Patrick Süskind - Perfume: The Story of a Murderer
Nov
'06
I’m not completely sure how I feel about this book, on the whole. For one, it was extremely well written and I was definitely hyping it up for everyone else as I was reading the first part. On the other hand, the second half was so completely ridiculous that I now understand why this book was in the $5 trade paperback section and not on the shelf (at least not until the movie was announced). It was still well-written but it didn’t make an ounce of sense, and not in the “little parts don’t make sense but when you put them together you get the picture as a whole” way, but more in the “wtf is going on here?” way. And, as sub to that, not in the “wtf is going on here, this person must have been on drugs” way, but more in the “wtf, this is totally ridiculous” way.
That said, I still thought it was relatively decent, though I may be influenced by the writing style and how engaging the writing style made the book. This book does speak a lot in favor storytelling, though, because the story itself was completely insane — not bad, but more bizarre than anything. However, I was intensly enthralled, so into it that I found myself regretting it when I had to put it down. That wasn’t due to the story, it was the words and how they played together. It was the mood and the authority of the writer (I have learned a lot about perfume-making), the snide comments and jokes, the flow.
Here are some spoilers. Cut for length or spoilers »
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