Perfume: The Story of a Murderer

INTERNATIONAL 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. Read more

Publisher: Vintage
Publication date: February 13, 2001
Edition: Reprint
Language: English
Print length: 255 pages
ISBN-10: 0375725849
ISBN-13: 978-0375725845
Item Weight: 2.31 pounds
Dimensions: 5.17 x 0.8 x 7.94 inches
Best Sellers Rank: #8,837 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #77 in Contemporary Literature & Fiction #219 in Classic Literature & Fiction #931 in Suspense Thrillers
Customer Reviews: 4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars

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