Hannibal Lecter : A Life

Why in the world, in the middle of the 2024 presidential race, did Donald Trump invoke “the late, great Hannibal Lecter”? It certainly made podcaster and author Brian Raftery (Best. Movie. Year. Ever.) scratch his head. What made Hannibal Lecter so popular, so loved, that a presidential candidate would enthusiastically associate himself with the fictional cannibalistic serial killer? This question spurred Raftery to examine the Lecter phenomenon. The result is Hannibal Lecter: A Life, a fascinating investigation of Lecter’s development from a supporting character in Red Dragon and The Silence of the Lambs to a universally known and bizarrely endearing icon. Lecter’s hold on us is enigmatic, and Raftery’s book succeeds because he takes a complex approach to solving a complex riddle. Naturally, that involved getting to know and understand Lecter’s creator, Thomas Harris. That was no easy task: The reclusive Harris makes J.D. Salinger look like Truman Capote on a particularly chatty day. But Raftery nonetheless delivers an insightful portrait of a meticulous, cultured and witty man who is capable of imagining the most monstrous things. (In this way, Harris has something in common with his own creation.) However, while Lecter originated as a literary character, his enduring place in our imagination was indelibly formed by Anthony Hopkins’ performance in Jonathan Demme’s Oscar-winning film adaptation of The Silence of the Lambs. Hopkins projected Lecter’s wit, ruthlessness and cool intelligence, but most of all, his defiant refusal to be reduced “to a set of influences,” as the character tells Jodie Foster’s Officer Clarice Starling. Raftery observes that this insight is key to understanding Lecter’s appeal and his horror: He is every man and no man, representing our darkest impulses—only with a better vocabulary, impeccable manners and Le Cordon Bleu knife skills. And Harris might have been disturbed by this phenomenon. Perhaps that’s why, in an effort to kill Lecter in Hannibal Rising (both the novel and film, which Harris wrote), Harris has Lecter perform the most grotesque murders while filling in every detail of the “set of influences” that deformed Lecter’s soul. But if that were Harris’ intent, Raftery makes clear that it’s too late. That cat is out of the bag—and he’s still on the hunt.