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The Silence of the Lambs
The Silence of the Lambs
The Silence of the Lambs
Audiobook (abridged)3 hours

The Silence of the Lambs

Written by Thomas Harris

Narrated by Kathy Bates

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

4.5/5

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About this audiobook

Listen to the silence...

An instant classic novel of chilling psychological suspense...a critically-acclaimed audio production of unforgettable intensity...From the tormenting words of the homicidal maniac Dr. Hannibal Lecter and the flesh-rending depravity of an elusive killer to the sheer courage of a young F.B.I. novice, who risks her life to track him down and stop the bloodshed, experience the ultimate terror of an audio masterpiece...
LanguageEnglish
Release dateOct 15, 1988
ISBN9780743546041
The Silence of the Lambs
Author

Thomas Harris

Thomas Harris is the author of best-selling novels including The Silence of the Lambs, Black Sunday, Red Dragon, Hannibal and Hannibal Rising.

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Reviews for The Silence of the Lambs

Rating: 4.491803278688525 out of 5 stars
4.5/5

183 ratings60 reviews

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  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Abridged version. Disappointed it wasn't unabridged, but Kathy Bates is a great narrator.

    1 person found this helpful

  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    The last book I've had to read for the crime fiction class, I think. I hope so. I've learnt something from this course: I much prefer Agatha Christie's "clue-puzzle" narratives to modern crime fiction -- I'm not a fan of the gore. Still, I'm probably going to write my essay partly on The Silence of the Lambs. Hannibal Lecter is a very interesting character, and I think it'd lose a lot of tension and interest without him. It'd become a lot more routine, a police procedural.

    This book is cleverly put together. Unfortunately, I ended up going to the lecture on it before I was able to finish it, so I didn't get the full benefit of it, I suppose. The recurring imagery -- the moths, the lambs -- is pretty interesting.

    Glad I read this, and I'll probably read the other two, despite my lecturer warning us not to (she wasn't impressed)...

    1 person found this helpful

  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    One of my top five favorite books of all time. This is probably the fifth or sixth time I've read this book and the first time I've done so by listening to the audiobook and I was pleasantly surprised by how enjoyable that was. It was narrated by Kathy Bates who did a wonderful job! FBI student lucks out when she is asked by Special Agent Crawford to do a special assignment for him; he wants her to go visit the infamous serial killer Hannibal Lector and get him to take a psychological survey to add to the database of known serial killers. Crawford would go himself but he's got his hands tied with Buffalo Bill, a serial killer that's been skinning his female victims. When Clarice goes to the maximum holding center to interview Hannibal she gets an unexpected gift from the madman himself, a tip about the Buffalo Bill. Suddenly Clarice finds herself in the middle of a serious investigation aided by Hannibal Lector. It's dark, twisted, thrilling, and a non-stop action ride. I think the movie is a GREAT adaptation of the book. Read this already!

