This is one of my favourite books of all time. I'm sure I've read it ten times and it's time for someone else to have a crack at it. It tells of a freakish child in pre-revolutionary France who has no natural smell, as all humans do, but is possessed of the greatest sense of smell in the world, and grows up to become, unknown to anyone, the greatest perfumer of all time; his crowning achievement is to be the most beautiful and irrestible perfume ever, to be created of the natural smells of women whom he must kill to collect their scents. It will sound dreadful to some but it's a wonder--nearly everything is described in terms of odours (an achievement in itself, since language contains so few precise words to describe the smell of something) and it's very sensual and dreamy.

Released on Sunday, March 07, 2004 at Second Cup, Spring Garden Rd. (BookCrossing mtg.) in Halifax, Nova Scotia Canada.

Our usual meeting, 11 a.m., first Sunday of every month. (I think this particular book is going to a specific person but in case it doesn't I thought I should list it as a normal release.)

Lent from pyramus. Looks fantastic.
Can't wait to get through the school work - make way for more enjoyable reading!

So I am just about done this book.
And i am losing interest as it gets kind of dark/bit violent.
Loved the sections where he was working in the perfumeries and talking about the scents, but not really fond of the rest.

Really dislike the main character.

But it is an interesting book to read - make you realize how under-represented scent is in other books.
Thanks for sharing pyramus!

I caught this book at Symphonica's pot luck. The major selling point was the apparent descriptive way scents and smells are employed in the book. Looking forward to the journey.