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16th out of 474 books
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The Silence of the Lambs (Hannibal Lecter #2)
As part of the search for a serial murderer nicknamed "Buffalo Bill," FBI trainee Clarice Starling is given an assignment. She must visit a man confined to a high-security facility for the criminally insane and interview him.
That man, Dr. Hannibal Lecter, is a former psychiatrist with unusual tastes and an intense curiosity about the darker corners of...more
That man, Dr. Hannibal Lecter, is a former psychiatrist with unusual tastes and an intense curiosity about the darker corners of...more
Paperback, 338 pages
Published
2002
by Arrow
(first published January 1st 1975)
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CONTENT ANNOUNCEMENT: Out of respect for Thomas Harris’s superb novel, I have decided that no pictures of ANTHONY HOPKINS will appear in this review. Thank you for your understanding.
4.0 to 4.5 stars. Another one of those terrific situations where I saw the movie first (and loved it) and then eventually decided to read the book... and loved it too. Score!!! Now assuming that most people not suffering from the after-effects of severe head trauma know the basic plot concerning FBI trai...more
4.0 to 4.5 stars. Another one of those terrific situations where I saw the movie first (and loved it) and then eventually decided to read the book... and loved it too. Score!!! Now assuming that most people not suffering from the after-effects of severe head trauma know the basic plot concerning FBI trai...more
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Lou
rated it
I need to get round reading this, whats put me off is that the movie has been played on the TV so many times now Clarice and Lecter are quite vivid in my mind. I am sure the book has lot more to offer as Harris is one of my high ranking thriller writers.
Some trivia on the movie...
Like "Casablanca", this movie contains a famous misquoted line: most people quote Lecter's famous "Good evening, Clarice" as "Hello, Clarice." This is not a misquote from...more
Call me a freak, but I have a bit of a crush on Hannibal Lecter. He may be the scariest fuck out there (certainly scarier than the supposed monster of the book, Buffalo Bill), but he just oozes style and knowledge. In fact, he has so much style and knowledge that he doesn't come off as a ridiculous prick when he says things like, 'A census taker tried to quantify me once. I ate his liver with some fava beans and a big Amarone'* or 'Can you smell his sweat? That peculiar goatish odour is trans-3-...more
A creep fest or gore fest that I read some time ago. I was into "audio books" in my work vehicle at the time, listening to books between jobs and on my commute rather than the radio....I listened to this book. Was I crazy or something?
I've never read anything else by Harris. My wife was the "horror" fan (and no matter what genre this book gets placed in officially it really belongs with horror). She "read, Red Dragon" (read that out loud and it sounds a ...more
I've never read anything else by Harris. My wife was the "horror" fan (and no matter what genre this book gets placed in officially it really belongs with horror). She "read, Red Dragon" (read that out loud and it sounds a ...more
I can smell your cunt!
Imagine if you are a woman and you are alone walking in a dark hallway of a solitary confinement in a hospital for criminally insane. You are about to meet a serial killer who eats his victims' brain, sweetbreads, liver, etc. Then after meeting that killer, you hear that same man again saying I sliced my wrist so I can bleed, watch me die! and you feel splatters of liquid on your face that you thought to be blood, only to realize that it is semen.
I s...more
Imagine if you are a woman and you are alone walking in a dark hallway of a solitary confinement in a hospital for criminally insane. You are about to meet a serial killer who eats his victims' brain, sweetbreads, liver, etc. Then after meeting that killer, you hear that same man again saying I sliced my wrist so I can bleed, watch me die! and you feel splatters of liquid on your face that you thought to be blood, only to realize that it is semen.
I s...more
Honestly, I read this what, twenty years ago. It was way before the movie. I think it's Thomas Harris' opus because it still rocks twenty years later. Clarice is struggling with her entry into FbI-dom. She wants to do the right thing. Jack Crawford throws her at Hannibal Lecter and well, let's just say that you may never want to visit a psychiatrist, just in case. Seriously, Thomas Harris must have taken a criminal investigator's bath to write this. Wonderfully suspenseful. Definitely cr...more
I'm assuming this book was once shocking and groundbreaking. And okay, yes, eww with the eating people and the skinning. But also? Shut the fuck up, Thomas Harris. There are few things more obnoxious than a male author with a hard-on for his female protagonist. Worth reading for Hannibal the Cannibal, because I dig that abnormal psychology stuff, but did I mention the objectification? The sexism? The way the reader is never allowed to forget
about gender? How every male she meets falls for ...more
about gender? How every male she meets falls for ...more
I read this book so long ago but I remember that I have never been more scared while reading a book. I even made my dog sleep in the bed with me (a very bad habit to start)
What was I thinking? I read The Silence of the Lambs in a wooded, secluded area. It was like taking a shower after watching Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho. Creepy.
