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 the Bureau’s Behavioral Science section. Her assignment: to interview Dr. Hannibal Lecter—Hannibal the Cannibal—who is kept under close watch in the Baltimore State Hospital for the Criminally Insane.
Dr. Lecter is a former psychiatrist with a grisly history, unusual tastes, and an intense curiosity about the darker corners of the mind. His intimate understanding of the killer and of Clarice herself form the core of “The Silence of the Lambs”—an ingenious, masterfully written book and an unforgettable classic of suspense fiction.
THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS
Thomas Harris
(1988)
Narrated by: Frank Muller
Reading THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS was a delightful experience. I’m so glad I finally read the book that inspired one of my favorite movies of all time.
THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS stars Clarice Starling, a student at the FBI academy. Clarice is smart, a little naïve, and extremely empathetic. She is sent on a fascinating assignment to interview the notorious serial killer, Hannibal the Cannibal.
When I was a bit younger, maybe older than I’d like to admit, I wanted to do exactly what Clarice Starling does in THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS.
I wanted to hunt serial killers.
Time has moved on and my dreams have changed, but I am still connected to the vision I once had. Now I write reviews about books that star characters who hunt down serial killers and I couldn’t be happier.
SILENCE OF THE LAMBS is well-written, thoughtful, and human-smart. It was a pleasure to read. Reading it felt like you were getting a backstage pass and filling in all the areas where I might have had questions or wanted further explanation.
If you are a fan of the movie or of the genre, I recommend you pick up this series if you haven’t already.
THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS…⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Nella Larsen’s fascinating exploration of race and identity–the inspiration for the upcoming Netflix film directed by Rebecca Hall, starring Tessa Thompson and Ruth Negga.This Signet Classics edition of Passing includes an Introduction by Brit Bennett, the bestselling author of The Vanishing Half.
Irene Redfield is a Black woman living an affluent, comfortable life with her husband and children in the thriving neighborhood of Harlem in the 1920s. When she reconnects with her childhood friend Clare Kendry, who is similarly light-skinned, Irene discovers that Clare has been passing for a white woman after severing ties to her past–even hiding the truth from her racist husband.
Clare finds herself drawn to Irene’s sense of ease and security with her Black identity and longs for the community (and, increasingly, the woman) she lost. Irene is both riveted and repulsed by Clare and her dangerous secret, as Clare begins to insert herself–and her deception–into every part of Irene’s stable existence. First published in 1929, Larsen’s brilliant examination of the various ways in which we all seek to “pass,” is as timely as ever.
PASSING
Nella Larsen
(1929)
Narrated by: Tessa Thompson
I have been highlighting Classics written by women this month for Women’s History Month. That continues with PASSING by Nella Larsen.
First of all, let me say that I have been enjoying the expert narration many of these Audible Originals have with the accompanying audiobooks. Tessa Thompson did a magnificent job and seemed the only one appropriate to narrate for this book.
Let’s talk about the book.
Irene receives a letter from Claire referencing a city and a time they shared. This brings back uncomfortable feelings for Irene and her relationship, what have you, with Claire. We go back in time to that fateful time in the city and the following course their lives take.
When I sat down to write this book review, I sat frozen. I thought I had no words to express my thoughts and feelings but in fact I just didn’t have the right words.
I’m still not sure I do.
PASSING by Nella Larson is an important accounting through one lens of just one aspect of our complicated history with color. This book reminds of wanting to fit in, of conflicted feelings that can’t be sorted by checking a box and finding power in what you are because of who you are, and who they were before you.
While reading there is a sense that Larsen herself was still deciding where she fell along the lines but perhaps that is the beauty of this book. There is much left for you to ponder and think about. And I think the themes are still relevant today as they were when PASSING was published in 1929.
I’m glad I finally read this book and curse myself for waiting so long to read it. Don’t wait as long to read it as I did. It’s a very short book with approachable subjects that I believe a lot of readers will find stirring.
PASSING…⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Diagnosed by her physician husband with a “temporary nervous depression—a slight hysterical tendency” after the birth of her child, a woman is urged to rest for the summer in an old colonial mansion. Forbidden from doing work of any kind, she spends her days in the house’s former nursery, with its barred windows, scratched floor, and peeling yellow wallpaper.
In a private journal, the woman records her growing obsession with the “horrid” wallpaper. Its strange pattern mutates in the moonlight, revealing what appears to be a human figure in the design. With nothing else to occupy her mind, the woman resolves to unlock the mystery of the wallpaper. Her quest, however, leads not to the truth, but into the darkest depths of madness.
A condemnation of the patriarchy, The Yellow Wallpaper explores with terrifying economy the oppression, grave misunderstanding, and willful dismissal of women in late nineteenth-century society
THE YELLOW WALLPAPER
Charlotte Perkins Gilman
(1892)
Narrated by: Cynthia Erivo
THE YELLOW WALPAPER is only 40 minutes long and its length is not honest.
It is much more impactful than the short duration would imply.
A woman who has just given birth is made to rest over the course of a summer in the nursery which has horrid yellow wallpaper. It is an accounting of climaxing madness.
She feels trapped both physically and mentally. Its descriptions are explicit and terrifying.
I’m currently reading a book about the perils of postpartum depression (THE NURSERY BY Szilvia Molnar) and it drew me to this book. Look for that review coming out early next week. It is amazing the parallels between the two novels and the length of time between them being published are both sad and astonishing.
The only difference is that THE YELLOW WALLPAPER is speaking in metaphors whereas THE NURSERY it is much more descriptive and declarative.
There is a dynamic between the narrator and her husband in THE YELLOW WALLPAPER that adds to her perilous situation and a similarly frightening dynamic exists in the book BEHIND HER EYES by Sarah Pinborough so check that book out if these themes interest you.
THE YELLOW WALLPAPER is short but efficient and I recommend you check it out.
THE YELLOW WALLPAPER…⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