    1 person found this helpful

  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Having already seen the movie before reading this book, I think I didn't like it as much because I knew what was going to happen. It took away a lot of the suspense for me.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This book is really well written and easy to follow. It’s almost exactly verbatim to the movie and I have a much deeper appreciation towards the movie now.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This was an amazing book. Terrifying and oddly exciting. Just loved it. Hannibal Lecter is scary, yet an enigma that refuses to disappear even after you put the book down. As you read through the book you realize how cunningly he steers the entire investigation to suit himself. One is left wondering of his fascination and interest in Clarice- does her relentless spirit affects more deeply than he would like or want to admit. An overall a great book. A must read for everyone.
  • Rating: 1 out of 5 stars
    1/5
    I really, really should not have read this book. I had nightmares for months. If you like realistic horror and exploring the depths of human depravity, this is the right book for you.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Good story. Been awhile since I’ve seen the movie.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Brilliant. For once the book is so brilliant the movie wasn't able to ruin it!
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I read this book because I loved the movie. And what I found was that the movie was very true to the book. Silence of the Lambs and it's prequel Red Dragon are amazing books.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    One of my all-time favourite books, and one of the few that spawned a film just as good. I still wish I was Clarice.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    My favorite book of the genre. So crisp and creepy. There isn't a single superfluous paragraph.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Quite possibly the best crime thriller of all time.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    An Exquisitely written story. The characters jump off the page and the terror you experience is unlike anything else. The author is well-versed in psychology and psychopathy and characterization. This is one of the most incredible books I’ve ever listen to on scribd.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    A well crafted novella to spend an afternoon getting lost in. Kathy Bates knocks it out of the park, with seamless portrayals of all different characters. Highly suggest this one!
  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    Disappointing, to say the least. I heard from someone that Harris wrote this novel after the screenplay for the film, and if this is true, it makes a lot of sense. The novel adds nothing to the movie in terms of connection to characters or insights into themes; this is one of a few rare instances I recommend that one skip the novel and just watch the movie.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I would give this 4 and a half I think. I got just a little bored in a few parts when it leaned toward being a cop story (FBI agent, whatever). I was much more interested in the parts with the interviews with Lector. I love villains! I think Psychological Thriller might be my favorite genre. Very similar to the movie, though it's been a long time since I've seen it.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I watched the film before I read the book and I loved both in equal measure. Perhaps that's because part of me is a somewhat cruel and sadistic individual or perhaps it's because the book is the work of a true spectator of the sociopathic mind.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Harris is a master story-teller and this is a fast-paced thriller that will keep you on the edge of your seat. Not sure of the date I read it but it was quite a while ago.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    It's really hard to separate my review of this book with my feelings about the movie (which I see as a contemporary masterpiece of sorts). The writing is solid and the story inventive. Despite knowing "what happens" in the story, I did not get bored with this novel. I was thoroughly engaged. I enjoyed the narration that meandered into the heads of the principle characters, but not so much as to spoil the mysteries of essential character motivation.

    This is one of the few instances where "the movie was better," but that does not mean the book was bad by any stretch. It was a great read! I feel that SotL is a better novel that its predecessor _Red Dragon_ (which I enjoyed too), with richer subtext and narrative construction. I kept asking myself, what made Harris change heroes? Why a young female? It was a smart move (when he could have just brought Will Graham back like most crime novelists do) that brought a lot of questions to the table, questions about gender that underscored the killer's motives.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Even though I still have not seen the film, I thought I'd explore Harris' world when I discovered a paperback very cheap at a local book swap. Though the book is marketed as all about Hannibal Lecter "the ultimate villain," it's really about the minds of criminals and the people who wish to stop them.

    It's interesting that each side is set in pairs -- the criminal side and the justice side of the equation.

    At one end of the spectrum we have Clarice Starling, an FBI agent who is learning the ropes. I mean, she hasn't even finished school yet! She runs into prejudice all the time -- "how long have you been at the FBI Ms. Starling?" to which she quickly changes the subject. Her mentor and confidant Jack Crawford is in his own world. Struggling with his wife's terminal illness, he yet makes an effort to teach Starling the ropes -- and an ulterior motive to use her to get into Lecter's mind -- the only man who may have the clue to find Buffalo Bill -- the mad serial killer who is skinning women and leaving them floating in rivers.

    The other end of the spectrum is Dr. Lecter, an expert of the mind and behavior, but also rather insane -- he literally will bite the hands that feeds him! His sense of smell is startling. His ability to see deep into Starling's core is also a bit unsettling -- for Starling as well as the reader! Lecter's pair is Buffalo Bill himself whom we meet as he prepares to skin a senator's daughter!

    Will Clarice find the killer in time, despite the arrogance of bureaucrats and the curtains everyone of the characters seems to hide behind? And is she willing to give up a bit of herself to Lecter in return for some information?

    **Spoiler - Fascinating pace of story, especially at the climax when she actually meets the killer and has no idea who this guy is -- but then does and man, you can't turn the page fast enough! ** End Spoiler

    I am mighty impressed with Thomas Harris bit of crime fiction here. I may pick up his earlier work, Red Dragon [Red Dragon.

