There are two ways for one to interpret this book; On the one hand, you could view this as a thriller with a very spooky atmosphere, raw descriptions and, probably, the best and most frightening depiction of a "psycho killer". This story is all about the world of scents, a world we can't quite capture and comprehend with our given senses, unlike our protagonist. The way smells and the character's understanding of them are presented is so surreal that they're challenging to perceive; it blew me away. This book has a very unique writing and plot. It's almost haunting. However, it is possible to take this one step further and consider this novel as a big metaphor of the way society works. As an outcry reporting the humanity humans lack of. Perfume can be much more than a deeply psychological thriller, since it has a philosophical aspect to it. It feels as if the hideous human smells the protagonist is so disgusted by could work as an analogy for the cruelty of humans who treat each other so heartlessly and take advantage of one another with such ease. The character finds people and the superficial relationships between them repulsive and wants to hide away from them and make himself their God, even though he feels like everyone is his inferior. And ... I don't know... that felt so realistic considering people's tendancy to preach how civilized they are when, in reality, humans are the worst beasts.