Perfume (Magill’s Guide to Science Fiction and Fantasy Literature)
At a glance:
- Author: Patrick Suskind
- First Published: 1985
- Type of Work: Novel
- Type of Plot: Fantasy—superbeing
- Time of Work: The mid-eighteenth century
- Setting: Paris, Grasse, and elsewhere in France
- Genres: Long fiction, Fantasy
- Subjects: France or French people, Murder or homicide, Paris, Eighteenth century, Orphans or orphanages, Superman or superbeings, Mass murderers or serial killers, Perfumes, Smell
- Locales: France, Paris, France
The Plot
Perfume (subtitled The Story of a Murder) is the story of Jean-Baptiste Grenouille, a man with a phenomenal sense of smell who lives in mid-eighteenth century France.
From the start, there is something sinister about Grenouille. The author calls him a tick and a monster. Misfortune strikes those around him, and there is something chilling about his presence, as though a draft comes into the room when he is around. Only Grenouille realizes that this is a result of his complete lack of scent. He is too willful and ambitious to let fear and censure...
[The entire page is 985 words long]
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