The A-Z Blog Challenge, Letter P

Letter P of My Favourite Books by title

Two authors - One genre

Horror, but two very different styles 

The first, Perfume, by German author, Partick Suskind. Here's the blurb:

In the slums of eighteenth-century France, the infant Jean-Baptiste Grenouille is born with one sublime gift—an absolute sense of smell. As a boy, he lives to decipher the odors of Paris, and apprentices himself to a prominent perfumer who teaches him the ancient art of mixing precious oils and herbs. But Grenouille's genius is such that he is not satisfied to stop there, and he becomes obsessed with capturing the smells of objects such as brass doorknobs and fresh-cut wood. Then one day he catches a hint of a scent that will drive him on an ever-more-terrifying quest to create the "ultimate perfume"—the scent of a beautiful young virgin. Told with dazzling narrative brilliance, Perfume is a hauntingly powerful tale of murder and sensual depravity.

I had no expectation of this book when I read it and I was amazed at it's literary style along with the detail of the main character's ability to smell. It's described in such a way that you can all but smell what the character can smell. It made me really think about my sense of smell. And this is then combined with what is really a horror story as it is indeed the story of a murderer, who kills for a particular scent so he can gain power. Despite it being an incredible concept - to gain power using a particular scent - it is written in a way that makes it perfectly plausible.

It's the type of story and book that lingers. You don't have to be a horror reader to enjoy this book as it doesn't really fit into the horror genre in that way. It is far more of a literary book. Worth a read.

***

The second, The Plant, by Stephen King. Here's the blurb:
 

The Plant is an unfinished serial novel published in 2000 as an e-book by American author Stephen King.

The novel is about an editor in a paperback publishing house who gets a manuscript from what appears to be a crackpot. The manuscript is about magic, but it also contains photographs that seem very real. The editor writes the author a rejection slip, but because of the photographs, he also notifies the police where the author lives. This enrages the author, who sends a mysterious plant to the editor's office.

The story is told in epistolary format, consisting entirely of letters, memos and correspondence.

Yes, we are back to Stephen King. Sorry, couldn't stay away for long.

The Plant was King's debut or trail run with ebooks. He gave this one away for free in a serial format. Sadly though has, as yet, to finish the story. I really hope he does as it really is worth it. I really want to know what happens with the planet that is taking over the office!

Here's a Stephen King tidbit - or anecdote:

When his children were small and he took them to the cinema, they wanted to sit down the front every time, which he didn't like, so he told that that the reason they couldn't sit down the front was because they would fall into the movie and not be able to get out again. He supported the possibility of this by pointing out the people in the background of movies and saying "See all those people? You don't think they pay all those people, do you? Those are people that sat down the front and fell into the movie and can never get out again!" 😄

Despite him spinning this scary story, he's never developed it into a book!