Silence Of The Lambs: The chilling crime classic, the bestselling thriller series behind the award-winning film (Hannibal Lecter): 2

The Silence of the Lambs is a media that I have been surrounded by my entire life. I remember being only four years old when I curled up with my Mother and watched the movie version, and watched Anthony Hopkins bring Hannibal Lecter to life. I remember when the television show was first aired, how my Mom and I instantly went out and brought popcorn and some snacks to curl up with and watch it together. It’s always been a part of my life, a horror classic passed on from my mother to myself, and I’m not entirely sure why it’s taken me so long to get around to reading the series itself. I first read Red Dragon back in either 2015 or 2016. I remember absolutely loving it, being immersed in Harris’ writing, devouring page after page to the point where my Mother had to actually snatch the book off of me so I would eat, go to sleep, and at one point, she had to take it off of me so I would actually go to college. It was confiscated from when I first woke up, until I got home from school. The Silence of the Lambs is absolutely, no exception. I had my doubts, at first. I doubted that Harris could ever get better than the first instalment of the series, and was really hesitant to read The Silence of the Lambs. I didn’t want such a beautiful story that holds so much meaning to me to be ruined by a sequel that didn’t live up to it’s predecessor. Luckily for me, I finally found the courage to pick up my heavy hard back copy, with a beautiful imprint of Harris’ logo on the front, and cracked open the first page. Almost immediately, I was travelling in time, to the exact moment of the story, and I was just lost. I was enamoured immediately and I was in love. I devoured the first fifty percent of this book in just one night, before I finally passed out, still hunched over the book, waking up in the morning to find myself using it as a pillow. I blearily read another chapter, only to fall asleep again and set it on my night stand to read the next night after I climbed into bed and turned my lamp on. Unfortunately, after this, I ended up flooded with work for other things, and had to pull a lot of all nighters just to get through the work load. But finally, finally, I managed to finish it, and settle back down with this book. Reading a few chapters a day was enough to get through this, and I am so immensely glad I managed to finally finish the book. Harris has, somehow managed, to exceed my expectations. He managed to make an even more beautiful book after Red Dragon and bring so much more to Hannibal Lecter’s world. To say I am impressed would be a massive understatement. Once again, Harris has brought to life a whole new world, in even more detail than he did before. The characters are so real, Clarice feels like my friend. Like my university dorm mate who sits and studies all night, and nags at me to do my work. Like my older sister, the wise one in the situations who carefully gives me advice. Crawford, the overprotective father of the bunch. Chilton, the annoying uncle that you never want to come over, but when he does, he throws a little cash your way to make you like him a little bit more. The whole cast… they feel like a family. The way Harris writes them has given them so much character, you just feel like you know them. They are people you could walk down the street and bump into. They are a strong cast, with plenty of strong female characters, and there’s just something about them all that’s so magical. The writing itself, is absolutely spectacular. Room into room, Jame Gumb's basement rambles like the maze that thwarts us in dreams. Harris has such an amazing way with writing, I was left speechless, especially by this line alone. He broke the fourth wall, connected to the readers, told them something about real life that we’ve all experienced, but still connected it to the story and flowed it through, without breaking the illusion of the story. That takes some serious writing skills. It’s not an easy talent to gain, and definitely not one that’s easy to keep up without practice. Harris worked, and he worked damn hard to keep his writing skills going, and to make this as beautiful as it was, in such a strange, almost gothic way. He was most definitely ahead of the game of other horror writers of the eighties. It’s hard to tell which character I love the most out of this book, and it’s a definite toss up between Clarice and Hannibal. Clarice, a strong independent woman who does not take the shit of men who look down on her. She mostly has control over her emotions, but not to a degree that is unrealistic. She’s shown to have trouble with certain aspects of her journey: [It’s shown when the Senator calls her a thief, and how it prickles under her skin late at night. (hide spoiler)] Then again, I really love Hannibal, and I’m not sure if that’s because of how much he has been in my life as a character, or if it’s the way Harris writes him, but believe me, I cheered and sobbed my way through his scenes. [I cried for half an hour when he reaches the hospital hotel (hide spoiler)] and honestly, my mother was so concerned when she found out I was sobbing my heart out over Hannibal Lecter. Oopsies? There was just so much from this book that really strung on my heart strings, and yet [when Bella died, I didn’t even bat an eye? (hide spoiler)] Maybe that’s just because that’s been such a part of the media surrounding Hannibal Lecter that I was expecting it, and it just wasn’t a shock at all when it happened, whereas if I had read it before, it probably would have made me sob. That’s my only problem, that doesn’t actually lie within the book – it’s due to me knowing too much about the world and the lore to not be affected fully when things happened, and it’s a downer, but again, that is my own fault. The main thing that struck me about this book, was Clarice’s resolve. How strong she is, and how she keeps going; she doesn’t let things get her down or stop her, and that really stuck with me. It has for a while now, and I dare say she’s even inspired me quite a bit. She’s such a good, strong character, and well before the “hype”, for lack of better wording, of strong female characters – that so many authors do wrong, in the era for them all. I don’t think there’s ever been a book I have enjoyed more than this. I was totally enamoured, I could not put it down, and the ending of this was absolutely wonderful. The ending really closed this all up and left no questions unanswered. It was a little calmer than the rest of the story, and that I do appreciate; the pacing changed just enough for it to be calming, soft, and relaxing, almost. I would definitely read this book again, and nothing about this make me think it deserves less than five stars.

