Recenzje
SpoilerA re-read in 2021.Still a well-written and shocking book, listening to the audiobook just emphasises how great the tension-building and pacing is.The fat-shaming and dated understanding of trans people is frustrating, however I realise it was written some time ago and the psychology research was up-to-date. I also appreciate the author emphasising that BB is not trans, and therefore does not reflect the trans community.
Mostly enjoyed Hannibal Lector dialog parts. His character reminded me of a joker a bit. The story was ideally suitable for a screen play. No wonder, it received an oscar award.
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:SpoilerIt’s shown when the Senator calls her a thief, and how it prickles under her skin late at night.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.SpoilerI cried for half an hour when he reaches the hospital hotel 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 Spoilerwhen Bella died, I didn’t even bat an eye? 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.