#patrick suskind

[literaryvein-reblogs]

Writing Prompt: More Last Lines

Choose one of the last lines of these literary works, and either create a new story/poem or continue writing the story...

“I lingered round them, under that benign sky; watched the moths fluttering among the heath, and hare-bells; listened to the soft wind breathing through the grass; and wondered how any one could ever imagine unquiet slumbers for the sleepers in that quiet earth.” —Emily Brontë, Wuthering Heights (1847)

“For the first time they had done something out of Love.” —Patrick Süskind, Perfume: The Story of a Murderer (1985)

“Oh, my girls, however long you may live, I never can wish you a greater happiness than this.” —Louisa May Alcott, Little Women (1868)

“‘Darling,’ replied Valentine, ‘has not the count just told us that all human wisdom is summed up in two words?—‘Wait and hope.'” —Alexandre Dumas, The Count of Monte Cristo (1846)

“Later on he will understand how some men so loved her, that they did dare much for her sake.” —Bram Stoker, Dracula (1897)

“And now that you don’t have to be perfect, you can be good.” —John Steinbeck, East of Eden (1952)

“I just waited a bit, then turned back to the car, to drive off to wherever it was I was supposed to be.” —Kazuo Ishiguro, Never Let Me Go (2005)

“The strains of the piano and violin rose up weakly from below.” —Milan Kundera, The Unbearable Lightness of Being (1984)

“For all to be accomplished, for me to feel less lonely, all that remained to hope was that on the day of my execution there should be a huge crowd of spectators and that they should greet me with howls of execration.” —Albert Camus, The Stranger (1942)

“The knife came down, missing him by inches, and he took off.” —Joseph Heller, Catch-22 (1961)

If this writing prompt inspires you in any way, please tag me, or leave a link in the replies. I would love to read your work!

last lines pt. 1 ⚜ the first lines More: Writing Prompts

[pedroam-bang]

Perfume: The Story Of A Murderer (2006)

[morelightt]

"DEATH IS THE MOTHER OF BEAUTY"

- literary examples of death as tragic and beautiful in its terror

Ophelia, a beautiful, innocent girl created by Shakespeare, torn by emotions so much that in despair for her lost love, she throws herself into the arms of the river, drowning. This is clearly seen in Millais's painting. Despite her death, a young girl resists the influence of filthy water on the human body. Pale but healthy skin, rosy cheeks and pink lips desperately taking their last breath. A tragic moment captured in such a calm way. Ophelia remains forever beautiful and immortal in the eyes of the viewer.

"Perfume" by Patrick Süskind, a novel about a murderer who tries to capture the most beautiful smell. The smell of death in the form of perfume made from a young body. His victims are again little girls who die in a tragic, sometimes even parodic way, being brutally mercilessly harmed. But in the main character's eyes they still shine like stars in the sky, filling him with pure exhilaration. Especially that one woman who is his eternal inspiration.

Baudelaire creates something similar in the poem "the death of lovers". The couple on its deathbed is not concerned about the coming end. Their love seems to bloom even more, surrounded by fragrant flowers that fill their souls with peace and joy.

Finally, the story of Tristan and Isolde, another lovers, on whose grave a hawthorn grows. A symbol of their eternal love. From their dead bodies, corrupted by decay, something amazing in its beauty is created bearing witness to their everlasting connection.

It reminds me of the words of Edvard Munch: "From my rotting body, flowers shall grow and I am in them and that is eternity"

Writers, poets, whole literature itself create death in various ways. But showing it as a gateway to beauty is something particularly special. How death can it be glamorous, artistic and pleasing for our eyes. How to find it among tragedy, mourning, rotten skin and that disgusting smell of decay. And why show it this way at all?

