"So what did you think of it?" she asked. "I've been trying to write something, but all I can come up with is that it's a weird story about a guy who has an unusually good sense of smell."

She stopped, struck by a thought. "Wait a minute. You've got a pretty acute sense of smell yourself. I've noticed, don't try to deny it. That thing with the toaster. Right?"

He was cornered, and vaguely assented, hoping she would drop the subject. But she persisted.

"So you must have read it too. What did you think?"

"Well," he said reluctantly after a while, "You can't really describe it with words. That's the point. But you could describe it as... as a smell."

"As a smell?"

"You'd actually have to create the smell," he said. "I thought about it quite a lot."

"What would it smell like?" she asked, amused. "Beautiful young virgins?"

"A bit," he said. "But that isn't the dominant note."

"What is, then?"

He hesitated. It sounded so absurd. "Epistemology," he said after a long pause. "And moral philosophy. You know. Kant."

"It smells of Kant?" she asked. "But what does Kant smell like? I wouldn't have thought he had a smell."

"Oh, he does!" he said. She had never seen him so animated. "And you can extract it. Süskind is absolutely right. Grease-soaked linen, that's the way to do it. Enfleurage. Distillation. People who are reading Kant have a special aroma."

"But don't they have to be dead for you to be able to get it?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

"That is the main problem," he replied. He looked at her, and now all the excitement was gone. "It's a problem," he repeated. "But it's one you can solve. If you're persistent."

She was staring at him as though she had never seen him before. What was he doing? He had already told her far too much.

"Just kidding," he said, and he moved the corners of his mouth upward as he had learned to do. "Just kidding. Actually, I can sum it up in a couple of words. People stink."

I want my last 2 weeks back. I dove into this book expecting a hell of a lot more than I dragged out of it. From the very beginning I did not like the author's writing style and should have known then that this book just wouldn't be for me.

This book is set in the mid-1700's France and centers around a horrid man who has no redeeming qualities other than the fact that he has likely the most perfect sense of smell in the history of mankind. But he uses this skill for selfish and evil purposes and we get to come along for the story of his life - if you could call it that.

The premise of the story seemed interesting enough, and of course the title tells us that there is going to be murder so that always makes for interesting reading. But I just found it to be extremely boring and tiresome.

The author obviously did his research relating to all things perfume - the methods involved in it's creation - both chemically and artistically - and the importance of it's purpose in that point in history. But he goes overboard with list after exhaustive list of ingredients or steps within a process or varieties to be found. He can't help but describe every minute detail, not just of perfume, but of the landscape or the people. I love descriptive writing - I truly do - but I do also like to have an exciting plot to keep me involved. By the time he finished describing a scene I forgot why we were there.

This book lulled me to sleep and caused me to welcome distractions rather than turning the page so it took me a lot longer than a book of this length normally would. I know that it is loved by many and was recommended to me by several whose opinions I value. But this one just didn't cut it. Even when the action picked up in the last 50 pages or so, it became extremely bizarre and made me wonder what the heck the point was exactly.

اهلا بكم في رواية ينبعث من صفحاتها عبق ما... رواية رائعة ذات رائحة

لا ليس بهذه الطريقة مستر جرين ...لم أقصد رائحة الكتب الساحرة التي آلفناها
بل هي رواية ذات روائح مختلفة ومتعددة تسبب لك مزيج من المتعة، القرف، النشوة، الحنين، الاشمئزاز و اﻷثارة..والجمال...رواية عطرية بعطور متعددة مختلفة

أهلا بكم في فرنسا القرن الثامن عشر..كما لم تراها تشتمها من قبل

في ذلك الوقت لم تكفي عطورها الشهيرة اخفاء نتن فقر شوارعها وحتي أهلها قبل الثورة ..وفي دكان بيع سمك بأقذر أحياءها يولد جان باتيست جرينوي ..القاتل

قاتل لأنه ليس له رائحة مميزة...مجرد عديم الرائحة , أو ربما كما اقترح عليّ احد الأصدقاء في التعليقات هنا- عديم الشخصية
لذا صار يسرق من غيره رائحتهم...شخصيتهم .. جاذبيتهم
في رواية عجيبة , وجرائم فظيعة..ورائحة عطور مختلفة