Clarice Starling, FBI agent in training is sent to the Baltimore mental institution to interview Hannibal Lecter, a former psychiatrist who was locked up for have acquired a taste for human flesh. At present, another case is pending involving young women who's bodies are found among riverbanks with their skins slash away. The serial ...more
Clarice Starling, FBI agent in training is sent to the Baltimore mental institution to interview Hannibal Lecter, a former psychiatrist who was locked up for have acquired a taste for human flesh. At present, another case is pending involving young women who's bodies are found among riverbanks with their skins slash away. The serial ...more
To stop one killer
Clarice Starling
Must delve into the mind of another Killer
Will she make it out alive
Or will there be Silence?
My all time favorite novel and Film! Everything from the repressed protagonist fighting her way to fame and acceptance. To the utterly unmatched Hannibal Lecter oozing with the knowledge and terror of the most devious serial killers and at the same time holding the composure of the suavest of politicians. I would never change a s...more
Clarice Starling
Must delve into the mind of another Killer
Will she make it out alive
Or will there be Silence?
My all time favorite novel and Film! Everything from the repressed protagonist fighting her way to fame and acceptance. To the utterly unmatched Hannibal Lecter oozing with the knowledge and terror of the most devious serial killers and at the same time holding the composure of the suavest of politicians. I would never change a s...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
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The movie version of this chilling tale is a classic, and Hannibal Lecter a legend among characters. Very few people, however, know about its origins as a bestselling paperback, albeit with just average writing.
Clarice Starling is an agent in training at the FBI center in Quantico when her boss, Jack Crawford, enlists her help in profiling Hannibal Lecter, a gifted psychologist who killed nine people and ate their body parts. He’s been in lockup for nine years now, but even behind a Pl...more
Clarice Starling is an agent in training at the FBI center in Quantico when her boss, Jack Crawford, enlists her help in profiling Hannibal Lecter, a gifted psychologist who killed nine people and ate their body parts. He’s been in lockup for nine years now, but even behind a Pl...more
Over all, I liked this book, though there were a couple things that bothered me. First was Buffalo Bill's motivation. While Hannible Lecter at one point refers to psychoanalysis as a "dead religion" (which it's thankfully on the fast-track to becoming), it's clear that Harris seems to put some stock in it, as he hints heavily that Bill's mother had something to do with Bill being a psycho. Harris doesn't go into any details as to why Bill is crazy or what his mother had to do with i...more
Reviewed at : Mama Kucing Books : Silence of the Lambs by Thomas Haris
I guess this book does not need much of an introduction.
This is a good book. Hannibal was really psycho and love to play games with minds. Manipulative. Well, can't blame him. Maybe he learn from his folks and the people around him
Have you noticed that parents loves to play mind games too? Especially the older generation. They would pit one siblings against another and later on wonder why the sib...more
I guess this book does not need much of an introduction.
This is a good book. Hannibal was really psycho and love to play games with minds. Manipulative. Well, can't blame him. Maybe he learn from his folks and the people around him
Have you noticed that parents loves to play mind games too? Especially the older generation. They would pit one siblings against another and later on wonder why the sib...more
I really love the movie. Jodie Foster rocks. I like everything I've ever seen her in going back to her appearance on the Kung Fu television series when she was like 10. The movie is very true to the book. They are both good.
The book has very interesting characters and uses imagery in interesting ways. Structure is also good.
I am always interested in mythic depictions of good/evil. Starling is good in so many ways, from her down-home mannerisms to her strength and intell...more
The book has very interesting characters and uses imagery in interesting ways. Structure is also good.
I am always interested in mythic depictions of good/evil. Starling is good in so many ways, from her down-home mannerisms to her strength and intell...more
So far, I like the movie better. It's a bit cleaner and better refined. There are a few places where it gets into the heads of characters better in the book, but otherwise, I like the movie better so far. I especially like the story of how the Title came about better in the movie. It makes far more sense, and is a little more poignant and heart-breaking.
Clarice Starling is a braver and more durable character in the book so far, but Jodie Foster's portrayal of her is so epic and c...more
Clarice Starling is a braver and more durable character in the book so far, but Jodie Foster's portrayal of her is so epic and c...more
I've come to an interpretation of Thomas Harris' The Silence of the Lambs that's far different from what I thought when I first read it. When I first got hold of the paperback, a few weeks after the film adaptation came out but before I had a chance to see it, I thought the villain was the bad guy who had freedom to move around, select new victims, and threaten to practice his depravities on them: the Buffalo Bill whackjob. Of course, the agent-in-training Clarice Starling was the hero of the ...more
The Silence of the Lambs
I found myself a little disappointed when reading this much spoken of story, of which I enjoyed the motion picture. This usually isn’t the case. In the past when, reading the true origin of a movie, The Book, it tended to add to the experience, and at times be even better.
Regretfully this wasn’t the case with this particular novel. I found the writing style lacking a flow that would have allowed me to be swept along with the story, and that is a terrible...more
I found myself a little disappointed when reading this much spoken of story, of which I enjoyed the motion picture. This usually isn’t the case. In the past when, reading the true origin of a movie, The Book, it tended to add to the experience, and at times be even better.
