perfume the story of a murderer by patrick süskind

However, this time I’m going to deviate a bit from the formula in a way that still honors the spirit of the exercise. Once I’m done with this first part, I’d read the book for the second time, and then retake the post elaborating on the lasting potency of its impact (or lack thereof) to complete the text.

This step would take place before my second reading to avoid editorializing my memory for a more cohesive post structure – something that I haven’t managed to fully avoid on previous iterations –. First, I’d write about what the book meant to me when I first read it, and about how I discovered it. The basic principles of this tradition are simple. ( Editorial note: the posts that I’m referring to on the first sentence are already published, but I decided to leave that sentence from my first draft). Far be it from a critique, I want to take celebrate this landmark and embrace those early posts, and at the same time, conduct my yearly tradition of re-reading a book that changed the way I see the world. It took me a while to figure out that book reviews were a suitable purpose for the blog and, for better or worse, it shows in those early attempts. The first posts were painful to write, disjointed, and incoherent, but necessary to learn how to write and lose the fear of the empty page/screen. Despite the work that still needs to be done, I want to take this opportunity to acknowledge the importance that this little corner of the internet has had on my writing and my wellbeing.

I’m writing these words with three drafted posts that I need to review waiting for me and two months into this blog’s five-year anniversary. More so! He had kindled it internally himself, without help.

What do you mean endear? Loved! Worshipped! Praised! He had achieved Prometheus’ goal! By sheer will and infinite distillation, he had conquered the divine flame which others had received at birth, and that only he was refused.

He, Jean-Baptise Grenouille, born scentless in the foulest place on the earth, amongst garbage, excrements and putrefaction, raised without love, surviving without the warmth of the human soul and only by obstinacy and the force of repugnancy, short, hunched, lame, ugly, despised, a monster inside and outside… had managed to endear everyone.

Perfume the story of a murderer by patrick süskind