Perfume
The Story of a Murderer
Published on 6. August 2015
Book
Paperback/Softback
272 pages
978-0-241-97361-5 (ISBN)
Description
Patrick Sueskind's Perfume is a classic novel of death and sensuality in Paris, published as a Penguin Essential for the first time.
'In eighteenth-century France there lived a man who was one of the most gifted and abominable personages in an era that knew no lack of gifted and abominable personages. His name was Jean-Baptiste Grenouille, and if his name has been forgotten today, it is certainly not because Grenouille fell short of those more famous blackguards when it came to arrogance, misanthropy, immorality, or, more succinctly, wickedness, but because his gifts and his sole ambition were restricted to a domain that leaves no traces in history: to the fleeting realm of scent . . .'
'An astonishing tour de force both in concept and execution' Guardian
'A fantastic tale of murder and twisted eroticism controlled by a disgusted loathing of humanity ... Clever, stylish, absorbing and well worth reading' Literary Review
'A meditation on the nature of death, desire and decay ... a remarkable debut' Peter Ackroyd, The New York Times Book Review
'Unlike anything else one has read. A phenomenon ... Everyone seems to want to get a whiff of this strange perfume, which will remain unique in contemporary literature' Figaro
'An ingenious and totally absorbing fantasy' Daily Telegraph
'Witty, stylish and ferociously absorbing' Observer
'In eighteenth-century France there lived a man who was one of the most gifted and abominable personages in an era that knew no lack of gifted and abominable personages. His name was Jean-Baptiste Grenouille, and if his name has been forgotten today, it is certainly not because Grenouille fell short of those more famous blackguards when it came to arrogance, misanthropy, immorality, or, more succinctly, wickedness, but because his gifts and his sole ambition were restricted to a domain that leaves no traces in history: to the fleeting realm of scent . . .'
'An astonishing tour de force both in concept and execution' Guardian
'A fantastic tale of murder and twisted eroticism controlled by a disgusted loathing of humanity ... Clever, stylish, absorbing and well worth reading' Literary Review
'A meditation on the nature of death, desire and decay ... a remarkable debut' Peter Ackroyd, The New York Times Book Review
'Unlike anything else one has read. A phenomenon ... Everyone seems to want to get a whiff of this strange perfume, which will remain unique in contemporary literature' Figaro
'An ingenious and totally absorbing fantasy' Daily Telegraph
'Witty, stylish and ferociously absorbing' Observer
More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Dimensions
Height: 180 mm
Width: 108 mm
Thickness: 25 mm
Weight
155 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-241-97361-5 (9780241973615)
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Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Person
Patrick Sueskind was born near Munich in 1949 and studied medieval and modern history at the University of Munich. His first play, The Double Bass, was written in 1980 and became an international success. His first novel, Perfume was also an internationally acclaimed bestseller and continues to be considered a classic.
He is also the author of The Pigeon and Mr. Summer's Story, and a coauthor of the enormously successful German television series Kir Royal. Patrick Sueskind lives and writes in Munich.
He is also the author of The Pigeon and Mr. Summer's Story, and a coauthor of the enormously successful German television series Kir Royal. Patrick Sueskind lives and writes in Munich.