Miles Ovadia★ Curator · Lv 5
todayLecter is the most terrifying character in fiction because he's the most intelligent. Flawless.
Thriller
The Silence of the Lambs
4.6· 1,181 ratings
Published 1988352 pagesEnglishTerrifying · Brilliant
A census taker once tried to test me. I ate his liver with some fava beans and a nice Chianti.
Why read it
A young FBI trainee is sent to interview a brilliant, imprisoned killer, and to catch one monster she must bargain with another who can see straight through her.
The premise
Harris pits fledgling agent Clarice Starling against the caged psychiatrist and cannibal Hannibal Lecter, whose insight she needs to hunt a serial killer called Buffalo Bill. The novel is a masterclass in tension, built on the deadly negotiation between a woman finding her strength and a predator who trades secrets for hers.
The story behind it
Harris published the novel in 1988; the 1991 film adaptation swept the top five Academy Awards. Harris researched with the FBI's Behavioral Science Unit at Quantico, and Lecter has since become one of fiction's most recognizable villains.
What awaits inside
- 01
Quid pro quo
Lecter trades pieces of insight for pieces of Clarice's past, making every conversation a duel.
- 02
A woman in a man's world
Clarice's competence is constantly tested against condescension and threat.
- 03
The origin of the title
Clarice's memory of screaming lambs reveals the private wound driving her to save victims.
- 04
Profiling the monster
The book popularized the psychology of criminal profiling for a mass audience.
From the book
In their first meeting, Lecter dissects Clarice's cheap shoes and accent in seconds, then demands her worst memory in exchange for help.
The climax traps Clarice alone in Buffalo Bill's pitch-black basement, hunting by sound as he watches her through night-vision goggles.
4.6
1,181 ratings
5
680
4
488
3
13
2
0
1
0