Das Parfum: Die Geschichte eines Mörders

In 1738 Jean-Baptiste Grenouille is left to die among fish guts in Paris. He survives, grows up in an orphanage, and is found to have a nose that can identify any smell, though he himself smells of nothing. He works for a tanner, then for the perfumer Baldini, where he learns to make perfumes, and later travels to Grasse in the south. Obsessed with a scent he once encountered, he begins to kill young women in order to capture their essence. Patrick Süskind's novel became a worldwide success, and the book has the pace of a fable.

For readers who like unusual premises and a dark, atmospheric tone. It stays in the mind as a study of obsession.

Deep and thought-provoking; a moderate read.

Best for readers like The Deep Diver. Which reader are you?