ولنقسم الريفيو كما الرواية الي 4 اجزاء

الجزء اﻷول
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ومع كل الرائحة الزفرة حوله في دكان السمك، او رائحة باريس العفنه..يولد جرينوي بإعاقة شاذة...فهو بلا رائحة مميزة، بل بلا أي رائحة علي الأطلاق، ليس هذا فحسب بل أن سوء الحظ وشؤمه يقع علي كل من تولي رعايته وهو صغير حتي ينتقل في سن الثامنة للعمل في مدبغ جلود بائس

وحتي يصل لعمر الثالثة عشر تتغير حياته عندما يكتشف اجمل عطر التقطته انفه، عطر فتاة جميلة حمراء الشعر ، وقد كلفها شغفه برائحتها عمرها القصير...بينما ظل هو أسير مثل هذا العطر النادر

ونكتشف أن جرينوي يميز الروائح كلها ببراعة غريبة ويفسرها وحتي قدرته علي الكلام والتسمية تعتبر في احسن احوالها عند ربط المسمي بعطره

وفي الجزء اﻷول ايضا نتعرف علي بالديني العطار صانع الروائح، العجوز والذي سحب منه البساط لصانعوا العطر الجدد

وفي الليلة التي ينوي فيها اعتزال العمل نهائيا لشعوره بالعجز لتصنيع عطور جديدة ... يدخل حياته جرينوي بالصدفة ليقلب حياته رأسا علي عقب
وايضا تنقلب حياة جرينوي الذي يصقل موهبته الفطرية الغريبة والغير عادية, ويبحث عن كافة الوسائل الممكنة لتحقيق غايته الغريبة المجهولة لنا حتي الأن

وينتهي الجزء الاول النهاية الطبيعية لعلاقة العمل الغريبة بين جرينوي وبالديني، ولكن بعد ان عرف جرينوي كل طرق الحصول علي العطر من اي شئ ، إيا كان

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في هذا الجزء تتجلي براعة الرواية وفكرتها الاساسية بل وعبقرية الراوي في وصف العطور المختلفة, ليس "العطور,البرفانات" فحسب وانما تقريبا جميع انواع الروائح

اعجبني جدا ايضا في هذا الجزء التقسيم بين نصفه الاول المخصص لنشأة جرينوي والنصف الثاني المخصص لبالديني وكيف كان السبب في بداية وضع جرينوي علي الطريق الوحيد الذي يصلح له، طريق العطور

كما ان بالرغم من ان الجزء الاول ليس مليئا بالاحداث، وقد يغلب عليه السرد بكثرة. إلا انه 'محكما' روائيا وايضا بالنسبة لتصوير مصائر كل الشخصيات التي ظهرت به بطريقة تصويريه بارعة بحق

كذلك المشهد الذي تنتهي فيه حياة جريمال صاحب المدبغ بينما تبدأ حياة جرينوي الجديدة من المشاهد المكتوبة سينمائيا بدقه فعلا

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الجزء الثاني
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يذهب جرينوي في رحلة للبحث عن ذاته ... بالعزلة التامة عن الناس

وفي هذا الجزء يكتشف ، في نصف الرواية بالضبط ، شذوذه الغريب، أنه بلا أي رائحة بشرية. ..بلا رائحة علي الإطلاق... مما كاد يفتك به
ولكن جرينوي ذلك القراد القاسي... ذلك القملة المقيت مصاص الدماء يأبي أن يموت

ولهذا نتعرف في النصف الثاني من هذا الجزء علي الماركيز اسبيناس ذو الاكتشافات العلمية الغريبة، والتي بفضلها ينجح في أشفاء جرينوي ليصير إنسانا طبيعيا ظاهريا
ولكنه لا يعلم أن شفاء جرينوي التام كان له سببا اخرا اهم, أنه نجح في مقصده اﻷول. .. خلق رائحة له

