Jean-Baptiste Grenouille is born under his mother's table at the fish market, onto a pile of muddy fish guts, establishing from the beginning his repulsion for putrid scents. A childhood of neglect and, later, a job at a tannery, encourage Jean-Baptiste to develop his olfactory sense rather than his verbal skills. An opportunity to prove his worth to Parisian perfumist Giuseppe Baldini results in his immediate hire into a promising new career. His...