Biography of Patrick Suskind (1949-)

Patrick Suskind

Born in Ambach, near Munich, Germany. Süskind studied medieval and modern history at the universities of Munich and Aix-en-Provence. It has been said that he originally aspired to be a concert pianist, but had some problem with his hands. Süskind began his writing career a playwright, his first play (and international success), The Double Bass (Der Kontrabass) was performed in Germany, Switzerland, Scotland, London, and New York. He has written for television and films, and Perfume: The Story of a Murderer has been adapted for the screen.

He is the son of the late Wilhelm Emanuel Süskind, a journalist and writer on language. He lives in Munich, Paris, and Montolieu, France, and is reclusive. He has refused awards for his writing, and never grants interviews. His fictional works, though differing in voice from each other, contain playful and even flippant "revisions of important philosophical and psychological problems" (Adams, "Patrick Suskind"). He is known for having put not-so-thiny veiled barbs in his fiction, directed at critics. For example, a writer in his essay "Amnesie in litteris" cannot remember anything he has read, making anything he writes later completely free of plagiarism. This was in response to critics "who characterized the citational style of Das Parfüm as plagiarism" (Ibid).

Süskind has written for both television and film, including the film Rossini. While the tone of this satire about the film industry is ironic, much as Perfume is, this is an ensemble piece involving many characters. Perfume focuses on one character and his obsessions. Süskind's play Der Kontrabass also focuses on one character, a social outcast not unlike Grenouille. This is the play which made him famous, and is still widely performed. His other works include the novellas The Pigeon, and The Story of Mr. Sommer, a collection of stories Drei Geschichten und eine Betrachtung and essays entitled On Love and Death.