“He decided in favor of life out of sheer spite and malice.”

Grenouille chose to be a menace to the world and knew how to do it well.

A disgustingly fascinating book, Perfume: The Story of a Murderer vividly captures the feeling of isolation and being left out among the people around you—depicting the rotting effects of such to one's mind, and how they find solace in it no matter how twisted it can be. With how well the prose was written, it was able to tangibly portray the drive of the character to attain his goals and the lengths that he'd go to have something in his possession. Overall, what I find interesting about Süskind's writing is that he used his language well to the point where you can't help but be an empath towards a murderer.