What the actual fuck did I just read

- فكرة الرواية مبتكرة وشيطانية.. القتل من اجل الرائحة لتحويلها عطراً!!!

- الترجمة سيئة جداً وهناك العديد من الاخطاء، لغوياً واملائياً.

- النهاية
ضعيفة لأنه لم يكن بإمكانه ابقاء قارورة العطر معه وقد تم سجنه وتعذيبه! او ان ترجمة هذا الجزء لم تكن صحيحة ويجب قرأتها بالنص الاصلي لاحقاً!

- اما الرمزية من القصة وخاصة في النهاية فهي إبداع كامل.

ahahaha wtf were those last pages??? WILD turn of events even by this novel’s standards

يعتقدون أنهم يشاهدون كل شيء بعيونهم "

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أكان شيطاناً ، مسخاً أم شبحاً لانسان؟ جسده الضئيل قد يوحي بذلك
هذا الكم الكبير من اللامبالاة ، البرود والحياة وحيداً هي ما تشير لذلك

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هل كنا في يوم ما نهتم بحاسة الشم أكثر من النظر
أو اللمس أو التذوق ، هل كنا نرى الاشياء بعدة حواس
أم نكتفي بتكثيف حاسه واحده فقط ؟
كان "غرينوي" يشم ويرى ويتذوق بأنفه
استنشق كل شيء ما عدا أهم شيء
وهذا ما صنع منه هذا الشخص البالغ في الهزال
واللامبلاه والغيبوبة الانسانيه
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التفاصيل الدقيقه افكاره حياته تشوقه المستمر لاستنشاق كل شيء
خلقت جواً فلسفياً من نوع آخر لم يتطرق له في أي روايه سابقه
منذ بداية ولادته الغريبه الى المشهد الاخير
حين حول العامه والنبلاء والبرجوازيين ذلك التفصيل الاخير الى
محفل كما فعل هو تماماً عندما امتص رحيق خمسة وعشرين صبيه جميله
طريقة غريبه لأن يهتم الانسان بالتفاصيل مهما اختلف الغرض أوالسبب
انانيه اتقاما او تشفي فإن الانسان يغدو شغوفاً بما يريده وبما يؤمن به مهما كان غريباً أو مُداناً ..
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باختصار انها روايه لا تقرأ فقط بل تُستنشق !

Θα το χαρακτήριζα σκοτεινό παραμύθι. Ο συγγραφέας καταπιάνεται με μια ωραιότατη και πρωτότυπη ιδέα, την οποία αναπτύσσει αριστουργηματικά. Ο βασικός χαρακτήρας πραγματικά "ζωντανεύει" στη φαντασία σου και η πλοκή,μαζί με το ιστορικό πλαίσιο που περιβάλλει την όλη ιστορία του βιβλίου, σε κάνουν να μην χάσεις το ενδιαφέρον σου ούτε σε μια σελίδα. αγνόησε το γεγονός ότι έχεις δεί την ταινία,σχετίζεται ελάχιστα με το βιβλίο.

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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"For people could close their eyes to greatness, to horrors, to beauty, and their ears to melodies or deceiving words. But they couldn't escape scent."

The story of Jean-Baptiste Grenouille, who was born without his own scent but with a heightened sense of smell. Set in Paris in the late 1700s, Perfume tells the tale of his search for the perfect scent.

Perfume has to be one of the most unique stories I've encountered, at times it is as equally beautiful as it is grim and disturbing. The story focuses on the life of Grenouille, right from his birth up until his later adult years. It's absolutely captivating and unique in that Suskind uses scent and smells as a way to explore so many different themes, such as power, obsession and the strong desire to obtain perfection. The character development of Grenouille is incredibly well-written, you can't help but feel sorry for him as he becomes quite a loner in his quest (he literally fucking lives under a mountain for a number of years, for gods sake!!). But then... he's also kinda creepy at times too.

Don't go into this book expecting a fast-paced murder-mystery thriller - oh no, this book is so much more subtle in its execution. The story travels along at a relatively slow pace, but you will NEED to know what happens next as events unfold. Perfume reads like a classic, but without being incredibly verbose or dense. The writing is simply beautiful, one of those books where you feel like you want to constantly highlight every section.

