Perfume

About a year ago a co-worker told me to check out this movie called Perfume. Intrigued and lacking cable at the time I decided to take him up on his offer. The movie was disturbing, but at the same time I was so completely entranced by what I saw that I had to watch.

Recently I had been perusing the library aisles trying to find something new to read and I came across the book the movie was based on. Perfume: The Story of a Murderer by Patrick Suskind. The book follows a young man named Grenouille who while possessing no odor of his own, does have a remarkable sense of smell. The story focuses mainly on how Grenouille attempts at making the perfect perfume. Unfortunately the perfect perfume requires women, hence the "Story of a Murderer" part of the title. I will not ruin the ending, but it was pure perfection.

The book was absolutely entrancing. Had I no had so many things to do with finals and what not I would have easily devoured this book in a day. The words are so enticing, somehow so rich that you almost feel as though you are part of Grenouille's world. While realizing that Grenouille is entirely the bad guy, you still want to see him succeed in his quest for the perfect perfume. I beyond a doubt highly recommend this book, I still hesitate to give it back to the library...