Regretfully this wasn’t the case with this particular novel. I found the writing style lacking a flow that would have allowed me to be swept along with the story, and that is a terrible...more
I can't say that I had high expectations for this book, which turned out to be a good thing. I felt like I was reading an episode of Law & Order. There was zero in the way of character development. Sure, I knew what school the protagonist was going to and basic information about her room mate and a flashback here and there to her childhood. But overall, I didn't really get to know or care about the characters.
I kept waiting for it to get scary but it really didn't do it for me. The t...more
I kept waiting for it to get scary but it really didn't do it for me. The t...more
I’m not sure what compelled me to read this book, other than I found it at my mother-in-law’s house, picked it up and never put it down again. I didn’t think I’d seen the film, but later I described a couple of scenes to Mr C, who confirmed they were from the film. I did not recall the story though, or how the scenes linked together – I was sure it was all about Lector, but really there’s a whole other crime to be investigated.
Anyway, the book was really good. I read it every opportunity I could...more
Anyway, the book was really good. I read it every opportunity I could...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
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A few gripes with head-hopping and shifting between past and present tense, but otherwise an engrossing novel. Excellent characterization, description of settings, and research into the criminal mind.
Good job on show, not tell. One example: FBI Trainee Clarice Starling visited a home during an investigation. "Everywhere boxes stacked waist high, filling the rooms, passageways among them, cardboard cartons filled with lampshades and canning lids, picnic hampers, back numbers of Re...more
Good job on show, not tell. One example: FBI Trainee Clarice Starling visited a home during an investigation. "Everywhere boxes stacked waist high, filling the rooms, passageways among them, cardboard cartons filled with lampshades and canning lids, picnic hampers, back numbers of Re...more
It’s a classic thriller of good vs. evil, a beautifully intricate tale of character study and how mere conversations could induce a lot of thinking for the reader, and a harrowing look at insanity. The film was good, and many said the book was good. I myself think it is brilliant, though I subtracted one less star because of the rather complex writing (which lessened the thrill) and too much detail crammed in some chapters. Harris bombards us with FBI-talk without mercy, which can end up confusi...more
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Really enjoyed Silence of the Lambs even though I had seen the film first so there were no surprises or twists. It is well paced with a good balance between plot and character development without the tedium of being overly descriptive. It was actually quite an addictive read seeing as how I haven't actually sat down with a book for a while (PS3 break down forced me into it). I should point out that I have never read any of Thomas Harris's other works, Red Dragon etc. so I can't really rate it...more
Excellent book, Starling is one of the best crafted female characters I've ever read, with a male author. She is so realistic that I wondered how Harris got inside the female brain so well. He wrote such a strong heroine. I've found that male authors I've read either write weak females or if they write stong female characters they immediately strip them of their femininity. I felt Chrichten was like that, when he creates strong females he can't wait to tell you how they are unlike other wome...more
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Real page-turner. Good language - I loved things like: "The fire lights glowed red in the Insect Zoo, reflected in ten thousand active eyes of the older phylum. The humidifier hummed and hissed. Beneath the cover, in the black cage, the Death's-head Moth climbed down the nightshade. She moved across the floor, her wings trailing like a cape, and found the bit of honeycomb in her dish. Grasping the honeycomb in her powerful front legs, she uncoiled her sharp proboscis and plunged it through ...more
A stellar page-turner that surprises with its profound literary character development of its lead characters. Clarice Starling's recollections of her youth put other literary flashbacks to shame. She's such a rich character that I'd recommend this book to literary folk who don't necessarily follow thrillers and crime fictions.
Gustave Flaubert would admire how little the narrator makes judgments about Clarice, Hannibal, and Jame Gumb. Thomas Harris builds an outrageous premise, and he...more
Gustave Flaubert would admire how little the narrator makes judgments about Clarice, Hannibal, and Jame Gumb. Thomas Harris builds an outrageous premise, and he...more
The movie made from this book is one of my favorites. Some people think it's odd that it took me so long to read the original story, but I'm wary of either being disappointed in the book based on preconceived notions from the movie or finding that the movie is such a poor interpretation of a great book that the film is ruined for me. Surprisingly, neither happened in this case. Sure, there are some departures from the book's storyline in the film. In some cases, the book version is better. ...more
| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Presence of Male Chauvinism | 4 | 56 | Jul 20, 2011 08:52pm | |
| Black Witch Moth | 6 | 59 | Jul 05, 2011 01:31am | |
| Great Movie | 6 | 26 | Apr 04, 2011 08:20pm |
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Thomas Harris began his writing career covering crime in the United States and Mexico, and was a reporter and editor for the Associated Press in New York City. His first novel, Black Sunday, was printed in 1975, followed by Red Dragon in 1981, The Silence of the Lambs in 1988, Hannibal in 1999, and Hannibal Rising in 2006.
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“I ate his liver with some fava beans and a nice chianti”
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“When the Fox hears the Rabbit scream he comes a-runnin', but not to help.”
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