Today’s book is less about changes from the original text when converted to the movie version, but it makes for a fun jumping off point.
For reasons I’ve never fully been able to pin down, I love reading about Hannibal Lecter. (Even Hannibal and Hannibal Rising, while not nearly as good as The Silence of the Lambs or his brief appearance in Red Dragon, are enjoyable to me on some level due to his inclusion/domination of the text.) I remember reading the foreword of my copy of this book and how Dr. Lecter kept poking at author Thomas Harris’s mind (or something to that effect; it’s been nearly 7 years since I last read it, so forgive my cloudy memory). I’ve felt that in some of my characters, that they won’t leave me alone until I write more of their stories.
I think that what happened with Mr. Harris happened to me in some regards: I kept going with a character or characters and ended up doing too much, possibly ruining the original pieces by filling in too many of the gaps or not knowing when to quit.
I can’t remember if I read Red Dragon or this first (that is, reading them in order written). Whatever the case, this was the book that really made me start my latent fascination with serial killers/sociopaths/psychopaths. It may very well have had a hand in thinking a minor in psychology would aid me in characterization for writing. It could just as much made me even more unemployable with my degree.
For what it’s worth, changing Amarone to Chianti was the right move in my opinion. It makes the line pop more…and then the tongue flicking.
(Also, as an aside, not that Dr. Lecter actually says “Hello, Clarice.” in the movie or, I believe, in the book, but using that as a jumping off point, it makes for a great riff of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer when Rudolph first meets his love interest in the beloved Christmas classic. My kids love it when I say it, though my wife is not amused.)