Reviews with content warning for Kidnapping - The Silence of the Lambs

Wow wow wow. I'd already watched the film a little while before reading it but that absolutely did not take away from my experience. The fact that I already knew the plot, the characters and what was happening and yet still managed to love the reading experience this much really says something.

Of course Hannibal Lecture is an iconic character, perfectly crafted and endlessly intriguing. But Clarice Starling: wow. Clarice was just such a wonderful perspective to follow: a complex real character with amazing strength and intelligence while remaining humble and flawed. I loved her gentleness but also her passion and anger. Through her character it explores the frustrations of being a young woman in a heavily male dominated field as well as the unique insight it brings her. Clarice is absolutely a new favourite character of mine, and a character you could easily believe was written by a woman.

The dynamic between Starling and Lecter was brilliantly fascinating. So many 'psychology thrillers' butcher the psychology aspect with surface level pop psychology or just misinformation, but in this book the psychological aspects were just brilliant done and admirably researched.

I was, early on, concerned that the characterisation of Buffalo Bill would come across as transphobic, but this concept was actually really well addressed and explicitly discussed as Bill not belonging to the legitimate trans community. I was pleasantly surprised considering this was written in the late 1980s. That said, I am cis so I can't really speak on the representation and would be interested on hearing the opinion of trans individuals.

Overall just really impressed, I love the characters, the plot, the mood and can't wait to eventually reread it.

Content Warnings

lr2's review against another edition

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dark mysterious medium-paced

3.5

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gabbyreynolds's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

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readyourbookshelf's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

I really like Thomas Harris' writing style.

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bunnypez's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Content Warnings

oobi's review

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dark sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

I read this after having read Red Dragon, and can say I enjoyed it far more. Clarice is relatable and fun, but its sad that she's the only female leading character of the Hannibal series. Being a trans person, I think the depiction of Buffalo Bill is strange and misinformed, yet nuanced, and a good example of Thomas Herris's talent in writing from the perspective of a truly demented and backwards person. The writing kept me engaged despite my tendency to get off track while reading, I hadn't felt so absorbed in a book for a long time.

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nodogsonthemoon's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

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