posted on 22 Sep 2022

Perfume: The Story of a Murderer by Patrick Süskind

From the date of its publication in 1985, Patrick Süskind’s Perfume has divided opinion. I think the weight of critical opinion within the literary establishment probably comes down in support of the book but I know from personal experience readers can sometimes have quite a hostile reaction to it. The fact that the book excites such heated reactions is what has made it a bit of a cult read for some and the suggestion that it was Nirvana singer/songwriter, Kurt Cobain’s favourite novel hasn’t done that cult reputation any harm.

Like it or loathe it, it has to be admitted that the novel is an extraordinary piece of work. Set in 18th century France, it’s the story of an orphan child, baptised Jean-Baptiste Grenouille, who, from the outset is felt by all who come into contact with him to be strange – possibly even evil. And indeed the child is decidedly odd – he has no odour (good or bad) of his own but he does possess an almost supernatural sense of smell through which he experiences and understands the world.

He's put to work at the earliest moment in the most foul and squalid conditions where he excels in jobs that would repel most people and through this process comes to understand the potential power of his olfactory skills. But very early on we also begin to see the dark side of this young man who - because he has no personal body odour – can move almost invisibly through crowds. 

When one day he catches an intoxicating smell on the wind he is forced to follow it. The source of the perfume only he could smell is a young virgin girl who he murders without conscience or remorse in order to fully ‘possess’ her smell. This is the trigger for Grenouille to set off in pursuit of the ultimate odour and inflames him with the desire to create the ‘essential’ perfume – the quintessential smell of what it means to be human.

Worming his way into the employ of Giuseppe Baldini, a once great perfumier whose talents are on the wane, he secretly revives the great man’s business and reputation by the creation of perfumes that become the talk of the town. However, all of this is just a prelude to his real ambitions – to master all the ways of extracting the essence of all things, including human beings.

He eventually makes his way to Grasse, a town that has become famous for and dedicated to the production of perfumes where he hopes to learn what other secrets of the trade he can. And that’s when the bodies of murdered young girls start being found – and there is one who finds herself in particular danger……….

Soon this amoral killer realises that its not enough just to have the essence of the smell of humanity – he wants something more. He wants the smell of love and killing for killing’s sake disgusts him:

"Grenouille let it go at that. He refrained from overpowering some whole, live person ... that sort of thing would have ... resulted in no new knowledge. He knew he was master of the techniques needed to rob a human of his or her scent, and knew it was unnecessary to prove this fact anew. Indeed, human odour was of no importance to him whatsoever. He could imitate human odour quite well enough with surrogates. What he coveted was the odour of certain human beings: that is, those rare humans who inspire love. Those were his victims."

Süskind gives his adult fairy tale an ambiguous ending, turning the story full circle and bringing Grenouille back to end his life the fish-market in which he was born in a spectacular piece of perfume-based self destruction.

The trick here that often upsets readers is that Süskind manages to get the reader concern for and worried about this amoral killing monster – he makes us feel that in some way Grenouille is a martyr in pursuit of something genuinely important or worthwhile. However, when the reading spell is broken there is something disgusting about that – as if perfume has been put on something rotten to trick you into believing its sound and wholesome. It’s a clever sleight of hand.

If you haven’t read this book and are tempted to do so be aware that it is graphic, it is detailed and the smells are almost visceral – and if that’s not your cup of tea, stay well clear.

Paperback copies of the book are easy to find for well under £10.

 

Terry Potter

September 2022