The scientist in me was geeking out majorly over the different processes described in the production of perfumes, such as distillation etc. I am also a huge fan of perfumes in general, so I did find it really interesting to learn more about the process. How do you capture a scent? How do you bottle that scent? Those parts were really enjoyable to read.

That ending though... WHAT THE HECK WAS I READING? It was fucking off the wall! It felt like it came out of nowhere and initially I wasn't really on board... but when I thought about it and certain explanations were given I wasn't only on board, I was steering the goddamn ship! That ending is pretty crazy but makes perfect sense within the story.

Overall I highly recommend Perfume, particularly if you are looking for something a little different, a little dark, and a completely unique reading experience.

4 stars.

Vaau kokia tai buvo kvapų kelionė!
Be galo gražus rašymo stilius, skaičiau kaip pasaką. Vaikas gimęs su neįtikėtina uosle, patyręs begalę sunkumų, ir tik vienintelė jo aistra - kvapas, drąsiai vedė jį per gyvenimą. Žavi tai, su kokiu užsidegimu jis 'rinko' tuos kvapus, visus, nebuvo jam nei gerų nei blogų kvapų, visi jam vienodai svarbūs. Kai užuodė jaunos merginos kvapą, kuris buvo visiškai kitoks nei iki šiol sutikti kvapai, jis visiškai pameta galvą.. Netikėtai randasi vienintelis jo tikslas - išsaugoti tą kvapą. Jis stropus, sunkiai mokėsi ir visas žinias tiesiog siurbė į save, ir jam to buvo maža.. atlikinėjo įvairiausius bandymus, kaip išgauti kuo įvairesnius kvapus, stipriai išgyveno nesėkmes.. Tai ką jis darė baisu, jis - žudikas, bet iš to kaip autorius aprašo jo jausmus, mintis, lyg norisi suprasti jį, pateisinti, jis tiesiog negalėjo kitaip elgtis. Fanatizmas ir talentas - viskas kartu.

Man patiko, kad autorius aprašė kiekvieno personažo likimą. Lyg prie kiekvieno įvykio skrupulingai sudėlioti taškai. Pabaiga tikras triumfas, tikslas kurio taip siekė.. Man ši knyga atradimas, mėgavausi kiekvienu puslapiu ir skaityčiau dar kartą

What a fascinating novel, a tale revolving around the sense of smell. Patrick Süskind is to be commended.

As many outstanding musicians are born with what is termed "perfect pitch," so Patrick Süskind's main character, Jean-Baptiste Grenouille, is born with a unique and extraordinary sense of smell.

Since there are so many outstanding reviews already posted here, in the spirit of originality, I'll share a taste (or perhaps I should say a smell?) of what it means for smell to play such a prominent, overwhelming place in someone's life. Here's a micro-fiction from the master of the micro, Brooklyn born and bred Peter Cherches, about -

THE MAN WHO SMELLED FUNNY
There once was a man who smelled funny. He didn't smell bad, he smelled funny. Whenever he walked into a room, people would begin to laugh uncontrollably. The man didn't like the effect he had on people. He couldn't go anywhere without making people laugh. He could never have a serious conversation with anybody, because they were always laughing so hard.

The man tried everything. He tried bathing three or four times a day, but he couldn't get rid of the smell. He wore expensive cologne, but that only made him smell like a combination of expensive cologne and the funny smell.

Life was difficult for the man. Trouble followed him everywhere he went, because of his funny smell. One day the man went to the public library and the entire library broke into uproarious laughter. The librarian tried to make the people stop laughing, but even while she was putting her fingers to her lips and saying, "Shhh," she was cackling like a hyena. Finally the guard came up to the man.

"Excuse me - ha ha - Sir," the guard said, "but I'm afraid - he he he - I'm going to have to - ha ha - ask you to - ho ho ho - leave."

The man was so embarrassed he turned beet-red and rushed out of the library.

The man had trouble keeping a job too. He was a good worker, and people liked him, but his funny smell was so disruptive that little work ever got done. Whenever his bosses fired him thy laughed the whole time. "I'm so sorry - ha ha ha - to have to do this," thy would say. "I know this will be very hard on your family - guffaw guffaw guffaw."

