Patrick Suskind's Perfume" is a classic novel of death & sensuality in Paris. ' In eighteenth-century France there lived a man who was one of the most gifted & abominable personages in an era that knew no lack of gifted & abominable personages. His name was Jean-Baptiste Grenouille & if his name has been forgotten today it is certainly not because Grenouille fell short of those more famous blackguards when it came to arrogance misanthropy immorality or more succinctly wickedness but because his gifts & his sole ambition were restricted to a domain that leaves no traces in history: to the fleeting realm of scent...' " An astonishing tour de force both in concept & execution". (" Guardian"). "A fantastic tale of murder & twisted eroticism controlled by a disgusted loathing of humanity... Clever stylish absorbing & well worth reading". (" Literary Review"). "A meditation on the nature of death desire & decay.. .a remarkable debut". (Peter Ackroyd " The New York Times Book Review"). " Unlike anything else one has read. A phenomenon... Everyone seems to want to get a whiff of this strange perfume which will remain unique in contemporary literature". (" Figaro"). " An ingenious & totally absorbing fantasy". (" Daily Telegraph"). " Witty stylish & ferociously absorbing". (" Observer"). Patrick Suskind was born near Munich in 1949. He studied medieval & modern history at the University of Munich. His first play " The Double Bass" was written in 1980 & became an international success. His first novel " Perfume" became an internationally acclaimed bestseller. He is also the author of " The Pigeon" & " Mr. Summer's Story" & a coauthor of the enormously successful German television series " Kir Royal". Patrick Suskind lives & writes in Munich."