Perfume: The Story of a MurdererINTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER • Set in eighteenth-century France, the classic novel that 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 odors 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. Translated from the German by John E. Woods. |
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alcohol alembic already Amor and Psyche arms Arnulfi attar of roses basket beauty blossoms body breath Chénier child Cimetière des Innocents clothes dark death disgust distilled Druot enfleurage everything eyes Faubourg Saint-Antoine fear felt flacons Florentine flask flowers fluidum letale formula fragrant frock coat girl Giuseppe Baldini glass Grasse Grenoble Grenouille Grenouille stood Grenouille's Grimal hair hand handkerchief head heart jasmine Jean-Baptiste journeyman knew Laure least lived longer looked Madame Gaillard maître marquis mixing bottle Montpellier murderer never night nose nouille odor olfactory once Paris PATRICK SÜSKIND Pélissier perfume Plomb du Cantal pomade possessed pulled rectified spirit Richis Richis's river rose scent sleep smell sniffed soul stank stench storax suddenly Taillade-Espinasse Terrier thing thought thousand took town waited walked wall wanted wet nurse wine wood