Lone Cone Library

Suskind's novel 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 18th-century France, an infant is born with one sublime gift--an absolute sense of smell. But he is not satisfied with the perfume of flowers, he becomes obsessed with an ever-more-terrifying quest to create the "ultimate perfume"--the scent of a beautiful young virgin. A haunting...

Jean-Baptiste Grenouille is born under his mother's table at the fish market, onto a pile of muddy fish guts, establishing from the beginning his repulsion for putrid scents. A childhood of neglect and, later, a job at a tannery, encourage Jean-Baptiste to develop his olfactory sense rather than his verbal skills. An opportunity to prove his worth to Parisian perfumist Giuseppe Baldini results in his immediate hire into a promising new career. His...