في هذا الجزء ايضا يغلب السرد والذي كاد يكون مملا بالنسبة لي في نصفه اﻷول ولكن ما يميزه هو أن المؤلف أضاف بصورة بارعة الحالة العامة لفرنسا أنذاك ...إجتماعيا.، طبقيا، دينيا وعسكرياً, ظهور التنوريين والماسون وتطرف الجماعات الدينية الي اخر اهم ظواهر ذلك القرن دون اسهاب او ملل

كما أن الجزء الخاص بتعريف نظريات الماركيز العلمية الغريبة أثارت أهتمامي جدا خاصا وانها مكتوبة بتفصيل غريب

الأمر الآخر أن أيضا في هذا الجزء رسم المؤلف النهاية للشخصيات بالجزء الثاني ايضا كما ي الجزء الأول, فقدم تفصيل لكيف انتهت شخصية الماركيز

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الجزء الثالث
-------------

العـــــــــطــــــــر

وهنا تبدأ الاحداث في الاثارة
وهنا ,بعد منتصف الرواية تقريبا يبدأ جرينوي كما حدد ,تنفيذ اسطورته الشخصية كما يقول العم باولو كويللو

بالمرث الساخن والبارد سيحاول الوصول لغايته الغريبة -ستقابل الكثير من الكلمات الغير معتادة نوعا ما في تلك الترجمة , ولكن سهل معرفة معناها بالاحداث- ليحقق اهم عطر في حياته

وليصل لاسطورته...وايضا حقيقته
ومن رضيع عديم الرائحة ولد علي ارض زفرة نتنة..الي معشوق اهل المدينة الصغيرة التي كانت محطتة الأخيرة


وكي لانحرق الاحداث بالنسبة لهذا الجزء, الذي كان به شخصيات مثيرة كان من الممكن "مرثها" اكثر لاستخراج احداث اقوي , او حتي نهايات محكمة كما في الجزءين السابقين

ولكن من اهم نقاط القوة هنا ايضا غير وصف العطور والروائح, شرح ممتع لصناعة مراهم العطور والصابون و روح العطور الخالصة والفروق في صناعتها بشكل غير مسهب وغير مختصر او مبهم..فكان هناك توازن جيد

كما ستظل من اهم نقاط القوة التي أحتسبها للمؤلف هو تقديمه لمشهد جامح دون السقوط في الأبتذال او الاسهاب البذئ ككتاب أخرين

لن نحرق المزيد من اﻷحداث وسنكتفي بان يكون حديثنا عن أصغر الاجزاء هو الكلمة الاخيرة لريفيو تلك الرواية الفريدة

الجزء الرابع
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تقييمي لهذا الجزء هو ما انقص شيئا بسيطا من التقييم النهائي, منذ اواخر الجزء الثالث الي الجزء الرابع شعرت ان الاحداث بدات تنتهي بخفوت كالعطر, الاثارة والقوة تتطاير لتنتهي الرواية فقط بشعور انك جربت عطر رائع ولكنه انتهي اسرع مما كنت تريد

ربما تكون هذه ميزة,لكني شعرت اني اريد نفحة اقوي بالنهاية...تمريث اكثر قليلا علي الساخن :)
ولكن ستظل الرواية لها مكانتها فعلا بين الروايات المتميزة

العــطـر , رواية فريدة...فكرة جهنمية وشخصية غريبة وطريقة سرد تجعلك تشتم كل العطور والروائح التي تم ذكرها

تجعلك تشعر بالنوستاليجا الشمية "الحنين لبعض روائح الماضي" وستجد عقلك يحاول البحث عن وصف لتلك الروائح كما وصف العبقري باتريك سيسكيند الروائح بتلك الرواية , تذكرت عطر ابي المفضل في الثمانينات واوائل التسعينات

اعجابي الغريب برائحة الاستيكة, ضيقي من رائحة اثار الخبز والجبن الابيض في حقيبة المدرسة, عشقي لرائحة السجاد الجديد في محلات الموكيت والسجاد و و و و
حتي عطر رائحته كالماء والتي شممتها في يوم ما في احد الدروس وظللت اتذكر اني شممت عطر الماء وحتي الان اتمني ان اجد مثله
Aquamarine اشتريت مؤخرا شاور جل برائحة
وهي فعلا رائحته مقاربة ولكني مازلت اتمني ان اجد مثل هذا العطر

