Seven years after Hannibal’s escape, Mason Verger, Hannibal’s initial victim, is still preparing to exact his vengeance. Hannibal is in Florence, but a zealous police officer recognizes him, and he must flee. The only way to get him to come out of the woods is to put his protégé, Clarice Starling, in danger. It works initially, but Hannibal has not said his last word. This is a great page-turner, even though some scenes are quite horrible, but Hannibal’s intelligence and the description of his vast memory palace are fascinating. I was only slightly disappointed with the ending, which was a little too soft.
“On really short acquaintance he told me some things about myself that were true. I think it’s easy to mistake understanding for empathy – we want empathy so badly. Maybe learning to make that distinction is part of growing up. It’s hard and ugly to know somebody can understand you without even liking you. When you see understanding just used as a predator’s tool, that’s the worst.”