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The Silence of the Lambs
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Read The Silence of the Lambs
Hannibal Lecter: Book 2

The Silence of the Lambs (1988) (edit title/settings)

by Thomas Harris (Author) (edit contributors)

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Description edit see section history

A serial murderer known only by a grotesquely apt nickname-Buffalo Bill-is stalking women. He has a purpose, but no one can fathom it, for the bodies are discovered in different states. Clarice Starling, a young trainee at the FBI Academy, is surprised to be summoned by Jack Crawford, chief of... read more

Summary edit see section history

Clarice Starling, a young intelligent FBI trainee, has been sent to the Baltimore state hospital for the criminally insane to interview an inmate Dr. Hannibal-the cannibal- Lecter. A brilliant renowned psychiatrist turned infamous psychopathic serial killer. She must match wits with Lecter... read more (warning: may contain spoilers)

Clarice Starling, a young intelligent FBI trainee, has been sent to the Baltimore state hospital for the criminally insane to interview an inmate Dr. Hannibal-the cannibal- Lecter. A brilliant renowned psychiatrist turned infamous psychopathic serial killer. She must match wits with Lecter -who has the darkest of all minds- and trust him to give her clues in the search for "Buffalo Bill". A nick name for a loose, unknown, unstoppable psychopathic serial killer. Lecter will only help Starling if she feeds his morbid curiosity with details about her own complicated life. This twisted relationship forces Starling not only to confront her psychological demons, but leads her to face with a demented, heinous killer, an incarceration of evil so powerful, that she may not have the courage -- or strength -- to stop him!

Characters edit see section history

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Quotes edit see section history

  • “Haven't you ever had people coming over and no time to shop? You have to make do with what's in the fridge, Clarice. May I call you Clarice?”
    Hannibal Lecter
  • “"It rubs the lotion on its skin or else it gets the hose again."”
    Buffalo Bill
  • “When the Fox hears the Rabbit scream he comes a-runnin', but not to help.”
    Hannibal Lecter
  • Popular Highlights from Kindle Customers
  • “Nothing happened to me, Officer Starling. I happened. You can’t reduce me to a set of influences. You’ve given up good and evil for behaviorism, Officer Starling. You’ve got everybody in moral dignity pants—nothing is ever anybody’s fault. Look at me, Officer Starling. Can you stand to say I’m evil? Am I evil, Officer Starling?”
    Highlighted by 36 Kindle customers
  • We rarely get to prepare ourselves in meadows or on graveled walks; we do it on short notice in places without windows, hospital corridors, rooms like this lounge with its cracked plastic sofa and Cinzano ashtrays, where the café curtains cover blank concrete. In rooms like this, with so little time, we prepare our gestures, get them by heart so we can do them when we’re frightened in the face of Doom.
    Highlighted by 34 Kindle customers
  • “A census taker tried to quantify me once. I ate his liver with some fava beans and a big Amarone. Go back to school, little Starling.”
    Highlighted by 33 Kindle customers
  • Over this odd world, this half the world that’s dark now, I have to hunt a thing that lives on tears.
    Highlighted by 30 Kindle customers
  • O wrangling schools, that search what fire Shall burn this world, had none the wit Unto this knowledge to aspire That this her fever might be it?
    Highlighted by 28 Kindle customers
  • Being smart spoils a lot of things, doesn’t it? And taste isn’t kind.
    Highlighted by 26 Kindle customers
  • “I collect church collapses, recreationally. Did you see the recent one in Sicily? Marvelous! The façade fell on sixty-five grandmothers at a special Mass. Was that evil? If so, who did it? If He’s up there, He just loves it, Officer Starling. Typhoid and swans—it all comes from the same place.”
    Highlighted by 24 Kindle customers
  • The sparks in his eyes flew into his darkness like fireflies down a cave.
    Highlighted by 22 Kindle customers
  • He’s a cemetery mink. He lives down in a ribcage in the dry leaves of a heart.
    Highlighted by 20 Kindle customers
  • Teach us to care and not to care. Teach us to be still.
    Highlighted by 17 Kindle customers
Show all 13 quotes from this book

First Sentence edit see section history

Behavioral Science, the FBI section that deals with serial murder, is on the bottom floor of the Academy building at Quantico, half-buried in the earth.

Glossary edit see section history

  • paschal: 1. of or pertaining to Easter. 2. of or pertaining to Passover.
  • polydactyly: the condition of being polydactyl, having more than the normal number of fingers or toes.

Series & Lists edit see section history

This is book 2 of 4 in Hannibal Lecter. (standard series)

Preceded by Red Dragon, and followed by Hannibal.

This book is in True Crime: Fictionalized Versions. (community list)
This is book 1 of 99 in NPR's Top 100 Killer Thriller. (community list)
This is book 180 of 199 in Newman and Jones 200 Best Horror Novels. (community list)
This is book 16 of 100 in Top 100 Mysteries of All Time (Mystery Writers of America, 1995). (authoritative list)

Authors & Contributors edit see section history

  1. Thomas Harris (Author)

First Edition edit see section history

Original Language: English
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Country: USA
Publication Date: 19 May 1988
ISBN: 0312022824
Page Count: 352

Awards edit see section history

Classification edit see section history

  • Library of Congress: PS3558.A6558 S5 1988
  • Dewey: 818'.54

Notes for Parents edit see section history

Reading Level: Adults

Violence

Movie Connections edit see section history

  • The Silence of the Lambs (IMDb): The Silence of the Lambs is a 1991 American thriller film, which blends elements of the crime and horror genres. It is directed by Jonathan Demme and stars Jodie Foster, Anthony Hopkins, Scott Glenn, and Ted Levine. It is based on the novel of the same name by Thomas Harris, his second to feature Dr. Hannibal Lecter, a brilliant psychiatrist and cannibalistic serial killer. In the film, Clarice Starling, a young FBI trainee, seeks the advice of the imprisoned Lecter on catching a serial killer known only as "Buffalo Bill". The film won the top five Academy Awards: Best Picture, Best Actress, Best Actor, Best Director and Best Screenplay.

More Books Like This edit see section history

   
  • Loves Music, Loves to Dance
  • Razor's Song
  • Red Dragon
  • Knife Edge
  • Hannibal Rising

Books with Additional Background Information edit see section history

   
  • Edward Gein: America's Most Bizarre Murderer
  • The Only Living Witness
  • Cellar of Horror
  • Red Dragon

Books That Cite This Book edit see section history

   
  • Ed Gein--Psycho!
  • Lustmord
  • Natural Born Celebrities

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