The Silence of the Lambs was first published in 1988, by Thomas Harris.The novel features the cannibalistic serial killer Dr. Hannibal Lecter, pitted against FBI Special Agent Clarice Starling.
The novel became a bestseller, and won the 1988 Bram Stoker Award for Best Novel.
Its 1991 film adaptation is arguably one of the best films ever made. The film won five Academy Awards- Best Actor (Anthony Hopkins), Best Actress (Jodie Foster), Best Director (Jonathan Demme), Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Picture
Starling, a FBI trainee is given the task of interacting with the psychopath Lector, restrained in a mental institution, to help the FBI draw up psychological profiles of serial killers.
I couldnt help being drawn into the extremely intense events and dialogues between the protagonists and was soon lost to the world. Having seen the movie after it had won its multiple awards, I had my doubts whether the novel would be as good.
Thankfully, I was proven wrong. This is an extremely well written book around the taboo subject of cannibalism. Harris writes a masterpiece and draws us into empathising with Starling and the various situations that she is thrown in even though she is comparatively a rookie in the FBI. To make matters more interesting, there are another two characters - Jack Crawfod (Starling's boss) and Buffalo Bill, a serial killer whose Modus Operandi Lecter seems to know too much about.
A must read if you can stomach the thought of a cannibalistic serial killer
My rating - 4.5 out of 5
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