Perfume by Patrick Suskind

Perfume by Patrick Suskind'Witty, stylish and ferociously absorbing' Observer Jean Baptiste Grenouille is abandoned on the filthy streets of eighteenth century Paris as a baby, but grows up to discover he has an extraordinary gift: a sense of smell more powerful than any other human's. Gradually he learns how to exploit this gift in the art of creating the most sublime perfumes in France. Yet there is one scent he cannot capture: the scent of an innocent young virgin. In order

politics and globalisation with power and erudition

ranging from hikes of a few hours’ duration to day-long treks and the three-day ordeal in St Patrick’s Purgatory

What could go wrong when a wife pawns the mink coat that her lover gave her as a parting gift

a whiff of regret

and was not sent to school

parents and children

In this masterpiece of nature writing

In the deadly chaos of the First World War

And they are multi-layered - from carp circling the bottom to water boatmen

She is far from home - and homesick

just when they think Mr Fox can't possibly escape

and the vulnerability of exposure to its loss