I've read this book more times than I can count and it still manages to give me nightmares. ( )

Clarice Starling, an FBI trainee, is sent to interview Dr. Hannibal Lecter - Hannibal the Cannibal. There are indications that Dr. Lecter's unique position - he's a brilliant psychiatrist who's also a serial killer - might give him helpful insight into the murders committed by the serial killer nicknamed Buffalo Bill.

This is one of many books I should have reviewed sooner after I finished it, but I've been in a reviewing slump for a while and it didn't happen.

I haven't seen the movie adaptation, and this was my first time reading this book. At some point, possibly due to Hannibal Lecter's enduring popularity, I came to the conclusion that Hannibal was a prominent character in the story. Imagine my surprise when he only made an occasional appearance. That said, he was such a vivid character that I understand his popularity. For much of the book, I only knew how dangerous Hannibal was due to his reputation and what everyone kept telling Starling (I need to see about reading Red Dragon) - his interactions with Starling still managed to be riveting. I was pretty much glued to the book when it started to look like he'd get a chance to spring into action (the stupidity of certain characters was mind-boggling).

Overall, this caught and kept my attention, even though certain aspects (the language, technology, etc.) were dated enough that trying to process some of it took more effort than I expected. The details of the investigation were intriguing, and everything moved at a nice pace.

(Original review posted on A Library Girl's Familiar Diversions.) ( )

why did no one tell me that Hannibal Lecter was so COOL???

this was less thriller-y than i thought. more like, if an episode of criminal minds was a book ( )

Far removed from the scenery chewing movie adaptation and better for it. ( )

It's hard to rate something that is so embedded in our culture, that I've read before and also seen the movie multiple times, so I won't give it a star rating.

A few thoughts, though:

Harris is a great storyteller. There is no denying that.

He also makes really cool, intriguing characters. Hannibal Lecter tugs at the imagination like almost no other.

However

Harris's use of tenses is confusing as f***. One paragraph, we're in the past tense. Now we're in the present tense! Now it's the past tense again. Agh! I'm not sure what he was going for, but to me it feels (and always felt) sloppy.

Looking forward to watching the movie again.