Sliver

:This article is for the novel and film. See Sliver (song) for the song by Nirvana. For the best-of album by Nirvana see Sliver (album)

Synopsis

Book version

When she makes the acquaintance of a handsome and friendly young man who lives in the same "sliver" building she does not know at first that he is the owner. While keeping a low profile himself, he turns out to know an awful lot about the other inhabitants including many of their secrets. It then turns out that he is a modern-day Peeping Tom who, unknown to everyone, has had surveillance cameras and microphones installed in every single apartment of the house, with his own place in the building serving as his headquarters. The novel is also a murder mystery, and the beautiful heroine soon becomes a damsel in distress herself.

Related Topics:
Peeping Tom - Damsel in distress

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Film version

Phillip Noyce's film version (1993, screenplay by Joe Eszterhas, who also wrote Basic Instinct) deviates considerably from the plot of the book. The film starred Sharon Stone and William Baldwin. The movie takes rather a simplistic stance on voyeurism, suggesting that wanting to secretly observe people and thus invading their privacy is part of human nature. Levin's novel, on the other hand, tries to draw a line between man's innate curiosity and pathological and compulsive behaviour patterns.

Related Topics:
Phillip Noyce - 1993 - Screenplay - Joe Eszterhas - Basic Instinct - Sharon Stone - William Baldwin - Voyeurism - Privacy - Human nature

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