Strangest book I’ve even read… the ending was so ‘Stranger’ coded

Someone recommended this book to me almost six years ago and I regretfully chose to wait until now to read it. I should have known, given that every single time I would prop it up on the bus, in a coffee shop, or even at work (shh) people would have some reaction. Some would go, "Oh my gosh, you're in for a story." Others, like an acquaintance from school passing by on his bike, said "Ugh, yeah that's very popular over in Russia. It's brutal, no? Everyone hates him, right?" I took all comments with a heavy, dense grain of salt.

What I really liked about the story was that it was refreshing. The beginning started out like a lot of books taking place in 1780 Europe. Talking about the city... the sights... the smells, okay, well actually, that's precisely where this book differed. Every scent was described so incredibly well. It was like this book was a scratch and sniff without the actual scratching and sniffing. And while the middle was a big dragged out and I think the character of Grenouille was absolutely horrific, I loved the idea; that we are attracted to people from what we think are outward appearances, but might actually just be their essence. It's definitely a new favorite.

Favorite quotes:

- “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.”
** - “He possessed the power. He held it in his hand. A power stronger than the power of money or the power of terror or the power of death: the invincible power to command the love of mankind. There was only one thing that power could not do: it could not make him able to smell himself.”
- “This scent had a freshness, but not the freshness of limes or pomegranates, not the freshness of myrrh or cinnamon bark or curly mint or birch or camphor or pine needles, not that of a May rain or a frosty wind or of well water... and at the same time it had warmth, but not as bergamot, cypress, or musk has, or jasmine or daffodils, not as rosewood has or iris... This scent was a blend of both, of evanescence and substance, not a blend, but a unity, although slight and frail as well, and yet solid and sustaining, like a piece of thin, shimmering silk... and yet again not like silk, but like pastry soaked in honey-sweet milk - and try as he would he couldn't fit those two together: milk and silk! This scent was inconceivable, indescribable, could not be categorized in any way - it really ought not to exist at all. And yet there it was as plain and splendid as day.”

I started off thinking this book was okay, maybe 4 stars. Then continued reading and bumped it down to 3. Continuing further it dropped down to 2 before finally ending up at 1. I didn’t find the story intriguing. I found Grenouille as a character to be boring. Just another “misunderstood genius” who gets away with doing terrible things. The side characters were the most interesting part of the story. And if you took Grenouille out of it completely maybe I would’ve enjoyed this. But as it is, I could hardly wait for it to be over so I’d never have to read about this character again.