"Because the world is so full of death and horror, I try again and again to console my heart and pick the flowers that grow in the midst of hell" - Hermann Hesse

[clearcloudlesssky]

GOD I NEED SOMEONE WHOS READ CRIME&PUNISHMENT AND PERFUME TO TALK TO ME

especially about raskolnikov vs grenouille like there's so many comparisons to make and i'm not eloquent enough to spit all of them out

like from the very beginning of c&p raskolnikov is almost uncomfortably human? he tries his best to isolate himself and alienate himself but in the end he's dragged back by a sense of humanity (via sonia?) and that's what redeems him

but on the other hand grenouille is characterized by his inhumanity, from the very beginning he feels anything but, even when he mingles with others (the scene where he goes into town wearing his 'human' scent for the first time) he feels like a wolf in sheeps clothing, and the fleece he's wearing only makes him look more wolfish

OK ONE OF THE BIGGEST THINGS: raskolnikov is obsessed with the idea of the extraordinary man, the superman, the napoleon. he commits the murder to find out if he is one of those supermen, and when confronted by the evidence that he isn't and probably will never be, his pride prevents him from acknowledging it.

whereas raskolnikov seeks a napoleon or a superman, grenouille almost unconsciously becomes/is one. where raskolnikov must actively seek to challenge and test his theory, grenouille carries it out with essentially no remorse, constantly (unknowingly and uncaringly) taking advantage of the law with absolutely no punishment or repercussion, and eventually becoming the said "napoleon" that raskolnikov may have hoped to become

imo raskolnikov is a man who hoped to become a napoleon, but was redeemed by the fact and realization that he was not. grenouille was a man not even aware of said 'napoleon', but became one of his own admission, transgressing the law as raskolnikov stated that he would have had the right to do, and creating a sense of godliness and greatness. BUT he also proves that raskolnikov's extraordinary man isn't really something to pursue, he feels nothing when he openly becomes a conquerer, rather that is the point where he feels the most empty. i think that that sort of idea is also shown in c&p? raskolnikov almost destroys himself in his pursuit of the extraordinary man, and grenouille shows that the extraordinary man is not such an extraordinary after all. i'm unsure about the thoughts here though haha. i want to come up with some binding statement, but i feel like saying "extraordinary man bad" isn't a good expression of my thoughts (there's also raskolnikov's dream at the end of the novel which connects to the topic but i don't wanna talk about what i've mostly forgotten)

so moving forward

raskolnikov's reasons for murdering alyona ivanovna were totally rational. the reasoning "she was useless/did more harm than good, therefore i can kill her" was coldly logical, and is a awesome representation of how necessary the balance of logic and emotion is (sort of like science? it's a sense of just because you can doesn't mean you should, and the main thing overpowering the "can" is morals and emotion, which combats that cold rationality of the "can")

grenouille's reasons for murdering are very passionate, the first time he kills isn't premeditated at all, he finds a scent he likes, and in a fit of pleasure hunts it down and absorbs it. he's a representative of the opposite end of the spectrum. where raskolnikov represents the evildoing of relying solely on logic, grenouille is the wickedness of only following your emotion, which can definitely also be harmful, maybe even more so

when raskolnikov commits his murder, he's totally overcome by a near masochistic need for redemption (or you can just say he becomes more unhinged/mentally unstable than he already was)

when grenouille kills for the first time he has no such feelings or thoughts, it just happens and he all but forgets about it, and even goes on to repeat the action. he shows absolutely no remorse and given the chance he's definitely kill the first girl again (raskolnikov would not. i'm sort of of the opinion he doesn't feel guilt for killing alyona herself, but he feels remorse for the crime in general and probably lizaveta idk i'll talk about it later maybe)

Raskolnikov's sense of humanity and togetherness? is brought back into him via Sonia&co, and basically the majority of the book is his punishment/start of regeneration. Grenouille is alone from the very beginning, he has absolutely no one and he never gets that redemption. (i loved the ending of perfume so much)

there's a little bit more in my head and this was super scattered and random but i can't persuade anyone else ik to read both of these and talk to me about it and my english teacher scares me so this is the best i can do - please feel free to debate me or say more!!

