Perfume was first released in the original German in 1985, followed the following year by the English translation. This is a book that I have had on my "to be read" list for literally years, and only finally got round to recently. You know how these lists work, they are forever growing and titles get displaced as priorities change and new books are released and people recommend things that "you really must read". Well, Perfume is one that should have been read a lot sooner than it was. If you haven't already read it, I strongly recommend that you do.

The plot is straightforward enough. A boy is born into late 18th century Paris, a melting pot of various scents and smells. An infinite collection of stenches permeate everything and into this environment comes the boy, Grenouille, who has no odour at all. To balance this anomaly is the fact that he has the sharpest sense of smell that has ever existed. He learns the different smells around him as most children learn the alphabet, or grasp numbers, and his world is composed almost entirely of identifying and ordering his scented world.

Added to this is Grenouille's absolute lack of conscience. He has no understanding of what is right or wrong, no belief in God despite the early years spent in the care of the church. He operates completely outside of the parameters of humanity; sights, sounds or morality play no part in his development and life, the pursuit of new odours is all.

Moving from one situation to another, Grenouille becomes an apprentice to a Parisian master perfumer, and from here learns the art of dissecting and isolating a myriad of scents. His exceptional sense of smell allows him to blend new and magnificent perfumes effortlessly, and as he masters the arts of distilling the essence of a scent his personal ambition grows. But the focus of his ambition is not based directly in the material world as a perfumer, instead he wishes to cre
ate his own odour, an omnipotent mask he can apply to move with confidence among people.

I have no intention or wish to paraphrase the plot for you, but you'll just have to trust me that the commentary of his life grips you. Fate plays a part that lifts this story out of the real and adopts the feel of a fairy tale for adults - anyone who crosses him or benefits from him gets their come-uppance. Grenouille is the perfect anti-hero, despite his obvious difference from the norm, the book is so well written as to inspire a genuine empathy for him, regardless of what he may or may not do. I actually cared about this character, although I could not relate to his reality at all.

My German is in no way good enough to even attempt this book in its original form, so theoretically the language could be credited to its translator, John E Woods. But as this has been a best-seller around the world, this doesn't seem likely. This is the only one I've read by Suskind, so I can't comment on whether this book is typical of him. Sorry.

I can tell you that Perfume demonstrates a grasp of English that really excited me. The words used portrayed the scents like colours, a rainbow of odours that entirely surpass the usual spectrum. When I first started reading, it came across as almost pretentiously written, using a wealth of synonyms and unusual adjectives that presented itself like a thesaurus. But as I read on, I realised that the scope of description was fundamental to the story in order for it to make sense. Grenouille's sense of smell exceeded anything that could have permitted the language to be simpler or more commonplace. It just wouldn't have worked. And so you end up almost devouring the words as the author explains something inexplicable without at any time sounding like a broken record.

It's very hard to write about this book and feel as though you've done it justice, precisely because it
is so well written. I'd have to urge you to read it for the truly novel story that it contains, and equally for the wonderful way in which it is written. I've never read anything quite like it, it's a compelling and surreal tale that contemplates the nature of desire and humanity in a completely original context.

Subtitled The Story of a Murderer, Perfume is not a crime or murder-mystery number, it completely soars above the vast majority of contemporary fiction. Enjoy.


Published by Penguin at £7.99, 263 pages.