Books by Patrick Suskind
“This is probably the best-known work of fiction about perfume and the perfume industry. It’s a crime novel by a German author which was also made into a movie. It’s a very lush, richly imagined book. It just bursts with sensuality and the smells of Paris in the 18th century. And not just good smells, but also the smell of raw sewage running in the streets, or of horse manure. It’s about a lowly orphan boy who happens to be gifted with the olfactory equivalent of perfect pitch. He apprentices with perfume makers. He’s a very odd creature, and eventually he decides that he wants to create a perfume that will make people do his bidding. It will be so stupendous that it will overwhelm people and he can rule the world with this perfume.” Read more...
Denise Hamilton, Journalist
Interviews where books by Patrick Suskind were recommended
Novels Set In Paris
If you’re planning a trip to the City of Lights—or in the mood for a bit of armchair travel—then you might like to get yourself in the mood by picking up a novel set in Paris. From the Francophone masterpieces of Victor Hugo to more modern classics by Hemingway and Mantel, you’re sure to find a book to suit your tastes among our expert recommendations.
Magical Realism Books, recommended by Five Books interviewees
If you enjoy some fantastical elements in your literature—but you aren’t quite ready for full-on swords and sorcery—then perhaps magical realism books are for you. As a genre, magical realism is often associated with South America, thanks in large part to the ‘father of magical realism’ Gabriel García Márquez and mega-bestselling books by Isabel Allende, but examples can be found from all over the world. We’ve put a list of must-read titles.
The best books on Perfume, recommended by Denise Hamilton
The author Denise Hamilton guides us through the intoxicating world of the perfumer, from ancient Egypt to wartime Paris – and explains what Guerlain meant when he said his fragrances contained a whiff of his mistress’s bottom
