderer (2006)

See it on Amazon

Page count and cover shown for: Selected edition

About the author

Patrick Süskind1 book on Tori Books

Similar books

Notes on a Scandal coverNotes on a ScandalZoë HellerThe Secret History coverThe Secret HistoryDonna TarttThe Third Policeman coverThe Third PolicemanFlann O’BrienA Thousand Acres coverA Thousand AcresJane SmileyPaco's Story coverPaco's StoryLarry HeinemannA Bend in the River coverA Bend in the RiverV. S. NaipaulDisgrace coverDisgraceJ. M. CoetzeeIronweed coverIronweedWilliam KennedyA Crime in the Neighborhood coverA Crime in the NeighborhoodSuzanne BerneThe Sea, the Sea coverThe Sea, the SeaIris MurdochDifferent Seasons coverDifferent SeasonsStephen KingParis Trout coverParis TroutPete Dexter