The man who smelled funny was very sad. It wasn't his fault he smelled funny, but he couldn't keep a job because of it.

Then, one day, the man came up with a brilliant idea: he would become a stand-up comic.

The man who smelled funny got himself booked at a local comedy club. He was nervous on opening night, but the second he got on stage the entire audience began laughing wildly. He told the worst jokes imaginable: corny old jokes and pointless shaggy dog stories. And he had the audience rolling in the aisles. He was a hit.

The local newspapers gave him a rave review. "We don't know how he does it," the review said, "but he breathes new life into the oldest jokes in the business."

The man took his act on the road. He played all the best comedy clubs in the country and earned lots of money. He was living the good life.

Now the man who smelled funny was hardly ever sad. Never again would he lose a job because he made people laugh.

And he decided that he would never agree to perform his comedy act on television.

Not until they come out with Smell-O-Vision, that is.

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Note: The Man Who Smelled Funny is part of the Peter Cherches book: Whistler's Mother's Son

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.

"Había encontrado la brújula de su vida futura. Y como todos los monstruos geniales ante quienes un acontecimiento externo abre una vía recta en el espiral caótico de sus almas, Grenouille ya no se apartó de lo que él creía haber reconocido como la dirección de su destino: tenía que ser un creador de perfumes. Y no uno cualquiera, sino el perfumista más grande de todos los tiempos."

Pero qué novela tan interesante ha escrito Patrick Süskind… Este es otro de esos libros que yo veía en los estantes de la librería, o sobre el cual, muchos lectores reseñaban pero que no había tenido yo la oportunidad de leer.
Es verdaderamente original y sorprendente la manera en que Süskind crea el personaje de Jean-Baptiste Grenouille. Sencillamente brillante.
Han existido en la literatura famosos asesinos (creo que Raskólnikov de "Crimen y castigo" es uno de los más emblemáticos), pero en el caso del personaje principal de "El perfume" lo que sobresale es casualmente su sorprendente naturaleza y originalidad.
El hecho de que Grenouille haya nacido sin ningún tipo de olor personal y un sentido del olfato tan perfecto, a punto tal que hasta él mismo sabe que sólo puede aprovecharlo para asesinar, le da todo el sentido a la trama del libro para que los sucesos de su vida sean lo más importante.
El olfato de Grenouille le permite distinguir todo tipo de olores, hedores, fragancias, tufos, aromas, emanaciones, vahos, esencias y por supuesto, perfumes. Nada escapa a su olfato, un sentido que para muchos es el menos importante de los cinco que poseemos en el cuerpo humano.
Desde su infancia, Jean-Baptiste es alguien que no tiene madre, que no siente dolor ni sentimiento de amor alguno. Con el correr de los años se transformará en un ser insensible y desarrollará, a partir de su peculiar habilidad una extraña forma de comportamiento que lo llevará a cometer asesinatos, siempre hacia jóvenes y bellas muchachas virginales.
Otro aspecto para destacar es la manera en la que está narrado el libro y hay que felicitar a Süskind por ello. La historia está ambientada en la Francia del siglo XVIII y Süskind la relata como un aplomado escritor del siglo XIX. Es excelente su dominio de la narrativa, ya que esto se asocia a lo original del personaje y porque además mantiene el suspense de lo que pasa con Grenouille. Considero también que las primeras quince páginas son atrapantes y hacia el intermedio del libro, el autor logra que el lector no pueda desprenderse de la lectura.
Tal vez el momento más chato de la historia es cuando Süskind narra los siete años en que Grenouille se recluye en la montaña de Auvernia, pero rápidamente la historia vuelve a tener un vivo interés, precisamente a partir de que vuelve a cometer tantos asesinatos, y al llegar a esta parte es clave el hecho de haber leído sobre sus andanzas en la perfumería de Giuseppe Baldini, de sus forzados trabajos con el curtidor Grimal, de su primera víctima, la muchacha pelirroja de Rue de Marais, o de sus estancia durante la niñez en la casa de madame Gaillard quien insólitamente carece de todo olfato.
Debo reconocer que lo que más me descolocó fue precisamente el final del libro. Para que se me entienda: los lectores en su mayoría leemos ficción y nos acostumbramos a todo tipo de historias fantásticas, pero en el caso del final de esta novela, realmente me esperaba otra cosa. A mi entender es demasiado inverosímil y el abrupto cambio sepulta un poco la intriga a la que me sometía en las primeras dos partes de la novela.
Y nuevamente, en la cuarta parte, que se compone de un solo capítulo creo que Süskind acelera el final de una manera casi abrupta (y también, demasiado inverosímil), contrastando con las extensísimas descripciones de las características tanto de la personalidad de Grenouille como de todos los sucesos que le ocurren en los distintos lugares que vive.
Estoy dudando en calificar a "El perfume" con tres o cuatro estrellas, pero me voy a inclinar por las cuatro por el hecho de que me mantuvo muy intrigado en un 85% de la historia y porque, además, cuesta mucho encontrar libros sobre asesinos tan pero tan originales como Jean-Baptiste Grenouille.

