Book Review: Hannibal by Thomas Harris
Aug. 11th, 2014 01:48 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
juushikaTitle: Hannibal (Hannibal Lecter Book 3)
Author: Thomas Harris
Published: New York: Dell, 2000 (1999)
Rating: 4 of 5
Page Count: 544
Total Page Count: 148,457
Text Number: 436
Read Because: fan of the television adaptation, borrowed fromcentury_eyes
Review: Seven years after The Silence of the Lambs, infamous serial killer Hannibal Lecter is still at large and Clarice Starling is pulled back into pursuit of him by one of his victim's quest for revenge. Despite Harris's practiced pacing and readability, Hannibal is half a dozen concepts unevenly knit together and the conclusion in particular is rushed. Where the novel deviates from its film adaptation is telling—Hannibal here is more sympathetic than antagonistic, but never without danger; his increasingly complex relationship with Clarice lapses into predictability but is greatly intriguing and has the markings both of Harris's dogged psychological focus and his need to entertain an audience. To spend so much time with Hannibal is frankly indulgent; the book is an imperfect effort but a ballsy one, morally circumspect and frequently compelling, with an unrepentantly flamboyant climax; it's not awfully refined but it is utterly enjoyable, and highly reminiscent of NBC Hannibal.
Author: Thomas Harris
Published: New York: Dell, 2000 (1999)
Rating: 4 of 5
Page Count: 544
Total Page Count: 148,457
Text Number: 436
Read Because: fan of the television adaptation, borrowed from
century_eyesReview: Seven years after The Silence of the Lambs, infamous serial killer Hannibal Lecter is still at large and Clarice Starling is pulled back into pursuit of him by one of his victim's quest for revenge. Despite Harris's practiced pacing and readability, Hannibal is half a dozen concepts unevenly knit together and the conclusion in particular is rushed. Where the novel deviates from its film adaptation is telling—Hannibal here is more sympathetic than antagonistic, but never without danger; his increasingly complex relationship with Clarice lapses into predictability but is greatly intriguing and has the markings both of Harris's dogged psychological focus and his need to entertain an audience. To spend so much time with Hannibal is frankly indulgent; the book is an imperfect effort but a ballsy one, morally circumspect and frequently compelling, with an unrepentantly flamboyant climax; it's not awfully refined but it is utterly enjoyable, and highly reminiscent of NBC Hannibal.
