Silence of the Lambs

Grunts, sighs, whistles and....

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RK Wallis

rk.wallis@myyahoo.com
Full Member
Feb 15, 2019
Australia
I've almost finished this. I will finish today. I only started yesterday (and I would have finished yesterday had an old friend not visited for a few hours).

I'd heard this was a good book, that's why they made it a movie isn't it? But I've been dragging my feet (it's not my genre). However, I'm pleasantly surprised. It has to be one of the most tightly written books I've ever read. Not only is there a distinct writer's voice, each character's voice is unmistakable. For example (SPOILER, though you've probably seen the movie), this is the murderer calling his dog and we know "busybusy day" means he's about to kill:

“Precious, come on, Precious. Busybusy day. Come on, Sweetheart.”

Harris, Thomas. Silence Of The Lambs (Hannibal Lecter) . Random House. Kindle Edition.

Notice how there's no space in busybusy? Because Harris wants the words run on. I'm listening as I also read (Wow, by the way, fantastic experience) and to hear this acted out (so to speak) just adds SO MUCH. Talk about knowing when to break grammar rules :)

Harris makes his jumps in POV entertaining, and because everything is written so tightly, I don't have a problem with that. This is an example of gaining the reader's trust.

Which book gained your trust the most?

As an aside, after reading this, not only have I learnt a bunch, I'm positive I'll never be ready to publish. Silence of the Lambs raises the bar beyond sight!!
 
RK, you've certainly made me want to read it now. I know the movie so well, I hadn't even considered having a go at the actual book. Now I will, but with the eye on craft and how he does it.

had an old friend not visited
I do hope you didn't have the old friend for dinner. ;):) (Sorry, I couldn't resist that one.)

I'm positive I'll never be ready to publish.
Don't sell yourself short. I'm sure you will be / already are ready. :)
 
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Grunts, sighs, whistles and....

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