Celor care au urechi să audă le-aș sugera un mic adevăr: Cel mai afrodisiac parfum rămîne absența oricărui parfum. Totuși...

În librăria din Podu Roș, prietenul DS m-a tras de mînecă și mi-a șoptit: „Să vii săptămîna viitoare. Primim o carte ieșită din comun”. Era în 1988. Cărțile se vindeau pe sub mînă, trebuia să ai „pile” pentru a prinde și a citi un roman bun. Așa am cumpărat Parfumul. Se tipărise în colecția „Globus” a Editurii Univers.

Am găsit în acest roman povestea unui nefericit și am înțeles că o înzestrare ieșită din comun (simțul mirosului, în cazul lui Jean-Baptiste Grenouille) îl poate transforma pe individ într-un monstru. Funes al lui Borges e stăpînit de văz, nu poate uita nici o nuanță de verde, nici o nuanță de roșu. Grenouille nu uită nici o nuanță a unui miros, poate descompune un parfum în toate elementele alcătuitoare. Nici unul dintre aceste ilustre personaje nu e în stare să gîndească abstract. Sînt lipsiți de rațiune și se situează în afara oricărei morale.

Cînd ucide, Jean-Baptiste Grenouille nu intenționează neapărat să ia un suflet, el soarbe însăși mireasma victimei. Pentru el, frumosul absolut nu are nici o legătură cu văzul („frumusețea stă în ochi”, credea David Hume). Pentru el, frumosul absolut e un miros sau un mănunchi de mirosuri. Și, deci, ar putea afirma, dacă ar fi capabil de gîndire abstractă (și nu e), că frumusețea stă în nări. Iată:

„O sută de mii de miresme îi păreau mai puţin preţioase decît acel parfum. Era principiul cel mai înalt, al cărui model se cuvenea să le ordoneze pe toate celelalte. Era frumuseţea pură. Lui Grenouille îi era limpede că viaţa sa nu mai putea să aibă vreun sens dacă nu va poseda acel parfum. Trebuia să-l cunoască pînă în cel mai mic amănunt, pînă la ultima, cea mai suavă înrămurire; doar amintirea lui, oricît de complexă, nu-i ajungea. Voia să apese apoteoticul parfum ca pe o pecete asupra învîrtejirii sufletului său negru” (pp.39-40).

P. S. În Bestsellers, John Sutherland menționează că Parfumul e ultima carte a unui prozator german care a intrat în topurile americane. Das Buch als bestseller :)

P. P.S. Oare ce au spus filosofii despre miros? Ofer numai un exemplu. Pentru Immanuel Kant, care va admira, totuşi, aroma amăruie a cafelei, mirosul este mai degrabă nociv și antisocial: „Cel care îşi scoate din buzunar batista înmuiată în parfum le impune tuturor celor din preajmă mirosul lui preferat, în pofida voinţei lor, obligîndu-i astfel să se desfete cu el, dacă vor să mai respire. Acesta este şi motivul pentru care obiceiul nici nu mai este la modă”. În opinia gînditorului german, parfumul este, de cele mai multe ori, o modalitate de a-ți impune subtil-agresiv prezența. Într-o încăpere - mai e nevoie să spun? -, atmosfera se cuvine a fi inodoră. Pentru filosofi, cel mai prețuit miros rămîne, așadar, absența lui...