Perfume

Perfume

Published:
2010-01-01
Categories:
Publishers:
ISBN:
9780241975329
Meeting:
FBC Recommended R2.035
Pages:
272
File size (e-book):
560 KB
Download URL:
Book Availability:
available
Pre Order Availability:
no
Accessibility Features:
enabled

Description:

An acclaimed bestseller and international sensation, Patrick Suskind's classic novel provokes a terrifying examination of what happens when one man's indulgence in his greatest passion—his sense of smell—leads to murder.

In the slums of eighteenth-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 odours 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.

Author Details:

Patrick Süskind is a German author, playwright, and screenwriter born in 1949, famous for his international bestseller novel "Perfume: The Story of a Murderer" (1985), and the acclaimed one-man play "The Double Bass" (1981). After studying history and working as a screenwriter for German television series like Kir Royal, Süskind gained renown for his first novel, which was followed by other works including "The Pigeon" and "The Story of Mr. Sommer". He is known for his reclusive nature and has not granted interviews or allowed photographs for many years.