ولا ننسي الرائحة التي أسرتنا جميعا اعضاء الجودريدز..كمستر جرين في اول الريفيو..رائحة المجلات والكتب

وبالحديث عن رائحة الكتب
يبدوا انهم مرثوا الكثير من الكتب لينتجوا هذا العطر ذو رائحة الكتب

عطر "عشق الورق" حقيقي ويمكن شراءه من موقع امازون او اي موقع تسوق

بعد هذا الاعلان الغير مدفوع للاسف :) , ارشح لكم رواية العطر فعلا كنموذج متميز وفريد لافكار الروايات
رواية غريبة خارجة عن المألوف

رواية ستشمها وانت تقرأها..حرفيا

محمد العربي
من 25 اغسطس 2014
الي 29 اغسطس 2014

I had a heck of a time thinking who I'd recommend this to. It won a Fantasy award, yet I can't call it Fantasy. It's set in a bygone period, but it doesn't play with history, so it's not Historical Fiction. It's about a murder, yet it's not terrifying like Horror, nor is it a mystery. It's just the story of a peculiar boy who became a dangerous and most interesting man. He was born without an odor, you see, and lacking that part of identity, became obsessed with smell. That identity crisis triggers philosophical, religious and morbid chords in the book, yet none dominate. If anything, a dark curiosity dominates it. The book has a slightly menacing monotone about it that is almost hypnotic, and lays a surreal lens over the brilliant and crisp descriptions Suskind provides for his world. It's an angry, dangerous little book that baffled literary critics and inspired Nirvana. Read it and label it for yourself.

Perfume: The Story Of A Murderer is simply one of the greatest horror novels ever written.

Taking place in 18th century, France, it begins with an infant born with one difference from the rest of the world: Jean-Baptiste Grenouille is born with the ability to smell anything and everything in the world around him.

Although not a novel of the supernatural as commonly defined, in a sense, it is, because his ability can only be defined as that of supernature.

While not being the most prolific author, Patrick Süskind, has made his permanent mark not only in horror and gothic fiction, but in the circles of high literature, as well.

More a modern descendant of Edgar Allan Poe or Robert Louis Stevenson and other great gothic writers of that period than to most writers working today, Perfume, is a unique, fresh, story of mystery, suspense, and madness.

For those of you tired of books you can see right through, anticipating where the storyline is going and how it's going to end, this is the book for you.

I can't imagine anyone figuring out the ending, or even trying to, because you wil be so caught up in the book, you will savour every page and description until the end.

It's really hard to find good modern gothic fiction, horror or otherwise, that's done with a literate touch from someone that conveys the feeling of actually being there inside a rich, period piece setting.

A book no one with literate reading interests should miss.

Though different, it will appeal to readers of newer masters of horror; Thomas Ligotti, Patrick McGrath, Laird Barron, and Matt Cardin.

And to older masters; Edgar Allan Poe, Robert Louis Stevenson, Arthur Machen, M.R. James, Edith Wharton, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Henry James, Sheridan Le Fanu, and Bram Stoker.

* I do like the cover to the more modern version of this book but, if you are a true book connoisseur like me, track down the 1987 September edition, 1st paperback printing by Pocket Books with the shiny red embossed lettering on a red & black book. It's just fantastic and reminds me of a combination of the artwork for the film, Amadeus (1984), the infamous murderer, Jack The Ripper, and to The Strange Case Of Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde.








My highest of all recommendations!!!!!

In 18th Century France a baby is born who lacks any scent. He does, however, have a deep and strong survival urge. Although he is treated as a pariah by many for his condition, he possesses a parallel condition, a heightened sensitivity to aroma. It is his quest to experience life through smell, and he does so. He is also a cold-hearted sociopath who seizes opportunities where he can to advance his particular desires. It ends badly for him, but that is a good thing.