[il3x]

open call to everyone whose mind was rewired at any point by Perfume: The Story Of A Murderer. go read the lyrics of scapegoat by ghost and pals

[throes-of-increasing-wonder]

me retreating to my bedroom to rot after a long day of overstimulation

[vivipivi]

current read ྀིྀི ♥️

[redheartstollen]

"Until now he had thought that it was the world in general he wanted to squirm away from. But it was not the world, it was the people in it. You could live, so it seemed, in this world, in this world devoid of humanity."

~ "Perfume" by Patrick Suskind

[bluebellsinthelibrary]

Day 2 of the TRCC Readathon:

Murder by candlelight (40% → 51% done)

Perfume (14% → 24% done)

The Sussex Vampire (not started)

Stalker (5% → 13% done)

Jumped between stories today because I had to swutch between audio book, eboo and physical copy. I'm also surprised that Perfume is such an easy read for me because a lot of my friends said that they had problems with all of the descriptions but those don't bother me at all. But then again I'm only at the beginning.

[the7thnovelgirl]

He saw himself in the arms of a woman with black curls and saw the silhouette of a bouquet of roses on the windowsill, through which a night breeze was blowing; he heard birdsong echoing and the distant music of a tavern in the harbour; he heard a whisper in his ear, he heard an "I love you" and felt voluptuousness ruffle his hair, there, now, at this very moment! He suddenly opened his eyes and let out a deep sigh of pleasure. This perfume was not one we had ever known before.

It wasn't a perfume that made you smell better, it wasn't a smell-good, it wasn't a toiletry. It was something entirely new, capable of creating a whole universe of its own, a lush, enchanted universe, and you suddenly forgot everything that was disgusting about the world around you, and you felt so rich, so good, so free, so happy.

The perfume , Patrick Susking

[james-joyces-right-eyeball]

Favorite Books I Read in 2023

Not including rereads and in no particular order, here are the books I loved the most this year.

Titles & Authors, from top left to bottom:

Fluids by May Leitz

Nevada by Imogen Binnie

Sexing the Cherry by Jeanette Winterson

Perfume: Story of a Murderer by Patrick Suskind

Valencia by Michelle Tea

The Sheltering Sky by Paul Bowles

Ada, or Ardor by Vladimir Nabokov

Summer by Edith Wharton

"The Echo & the Nemesis", "Life is No Abyss", "The Interior Castle", "Bad Characters", and "In the Zoo" by Jean Stafford

Bad Behavior by Mary Gaitskill

Pedro Paramo by Juan Rulfo

Crash by J.G. Ballard

I, Tituba, Black Witch of Salem by Maryse Conde

Erasure by Percival Everett

Persuasion by Jane Austen

White Noise by Don DeLillo

Maud Martha by Gwendolyn Brooks

Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro

White Teeth by Zadie Smith

The French Lieutenant's Woman by John Fowles

The Passion by Jeanette Winterson

Ghosts of my Life: Writings on Depression, Hauntology, & Lost Futures by Mark Fisher

Girl Flesh by May Leitz

Here's to a new year, full of great reading!

[lilli-isa]

new book:)

[andreai04]

Odors have a power of persuasion stronger than that of words, appearances, emotions, or will. The persuasive power of an odor cannot be fended off, it enters into us like breath into our lungs, it fills us up, imbues us totally. There is no remedy for it.

[fandomsarelikecocaine]

It is my personal headcanon that Jean-Baptiste Grenuille had antisocial personality disorder and autism. Might read the entire novel again just to keep notes and analyse his character once more.

[hannamichelle-seraf]

[mouldynoodles]

Am I tripping or is senseless apprentice by nirvana about perfume the story of a murderer by Patrick Suskind

I was listening to in Utero and thought ermm this sounds suspiciously like the start of one of my favourite novels 🤓🤓

@just-an0ther-wh0re could you confirm my suspicions?? you probably know more about Nirvana than me