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A review by captain_clo
The Silence of the Lambs by Thomas Harris
dark
informative
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
I am a MASSIVE Hannibal fan. Haha, that makes it sound like I'm a Cannibal fangirl (Fannibal? haha) but I watched the film at a ridiculously young age and loved it; I honestly thought nothing could top it. Then I watched NBC Hannibal a month or two after it came out and it blew my mind. It's my favourite show of all time (or, at the very least, in the Top 3!).
So I figured I'd return to the source material!!
Oh, quick note, I absolutely loved the first novel - but reading it is not necessary to understand Silence of the Lambs...though it does lend a deeper context to quite a few characters.
I honestly thought I could not love a character as much as Will Graham. Empathetic, dog-loving, fisherman Will Graham. But Clarice Starling really charmed me. She's blunt in a truthful way, she's warm but not a doormat, and she's so incredibly persevering that it's no wonder Hannibal takes a shining to her. The way that Thomas Harris writes characters is so relatably real - it's like these people really exist out there in the world somewhere. Which is an incredible feat - that they're that nuanced when Harris' writing style is quite blunt and can, at times, be quite technical.
I can see why the film/s and tv show were so good when they had this kind of source material! I can't wait to read the next two!!!
So I figured I'd return to the source material!!
Oh, quick note, I absolutely loved the first novel - but reading it is not necessary to understand Silence of the Lambs...though it does lend a deeper context to quite a few characters.
I honestly thought I could not love a character as much as Will Graham. Empathetic, dog-loving, fisherman Will Graham. But Clarice Starling really charmed me. She's blunt in a truthful way, she's warm but not a doormat, and she's so incredibly persevering that it's no wonder Hannibal takes a shining to her. The way that Thomas Harris writes characters is so relatably real - it's like these people really exist out there in the world somewhere. Which is an incredible feat - that they're that nuanced when Harris' writing style is quite blunt and can, at times, be quite technical.
I can see why the film/s and tv show were so good when they had this kind of source material! I can't wait to read the next two!!!
Minor: Body horror, Body shaming, Confinement, Torture, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, and Cannibalism
I'm not sure about labelling this novel as having transphobia, seeing as the book states in multiple ways that the killer is not transgender - but I would still be very, very wary of reading this if transphobia is a trigger of yours.