Süskind was born in Ambach, Bavaria. His father was writer and journalist, Wilhelm Emanuel Süskind, who worked for the newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung and was the co-author of the well-known publication Aus dem Wörterbuch des Unmenschen (From the Dictionary of an Inhuman), a critical collection of essays concerning the language of the Nazi era.[3] His mother, Annemarie Süskind, née Schmitt, was a sports teacher; his older brother Martin Erhard Süskind [de] (1944–2009) was a journalist and speechwriter.[1][2]
After his qualification testing for university and his mandatory community service, Süskind studied medieval and modern history at the University of Munich and in Aix-en-Provence from 1968 to 1974, but never graduated.[1] Funded by his parents, he relocated to Paris, where he wrote "mainly short, unpublished fiction and longer screenplays which were not made into films".[4]
Career
In 1981, he had his first major success with the play Der Kontrabaß (The Double Bass), which was conceived originally as a radio play. During the theatrical season of 1984–85, the play was performed more than 500 times. The only role is that of a tragi-comical orchestra musician. During the 1980s, working with the director Helmut Dietl, Süskind was also successful as a screenwriter for the television productions Monaco Franze (1983) and Kir Royal (1987), among others. In 1996 he won the Screenplay Prize of the German Department for Culture for his screenplay of Rossini [de], directed by Dietl. He rejected other awards, such as the FAZ-Literaturpreis, the Toucan Prize, and the Gutenberg Prize.
His best-known work is the novel Perfume: The Story of a Murderer (1985). Perfume was on the bestselling list of the German weekly news magazine Der Spiegel for nine years, has been translated into 49 languages and as of 2019[update] has worldwide sales of more than 20 million copies.[2] In the early 2000s, it was included in the BBC's poll-generated list of the 100 best-loved novels.[5] Also, it was adapted into a 2006 film directed by Tom Tykwer.[1][2][6][7] Süskind has also published a novella, The Pigeon (1988), The Story of Mr Sommer (1991, illustrated by French cartoonist Sempé), Three Stories and a Reflection (1996), and an essay, On Love and Death (2006).[1][2]
Personal life
Süskind lives a reclusive, private lifestyle and divides his time between Munich and France. He rarely grants interviews and few photographs of him have been published.[1][2]
His spouse is the German publisher Tanja Graf [de], with whom he has a son.[8]
Drei Geschichten und eine Betrachtung (Three Stories and a Reflection) (stories, 1996) [Contents: Depth Wish, A Battle, Maître Mussard's Bequest, Amnesia in Litteris.]
^"The book doesn't smell either": Dietmar Kammerer interviews director Tom Tykwer, at Sign and Sight, 20 September 2006 (originally appeared in German in Die Tageszeitung on 14 September 2006).
