Synopsis:
Drawing from exclusive interviews and previously unseen archival materials, this one-of-its-kind biography of Hannibal Lecter documents the cannibal’s journey from terrifying villain to unexpectedly adored antihero.
This unique biography traces the many lives and crimes of Hannibal Lecter: his disturbing debut in Thomas Harris’s 1981 novel Red Dragon; his rise to infamy in beloved films like Michael Mann’s Manhunter and Jonathan Demme’s Academy Award–winning The Silence of the Lambs; and his unexpected comeback in the cult-hit TV series Hannibal. It also dives into the untold life and career of Harris, the secretive bestselling author whose passion for reporting, eye for grisly detail, and connections to the FBI helped birth not only Lecter, but also the modern true-crime genre. Along the way, Hannibal Lecter: A Life documents the many ways Lecter’s rise reflected America’s ever-growing obsession with real-life serial killers.
Featuring all-new interviews with crucial figures from Lecter’s past—including actor Brian Cox, director Mann, and former FBI special agent John Douglas—Hannibal Lecter: A Life is a deeply reported, wildly entertaining look at the making of one of the most beloved bad guys of all time.
Review:
Brian Raftery’s “Hannibal Lecter: A Life,” is a gloriously thorough and consistently engaging record of Hannibal the Cannibal’s bloody and glorious ascent into a shorthand, a meme- a horror pop icon. There’s something so magnificent about Thomas Harris’ Hannibal Lecter, from his beginnings in the backdrop of “Red Dragon,” in 1981, to Anthony Hopkin’s striking portrayal of him in Jonathan Demme’s 1991 “Silence of the Lambs,” to the “murder husband,” we see in the NBC series. The most distinguished of killers, the most referenceable of cannibals, in this bingeable fictitious biography, Raftery, a scholar in all things Lecter, chronicles how the good doctor came to be, questions why, despite ourselves, we almost quite like him, and does it all with archival access and fresh interviews. “Hannibal Lecter: A Life,” is out from Simon and Schuster February 10th. I’m pleased to add that I had the opportunity to discuss this novel with Brian- from release day, you can listen to us nerd out about all things Hannibal wherever you get your podcasts. Bon appetit.
I love Hannibal Lecter as much as the next bloke, well probably more, realistically. Even so, I did wonder, as somebody who preferentially gravitates toward horror fiction, whether I might be out of my depth in 300 odd pages of pretty niche non-fiction. But a couple of sentences made absolute mincemeat of that concern. Raftery strikes this truly masterful balance of cramming his novel rich full of information, interviews, context and analysis, whilst also being accessible, and reading like butter really. Whilst you might get a little more out of it if you’ve come across Hannibal Lecter in a few of his iterations, Raftery structures and writes this novel in a way that anybody, the biggest of enthusiasts, or a complete newbie, would be able and eager to follow. Raftery is generous with his expertise, never exclusionary.
You may quite rightly be wondering how a chronological biography of somebody who was never actually born, never actually raised, nor ever actually lived could possibly work, and you’d be right to wonder. Raftery does however pull it off. In part 1 “Birth,” we read mostly about Thomas Harris, his childhood, his career as a journalist, his debut novel Black Sunday (1975), the time he spent interviewing FBI agents (many of whom were in turn, interviewed by Raftery) and how Hannibal Lecter was eventually written into existence in 1981, and subsequently portrayed by Brian Cox in Micheal Mann’s 1986 “Manhunter.” Part 2, “First Love,” has a focus upon “Silence of the Lambs,” the novel and the film, and so on and so forth, through Hannibal (2001) and Hannibal Rising (2007) all the way to Bryan Fuller’s luxuriant NBC series, which as an aside, I must note I am particularly fond of. This biography may not be measured in birthdays, but it’s a biography nonetheless.
From Lecter’s bizarre role in Donald Trump’s 2024 candidacy, all the way to Anthony Hopkins’ post-Lambs publicity circuit, in which many callers asked him to say their name in character, Raftery has everything you could possibly ever want to know packed in. I could go on, but I don’t, however, want to simply regurgitate Raftery’s hard work. Beyond telling you that Raftery’s writing is great, the contents of his novel fascinating, I’m not sure what more I can say- it’s really best if you read it for yourself. Its pleasures are cumulative, accretive, and best enjoyed, yup here it is, with some fava beans and a nice Chianti.
Leave a Reply