Book Review-Newer Books 6

Review—Hannibal Rising

Thomas Harris wrote Hannibal Rising in December 2006. Delacourt Press published the book and it has 496 pages.

From Lithuania to Paris, during and after World War II, the transformation of Hannibal the Cannibal occurs. Wars from yesterday and today consist of horrors many can never truly imagine. How do such travesties affect the ones that survive not only the guilt, but also the complete changes that can transpire?

Young Hannibal grew up in a wealthy family who for reasons of safety, hid in a distant lodge to survive a war gone mad around them. They were obviously not safe enough. What took this young boy from a happy family to a life in Paris and medical school and placed him under the surveillance of an Inspector hunting war criminals?

Hannibal is left mute and with a new family, one he has rarely had contact with. While under the care of his aunt he flourishes, yet there is a very dark side no one seems to be able to penetrate. His speech returns and the nightmares diminish, but what remains is a resolute personality with little resemblance to a humane and moral psyche. Hannibal delivers his own form of retribution to those who cross him.

This novel introduces us to not only the horrible situations that can come from people trying to survive crises brought on by other forces, but it shows us that the morals of man will always have effects on the outcomes. Thomas Harris wrote this novel as the prequel to the well-known Silence of the Lambs. Though it moves a little slowly at times, the book shows a complete new picture to the man later portrayed. The book does not make him right; it just shows how he developed. I wonder how the movie (currently in theatres) will play him out.