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It’s that time of year again: summer! That means we’re due for The Portly Politico Summer Reading List 2021!
After publishing the list a bit later than usual last year, I’ve decided that the list should be a midsummer event—just in time for Independence Day.
But, like Sunday Doodles—a perk for $5 a month subscribers—my philosophy is “better late than never!” And with the Independence Day holiday approaching, it’s a great time to do some reading.
For new readers, my criteria is pretty straightforward. To quote myself from the 2016 list:
The books listed here are among some of my favorites. I’m not necessarily reading them at the moment, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t!
Pretty vague, I know. Additionally, I usually feature three books, plus an “Honorable Mention” that’s usually worth a read, too.
For those interested, here are the prior two installments:
With that, here’s The Portly Politico Summer Reading List 2021:
1.) Thomas Harris, Hannibal (1999) – I recently wrote a review of the novel Silence of the Lambs, the second book in a series containing the charismatic, devilish cannibal, Dr. Hannibal Lecter. I very much enjoyed the novel, but having seen the film, I already knew many of the plot points. That did not diminish the quality of the novel—Thomas Harris is an exquisitely descriptive writer—but it did take away some of the thrill. The point of a good thriller is to be constantly in a state of suspense; when one already knows the major plot points, that sense of suspenseful uncertainty is diminished.
As such, I was quite excited to read Hannibal, the third installment in what might be called Harris’s “Hannibal Cycle.” I did not know any of this story going in, beyond some whispers about the outcome of the magnet relationship between Dr. Lecter and FBI agent Clarice Starling. The book takes place seven years after the events of Silence of the Lambs, with Dr. Lecter on the loose and living secretly as an academic in Florence, Italy.
Meanwhile, one of Dr. Lecter’s former victims, pig tycoon and sadist Mason Verger, has put a hefty bounty on Dr. Lecter’s head, and employs a ruthless team of Sardinian kidnappers—and a corrupt, disgraced Italian cop—to hunt down the fugitive.
Tossed into the mix is Clarice Starling, who finds herself increasingly disillusioned with the bureaucracy and careerism present in the upper echelons of the FBI and the Department of Justice. Her mentor, Jack Crawford, is creeping towards retirement, and is no longer the robust agent he once was. Meanwhile, a lecherous deputy attorney general—working hand-in-glove with Verger—sets about destroying Starling’s reputation at the Bureau, both to undermine her search for Dr. Lecter, and because she rebuffed his sexual advances.
Whereas Silence of the Lambs portrayed the FBI glowingly as a competent, professional organization with the means and tenacity to track down the slipperiest serial killers, Hannibal resonates much more with the modern reality of the FBI—a venal, corrupt organization that, rather than solving actual crimes, uses its power to oppress and harass law-abiding citizens. The corruption on display, with highly-placed government officials attempting to advance their professional and political careers by working with wealthy scumbags, rings true. In the eleven years between writing Silence and Hannibal, it appears Harris had a real change of heart.
Overall, I can highly recommend Hannibal. Be warned that it is a long read, with 103 chapters and around 560 pages, but it’s rarely a slog and always a chilling pleasure.
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