By Anthony Bruno

Hannibal Deflated

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The cat is finally out of the bag.  In Thomas Harris's Hannibal Rising, the fourth novel to feature Hannibal Lecter, the crème de la crème of modern serial killers, the author at last reveals why Hannibal the Cannibal is the way he is.  It's a journey up-river to the heart of Lecter's darkness.  Unfortunately it's a trip I wish I hadn't taken.  Fans looking for the demonic and otherworldly in young Hannibal's formative years will instead learn that he was profoundly influenced by a Japanese aunt who conversed with him in haiku and encouraged his natural flair for flower arrangement.  Is this the monster millions of readers have come to love and dread?  Sadly, no.   Those who pick up this latest installment for thrills and scares will be sorely disappointed.  Hannibal Rising is Hannibal deflated.

Anthony Hopkins As Hannibal Lecter

Since hair-raising suspense is not Harris's goal is this book, I'm not spoiling the plot by revealing that Hannibal Lecter's reason for being is to avenge the murder and cannibalization of his beloved little sister, Mischa.  Fans of this series already know this.  Hannibal Rising shows us the horrors young Hannibal experienced in the aftermath of World War II when a ragtag band of vicious "deserters" invade the hunting lodge where his family has been hiding, kill his parents and their servants, then in a cruel act of survival, they cook and devour little Mischa.  Young Hannibal eventually finds his way to France where he's taken in by his father's brother and his wife, Lady Murasaki, an ethereal Japanese beauty.  After his uncle's death, Hannibal is raised by his aunt who gives him a deep appreciation for beauty, art, and gourmet foods.

'Hannibal Rising' bookcover

But Lady Murasaki frets that young Hannibal is a ticking time bomb of unresolved issues and repressed memories, and her instincts are correct.  When an uncouth butcher insults her in public, Hannibal bides his time and then avenges the wrongdoing by cutting the man's head off and eating his cheeks, having been told that in every species the cheeks are always the sweetest morsel.

Yum.

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