The author

This is a very interesting book. I was rapt. Until I was done it was an unhappy thing to have to put it down unfinished, due to interruptions like work, sleep and eating. Thankfully I was able to complete it. Perfume is an odd story, perhaps, but also very interesting, providing some payload in depictions of 18th Century Europe and information about aroma in general and perfumery in particular. Much recommended but not for all tastes...or olfactory receptors.

n  nn  nn  nn  n

Despite its name, Perfume is not a pleasant book. Quite the opposite, it is terrifying and gore for the most part. The perfume the author builds between the pages reeks. It is a combination of what is worse in humans: body odor, vileness, jealousy, pride, and finally murder.

Since the novel is a classic (and a movie), I suppose the plot might be fairly well known so I will resume it a few words. We begin in the slums of Paris in the eighteen century where a baby boy is born and dumped in the trash. His lungs are quite powerful and it screams his way out and into the cold world. The little boy is passed around from caretaker to caretaker until it becomes obvious there is something quite different about him. Baptiste Grenouille has an incredible smell while he does not have any body odor himself. He also possesses an amazing capacity to survive through disease, hard work and unfriendly individuals. After learning all about the smells of Paris he decides he wants to create fragrances and becomes an apprentice to one of the oldest perfumers in Paris. As you can imagine, Batiste proves to be genius at creating new smells but he also becomes obsessed to find the perfect fragrance which in the end it will lead to murder.

Perfume is an original and unique novel and similar to some smells, it both repulsed and entranced me until the last page. It is about the creation of a genius and a monster, about the stinks of Paris and the enticing world of perfumery. The writing is not always perfect, it a bit dated but still it was a book like I’ve never read before. Recommend but not for everyone, something I keep saying a lot lately. It seems my reading choices are a bit creepy lately

n  “He possessed the power. He held it in his hand. A power stronger than the power of money or the power of terror or the power of death: the invincible power to command the love of mankind. There was only one thing that power could not do: it could not make him able to smell himself.”n

Perfume is a story about social isolation; it’s a story about not belonging in the world and the negative effects this can wrought on one’s mind. It’s also a story about obsession, a singular pursuit for perfection regardless of the costs.

Consequences simply do not matter for Jean. He is completely detached from reality; he lives in his own world of scent, invisible to all others. Murder means nothing to him because he does not fully understand what he is murdering. He has no feelings. He cannot comprehend what it is to snuff out a life because he is not truly alive himself. He is dead inside and numb to all else in his differentness.

“He realized that all his life he had been a nobody to everyone. What he now felt was the fear of his own oblivion. It was as though he did not exist.”

“He had withdrawn solely for his own personal pleasure, only to be near to himself. No longer distracted by anything external, he basked in his own existence and found it splendid.”



As such befalls misery for all those that meet him. His talent is remarkable and his motivation (when roused) is unstoppable. His singular pursuit for his goal is uncompromising and he will stop at nothing to achieve the most perfect of scents. The secret ingredient he has been looking for comes his way and he cannot rest until he has it. Innocence is a mighty hard thing to harvest, though it is the missing piece he has been looking for; it will give his perfume the power to inspire love: it will be irresistible.

However, as the tale of Icarus taught us, those who fly too high will burn. As such the ending of this is simply perfection. The moment captures the heart of the book in one beautifully horrific frenzy of emotions and desire. The delivery is masterful. I knew it was coming (I’d seen the film many years previously) though I don’t think the film could every quite capture the intensity and euphoric nature of the situation.

The only reason I have not given this five stars is because I found it rambled a little in places. I think the story could have been cut back and made tighter and more effective, though I loved the prose and the plot. Jean makes for an interesting character study for sure.