This line will be forever etched in my memory! So creepy. And yet so memorable. The Silence of the Lambs is one of my favorite movies, by the way. It is a movie that I find deeply fascinating (I promise I'm not a serial killer). It never fails to give me chills. It's scary because it's realistic. Some the events of the film actually happened in real life. The novel is no less brilliant than the movie. Thomas Harris spent years researching the psychological profiles of serial killers. The book was inspired by the real-life relationship between criminology professor and profiler Robert Keppel and serial killer Ted Bundy. The Buffalo Bill character was actually a composite of three real-life killers: Ed Gein, Ted Bundy and Gary Heidnick. If that's not scary, I don't know what is. The book has a very strong dark, gothic feel to it. I could imagine myself as Clarice, walking down that cell corridor. You feel as though you're a character in the story. And that's not a place you want to be. Thomas Harris is a brilliant author. The Silence of the Lambs is one of the most gripping thrillers ever written. Same goes for its predecessor, Red Dragon. (The movie wasn't as good as the book. Forgive me Ralph Fiennes, my love!) What more can I say? The movie is awesome. The book is awesome. The characters are awesome. The plot is awesome. Everything is awesome. Except murdering people. No. Just, no. That's not awesome.

This is one of those stories which you don't ever forget. The minute you invest in the story line and characters, you find yourself drawn into this scary and intelligent world. It lives up to the hype, and went above and beyond my expectations. I haven't seen the film because I am worried it will destroy my memories of the book, but I have heard that the film is an excellent representation. I enjoyed this so much that I immediately purchased the entire 'series'. It is dark and scary, yet we still find ourselves trying to understand Lecter and his 'ways'. A truly great writer.

We’ve all seen the film. It’s outstanding. For a lot of people that’s enough but it shouldn’t be enough. As with a lot of books made into films, the book is better. Here is no different. Reading it and building the world yourself always outweighs tv/film. It’s beautifully and brutally written. Anyone can pick it up too. It’s an easy read in terms of style. Subject matter is obviously a different story. If you’re on the fence about reading this book, just read it. You won’t be sorry.

I've never seen the film, so thought I would read this before I watched it so I could compare the two. I was aware before buying it that this is the second book of the series, but somebody told me that I don't need to the read the first book to understand what's going on. I have to say, I am was really pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed reading this. I was expecting to so much heavier and more graphic. It's a very easy read and the pace of the story flows incredibly well as we follow trainee FBI agent Clarice Starling as she becomes embroiled in searching for a serial killer, while at the same time she has to deal with not only mind games from the notorious Hannibal Lecter but also scheming people who either want to see her fail or are driven by their own ambitions. The story itself had me gripped and I struggled to put it down. I wish I had read this sooner and I am really intrigued at how it all began, so I'm looking forward to reading Red Dragon.

Good book

After twenty years of loving the movie, I finally got around to reading the book; I'm now kicking myself that I took so long! Harris's brilliant book is an absolute joy to read - even if you have already seen the film. It's very easy to now see just why this book was such a sensation when it was first published back in 1988. It tells a brilliant and original story with verve, pace and skill. And for me, Hannibal Lector is simply the greatest villian of all time. One great thing about this book is that it helped me to fill in the gaps of the plot that the movie missed out. I now understand everything. The book dieviates slightly from the film, but is pretty faithfull. The only negative for me about this book was the American words that Harris sometimes uses, I needed my iPhone dictionary to help me out there! An excellet read.

This was one of the first scary films I ever saw at the cinema.So iconic but my word, it had an 18 rating and I’m not surprised. I read the book years later as I wanted to see what it was like. Scarier, different or ..dare I read it? Well yes I did and Anthony Hopkins was in my head the entire time. It was almost like an audiobook this one since the actors are so iconic to the roles, I heard the dialogue and saw the FBI offices…but then I also relived the more gory scenes too. IT was quite something to read a book like this when the film was so iconic. Largely filmed in and around Pennsylvania, I was intrigued to learn that the actual FBI training facilities allowed them to film there. Some trainees were said to have appeared in the film! Imagine having to communicate to a psychopath to get clues on how to track down a serial killer at large. It’s one of the grittiest, darkest thrillers I’ve ever read. The book gives more insight into an already dark world. Fascinating stuff.

