by
Thomas Harris
“A census taker once tried to test me. I ate his liver with some fava beans and a nice chianti” – Hannibal Lecter
The above-mentioned sentences are the world famous hair-raising confessions of the cannibalistic Hannibal Lecter, enlivened on the silver screen by the Academy Award winner Anthony Hopkins. To be frank, it is hard to come by a bloodcurdling novel like “The Silence of the Lambs” with its cool style of storytelling that could leave you in utter amazement whether it was really a horror story you had just finished! That is where the real success of this book as a best-selling novel lies in enthralling its audience, leaving behind us with a feeling of having drenched in cold water. In my opinion this novel is incomparable and indubitably stands out among the run-of-the-mill horror fiction. The adept ability of the author Thomas Harris is indeed praiseworthy.
The plot of the story mainly revolves around Dr.Hannibal Lecter, the name that sends a chill down the spine. He is portrayed as a psychopath, with extraordinary intelligence, secluded in a high security prison. The reader is first introduced to Clarisse Starling, an FBI agent who seeks advice from this sociopath on the whereabouts of a killer unrestrained whose modus operandi is to leave his victims flayed. The rest of the novel is indeed breath-taking and mesmerizing, at times petrifying, yet suspense-filled.
All in all, the book has been weaved into a smooth tale of tracking-the-murderer in a unique manner resulting in gluing our eyes to its pages throughout. No wonder “The Silence of the Lambs” has been caught on reel to sweep off the Oscars in its time. Some horror novel this is!
Reviewed by
Salini Johnson,
Class: XI-A.
