Rating: 
Summary: Murder as Art - rather typifies the present age!
Review: The book elegantly and slyly poses the point that one can be an "artist" in ANY field, if "gifted" enough, including butchering young women and concocting perfumes from their glands. Ah, the delight! First, I imagine that most readers and the author (unless a very ill person) have never really smelled the scent of death, in all its sickly-sweetness; otherwise, they would not be so fascinated by Chanel No. 5 still having as key ingredient the genital spray of a civet cat!In all seriousness, the notion that art trumps and/or transcends all morality is so typical of the present day and age that it has become absurd in its tedium. I suppose the attack on the WTC was artistic in its boldness, audacity, sense of scale, grandeur and, of curse, the dramatic! I will even give away the ending to this book, where the great artist-murderer sacrifices his body to the actual consumption of the mob, so that they can eat of his artistry! I guess I now await a novelized treatment on the intense but oh-so-very cooly professional artistry of Osama, bin Laden.
Rating: 
Summary: Fascinating, but not quite a Masterpiece
Review: When the first english language version of "Perfume" was released in 1986, readers went crazy. Many placed it among the best books they'd ever read, myself included. A reread, fifteen years later yields a different, more muted, reaction. The book is good, very good. But it is not great. "Perfume" succeeds so well because the premise is so startlingly novel. An olfactory genius in 18th-century Paris who can make a fortune creating perfumes more complicated and subtle than any ever made, is a sociopathic monster. Or as Suskind describes him, a "tick" who can roll up into a defensive ball or periodically drop himself into society. Grenouille is a compelling and disturbing character because Suskind has painted him in such realistic tones. Each effort to capture a new scent impels him farther, taking more chances and testing his limits, exploiting new techniques and his own criminal daring. This is true criminal pattern and makes Grenouille terrifyingly believable. But the book can not be a great one, because Suskind's prose tends toward the overdone. Perhaps it reads better in the original German, but his maddening penchant for rephrasing and repeating the same notion and turning a sentence into a paragraph finally dulls the senses and sets the reader skimming along searching for the next important point. The plot is so unique that it is brilliant. The execution is powerful, not only in Grenouille's characterization, but also because Suskind has done his homework and is smoothly at ease with 18th century mores and the science of perfume. But the squishy repetitive prose and unfocused paragraphs keep "Perfume" from joining the ranks of literary masterpieces.
Rating: 
Summary: Interesting idea, poor execution
Review: I read this silly book on the recommendation of a friend that proclaimed it was the most brilliant book he's ever read. I guess he hasn't read that many truly brilliant books. (We both agree on Henry Miller, though.) While the basic premise of this book is intriguing, the plot was heavy-handed and contrived. The gory details seemed to be over-exaggerated and superfluous in order to create an effect, and it ended becoming just a cartoonish, feeble, awkward mess. I'm not going to blame it on the translation, as two of my favorite writers are French and I devoured the English translations...if you want sensual, delicate, brilliant soul-satisfying reads by French writers, PLEASE read Honore Balzac's "Old Goriot" or Colette's "My Mother's House".
Rating:
Summary: a mouth still gaping 2 years later
Review: FEVER OF BRILLIANCE
the ending rocked my armadillo.
Rating:
Summary: Perfume
Review: I highly recommend this book. A friend in France sent me a copy of it as a birthday present years ago, and I have read it several times since. The story, about a man who ultimately murders young virgins to obtain the perfect scent, may initially turn off some people. But the writing is so impeccable, the 18th century world so hauntingly evoked that you may find yourself, like me, totally engrossed after the first few pages. It is also a fascinating look into the manufacturing of perfume, how precious essential oils are extracted from plants. The only thing I didn't care for much was the ending - a bit too gruesome.
Rating:
Summary: Disappointed
Review: Granted the language was lovely, the anticipation great but the climax was so very disappointing. I kept waiting for the brilliance to culminate in a brilliant finale but instead it was so painful to follow the exaggerated effort to the final page.
Rating:
Summary: What's worse . . .?
Review: The flimsy, abusurdist plot? The inconsistent, underdeveloped characters? The erudite descriptions? What a disaster! The only way I got through to the finish is that I would be too embarrassed to show up at book club otherwise. Don't waste your time or money--read a thesaurus instead.
Rating:
Summary: che novella e' beuno beuno
Review: There are not enough positive adjectives in the english language to praise this book to the extent it deserves....[This] is clearly the greatest novel of our time.
Rating: 
Summary: Terrible Title, Wonderful Book
Review: I read this book a few years ago. It's a wonderful book. Intelligent, sensual, clever. Magical. I've recommended it to many friends, all of whom loved it.
Rating:
Summary: sensual, creative and brilliant
Review: "Perfume" is a creative, well-written, erudite and sensual work of literature. The author demonstrates a dark sardonic sense of humor that I really enjoyed. I found the character of the main protagonist, Grenouille, to be absolutely fascinating, and was captivated by the story. I'm looking forward to reading more of Patrick Suskind's work.
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