This is an awesome book, I love it. You know all of the praise it has on it's back? it is totally true. However at times (mostly at the beginning) its hard to know which story/manuscript or idea was written (or begun) first (sorry for the redundancy): Red Dragon or Silence of the lambs. This is because I personally feel like Red Dragon was written only with the purpose of giving some characters background and this feeling ripples through the first pages of Silence of the lambs with even verbatim copies of dialog passed between both books. However as the book advances, echoes of the old characters/places/events (and dialog) dissappear into this beautiful masterpiece that is Silence of the lambs. Quality of the pocket book it's ok, however I think I'd opt for the kindle version myself the next time.

J'ai lu ce roman après avoir relu l'analyse narrative qu'en fait Shawn Coyne dans The Story Grid: What Good Editors Know (English Edition) , et avoir vu les deux saisons de la série Hannibal. On retrouve exactement le fil narratif du roman. C'est dire à quel point il se lit facilement, puisqu'il a fallu peu d'efforts aux scénaristes pour traduire en images la prose claire, nuancée et sombre de Thomas Harris. Comme avec Red Dragon ou Hannibal , j'ai admiré le talent de Thomas Harris. Et cela m'a redonné envie de lire les deux autres opus. Comme quoi, je suis sacrément con d'avoir attendu tout ce temps avant de le lire, craignant d'être déçu par rapport au film. NB: tous les livres que je cite doivent être disponibles sur Kindle… Mais je trouve pas.

This book was great! I loved the writing and its great to have a female protagonist in a crime book. I would love to read the rest of the series. Clarice Starling is a female FBI agent sent to talk to Hanibal "the canibal" Lecter. Hanibal is by far my favorite character because he is interestin and cool. Hemakes forshadowing clips every once in a while ("do you sew?") or sometimes his clip are just plain cool. He seems to have a very good...nose, as he can smell the sweat on a inmate and a fresh band-aid on Clarice. I loved his interaction with Clarice and was less worried about him killing people after escape, then him acually getting shot by police. The story is kind of far fetched in some ways (smelling a hidden band-aid, sewing skin to make a suit) but I loved the subplot--the story Clarice tells Dc. Lecter in which one year at her uncles farm she realizes horses were getting slaughtered and fed out to her and the family. She wakes up in the night to hear spring lambs screaming so she takes a blind horse an escapes from the farm. The horse, Hannah is taking to a nice center and she is taken back to her family. The only time "the silence of the lambs" is said is at the end, making the subplot (her relationship with Hanibal) more significant. I can only imaging Hanibal in his hockey mask, in full restraints and bond to a hnd truck. I loved the scene were he escapes, but it is slightly confusing and far fetched (wereing someones face?!?!) but I was worried the police force were going to blast Hanibal into (deserved?) oblivion. I liked they showed Buffalo Bills, Hanibals, and Catherines perspective. Silence of the lambs is absoloutly amazing-- more Hanibal reveiws to come.

Surpreendeu minhas expectativas. Fiquei completamente apaixonada com o livro ;)

In rereading Silence of the Lambs, Thomas Harris’s great thriller, a couple of things occur to me—first, what a masterful example of the genre this was, even beyond the clever plotting and the fluid movement of the action. I won’t synopsize the plot extensively except to say that Clarice Starling, a young female trainee for the FBI, is recruited to help catch a serial killer by enlisting the help of another serial killer, Hannibal Lecter, who's currently incarcerated but even more dangerous than the one she’s chasing. It’s the curious relationship that develops between these two characters that is at the heart of the story. Yes, there’s genuine shock value, but what sets this book apart from Harris's follow-up, Hannibal, is the real psychological acuity and the surprising compassion of Harris’s words. One example: “. . . the washing machine’s rhythm was like a great heartbeat and the rush of its waters was what the unborn hear—our last memory of peace.” Lovely asides such as this are not there to further the plot but they make you care about what you’re reading. It’s in the moments when harshness and casual cruelty intermingle with insight and sentiment (not the maudlin or tawdry kind) that the tension Harris builds becomes almost unbearable. In Hannibal, Harris had resorted to shock value for its own sake—albeit in the very polished, professional effort that it was. But shock value without genuine empathy rarely gets a square hit on the nerves. Silence is even more polished, and it hits every note clearly, hits every nerve in the center. This reader felt every considerable jolt at the core, and this after having read the book and seen the movie a handful of times over the years. There isn't much that feels forced or gratuitous as the action and pathos lead you down a path on which you’re not sure you want to go but from which you can’t go back. It’s unlikely you’ll forget a single overturned stone on that path. The other thing that occurred to me was how perfect the movie was as well—from the script and the casting—too bad there are no Academy Awards for casting—to the directing and acting. If you’re a fan of the suspense genre and haven’t read this yet, my god, you’re in for a treat. I wish I could go back and read it for the first time with no foreknowledge of what happens. And, no worries, the Kindle edition is well edited and faithful and includes an interesting introduction from Harris I had not seen before that provides background on his inspiration for the Lecter character. Enjoy!