Perfume

The year is 1738. The place, Paris. A baby is born beneath a fish-monger’s bloody table and abandoned. Orphaned and placed with monks, the infant unsettles his caretakers: his wet nurse finds that he has no scent. Jean-Baptiste Grenouille survives against the odds and, though he lacks a personal odor, possesses an absolute sense of smell—able to read objects’ composition, histories, and whereabouts in a world where darkness conceals nothing from him. As Grenouille matures he studies the art of perfumery, creating fragrances that become the rage of Paris and Europe. Then he withdraws into solitude to pursue a singular obsession: to identify and isolate the scent of life itself. His quest leads him from savage exile through the countryside and back to Paris as he seeks to distill the perfect perfume from the most beautiful young virgins, setting in motion a rising storm of terror whose final triumph yields horrifying consequences.