    Recommended!
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Read this book a few years ago and will never forget it! I was glued to the pages from start to finish. A thrilling, creepy story. I loved it!
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I read this book because I'm a dumbass and even though I've seen the film a couple times, I never did get it straight in my head just how Clarice Starling ends up at Jame Grub's when she did, and how she suddenly knew where she was. I'd hoped the novel would make this clear, and it did.

    I also read the book because it was discussed a few months back on the First Tuesday Bookclub With Jennifer Byrne (Australia), and it was agreed that the book is very well written, and was a gamechanger for the genre. It's certainly well-written, though I'm not a fan of murder mysteries so I have to believe them on the importance of this book. The author employed clever use of present tense narrative among the past tense, and did a wonderful job of creating suspense with Clarice down in the basement, saving the day.

    In general I don't like reading about serial murders of young women -- since this book was published, I feel the balance has been tipped and there are now too many stories relying on such plots, but this one really is different. I enjoyed reading about Clarice Starling, learning slightly more about her than is possible to learn by watching the film. As noted on the Book Club show, the film and the book can stand side-by-side in the world, each existing in its own right. I wonder though, how I would have imagined the scenes had I not already seen the movie. Once you've seen Anthony Hopkins as Hannibal Lecter, and Jody Foster as Clarice Starling, it's impossible to imagine anyone else.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    A bloody and brilliant thriller, chilling at times and always incisive. Was there ever a better psychopathic character painted than Hannibal Lecter? While ostensibly centered on the murdering spree of the inappropriately called Buffalo Bill, this book truly focuses on the fascinating meeting of the minds of Dr. Lector and the brilliant FBI trainee Clarice Starling through wonderfully thought-out conversations and eerie connections to the past.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    This is a serial killer with taste and manners. It's Dr. Hannibal Lecter, psychologist, chief, serial killer, and cannibal. Interesting combo right? To me he is the thing that holds the book together and makes you crave more. He leads Clarice Starling, a FBI agent to be, on the hunt for a killer who kills and skins his victims.I loved the movie and ended up tracking down all the books Red Dragon,The Silence of the Lambs,Hannibal, and Hannibal Rising. And Silence of the Lambs is the best of them all, but always makes me wonder why didn't we get a book about Hannibal Lecter when he was free and not on the run, as a psychologist and killer?
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Even better than the movie! I loved the movie--LOVED the book! It went so quickly. I felt there was a little more depth to it--more character development--than the movie, which is understandable. I really enjoyed it. Not sure if I'll be able to stomach Red Dragon or Hannibal, though.... I always felt, based on the movies, that this one was far more psychological, and the other two really focused on the gore-factor.....
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    A thrilling read and meditation on evil, with among the most chilling villains (Dr. Hannibal Lector) and strong heroines (FBI Agent-Trainee Clarice Starling) around. In fact, Hannibal Lector is more than a villain, he's a monster--a much scarier predator than a Great White Shark. Before we ever meet him he's built up in two ways--examples given both of his extraordinary intellect and his incredible viciousness. This serial killer Hannibal "the Cannibal" doesn't just kill, he devours--and we know he's incredibly dangerous just by all the precautions taken where he's incarcerated. Small details when he's first introduced stroke up the menace. He has a sixth finger on his left hand. His eyes are described as reflecting "the light in pinpoints of red" and those "points of light seem to fly like sparks to his center." He's built up as bestial, demonic--but then in his conversation with Starling shows the insight and sharpness of a Sherlock Holmes. Now, there's a lot more to this novel. It's a murder mystery and an incredibly suspenseful, nail-biting, unputdownable thriller and Lector's not the main focus here. This really is more police procedural as the FBI seeks to find another serial killer. But it's Lector who freezes you at the bone and makes this book unforgettable. What I've heard of the sequel, Hannibal, and how the relationship between Starling and Lector develops there means I'll never read that book. But this one I certainly highly recommend. (And some tell me the prequel, Red Dragon, is even better, so that one I might try some time.)
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    My favorite book of the genre. So crisp and creepy. There isn't a single superfluous paragraph.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    The movie was remarkably true to this well-written book --- fast moving, believable (if sinister) characters, likable protagonist -- all around good novel.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Better than the movie.