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I'd like to make something very clear with my review of this book. I normally don't go overboard with the whole "the movie vs. the book" argument because I'm not interested in making people's decisions for them, even though I'm strongly opinionated about the subject. But this is a case where I have to speak out. Süskind has created here a work of literary art in prose, and I take that seriously. I admire lots of books but I wouldn't say this about any old novel. The movie "Perfume" makes an utter mockery of this artwork, its incredible language (even in translation) and its profoundly disturbing character. The movie is to this book what a smudge of dirt is to a brilliant, glowing star. The movie not only fails to capture the depth and profundity of the prose but also of its unique darkness and unsettling moral bleakness. "Perfume"'s central character (in many ways, its only character) is far beyond some simplistic "good" or "evil." Rather, he is utterly disconnected from humanity. He lacks a fundamental concept of agency in other people, who are essentially conveyors or producers of smells and nothing more. He kills, not with any idea of transgression, but simply as he would break an object in order to smell it. In this he is far more terrifying than any serial killer or other contrived "evil" character, and the story of his incredible and absurd life leaves one with a deep darkness that takes a long time to dissipate after the novel is closed and shelved or passed on.

The movie, as I saw it, conveyed none of this existentially disturbing character, but merely his salient features; i.e., his uncanny ability to smell and dissect smells, and even then can't possibly describe what he senses with the book's vividness and detail. In short, viewers are left with a paltry, thin gruel that denigrates and shames the original book and its author.

Due to a bit of a cold lately, I couldn't smell the cinnamon sprinkled on my Frothy Coffee, nor the aromas of fresh croissants walking past the patisserie, or the preparation of an evening meal consisting of mussels cooked in garlic butter. I love these smells, they are just as important to me as taste, damn this cold!, if only I had the nose of Jean-Baptiste Grenouille, having a cold wouldn't have made any difference, I could smell the fresh fish markets from a mile away!. No interest though in hunting virgins for their scent thank God.

Süskind's novel (which I didn't even realise has been so popular) is Set in 18th century France, and tells the grim story of one Jean-Baptiste Grenouille, a physically and emotionally abused orphan who is blessed with a supernatural gift, the great sense of smell. His frenzied obsession for odours guides him in a ghastly perverse way to search for the lost origin of his identity. A genius of aroma, Grenouille himself lacks a personal odor, signifying an absence of individual identity, but never mind, he can just go about stealing that of others. As he discovers his olfactory virtuosity, he becomes increasingly obsessed with inventing new fragrances, particularly his own, which he attempts to create artificially by extracting and blending the corporeal scents of young virginal women he murders. His great hope is to create the ideal perfume that will give him the magical essence of identity. He despises the rest of mankind, but still is solely driven by a desire for the attention and affection of others, he wants to be top dog, the hell with everybody else. At the moment of his crowning glory, however, Grenouille knows that the aura of identity created by his magic perfume is an illusion, and that it has been hate rather than love that drove him to become a genius of perfuming. After this epiphany, Grenouille goes barking mad, and surrenders himself to a gory finale.

This book was good, I enjoyed it for the most part, but for me, it wasn't great, as viewed by a lot of others. The plot is unique and skilfully done, not only in Grenouille’s characterization, but also because Süskind has done his homework on 18th century France and the science behind perfume. He describes Grenouille and his actions with a detached demeanor, thereby heightening the horrific nature of Grenouille’s actions by not commenting on that nature, this leads to the problem though of very little coverage in Grenouille's despair as he realises that everything he did was in vain and ultimately unsatisfying to both him and me as the reader. And the repetitive prose and unfocused paragraphs had me skimming the odd page here and there. I can see why it has had big appeal, because on the surface, the premise is so startlingly different, so kudos there, and he gets a range of emotions from sympathy when a filthy young orphan, to disgust and hatred when he starts his murderous quest.

Even tough the chilling horrors of Grenouille's actions are painted in such realistic tones, the novel on the whole never really got under my skin as I thought it would, it's good in places but pretentious in others, and summing up the central character he was just too two-dimensional for my liking. Not the sort of book I would normally read, so at least it was a break from the norm.
Although I am still a long way off wondering around in grandpa slippers, I felt this novel was maybe intended for a younger audience.
Forget the fish guts, cow hide, boiled puppy and dead virgins, I will stick to the mint, lavender, bergamot, sandalwood and tonka bean of Jean Paul Gaultier.

A lightly scented 3/5