The Manchurian Candidate by Richard Condon

If you can’t stand the idea of Johnny Iselin, and I don’t blame you, then I guess you’ll just have to demand your own court-martial.” “ How? What do you mean? What are you talking about?” Marco looked as though he was just beginning to understand what Raymond wasĭusty road at the moment the snake had bitten Raymond, as he lay in his wine-colored swimming trunks where he had tripped and fallen in the road, staring from the green snake as it moved slowly through the golden dust toward the other side of the road, to the neat, new wound on his bare leg. If my Medal of Honor is a fake, and believe me I don’t see how it could be anything else because it doesn’t figure that I’m going to stand up in front of a lot of bullets and be a big hero for that passel of slobs, then somebody has to remember and somebody else has to make the rest of those guys remember that we’ve all been had. You know-somebody has to make people talk.” “Make who talk?” “ Well-uh-I-” “Yeah.” “ Well, the patrol. What there has to be, if we’re going to get anywhere with it, is a big, full-scale investigation. What the hell, Ben, you said so yourself-the Army can’t cope with this. I know Johnny is a swine better than you do.” “ Then why bring it up?” “Because we have to dump a thing like this on the specialists. What could a Senate committee do? And Iselin! Jesus, Raymond, let’s make an agreement never to mention that son-of-a-bitch ever again.” “It was just an idea. Highly recommended as one of the best political thrillers of the past 60 years.This country haven’t been able to shake it out and don’t have even the first suspicion of what could be causing it. The narration is strong and keeps your interest throughout. Like “1984” before it, “The Manchurian Candidate” will always serve as a warning about the trust we put in our elected officials and to whom their true motivation lies. Condon also does something very smart and mentions no political affiliation of any character (although it is somewhat alluded to) and although his allusion to McCarthyism was a main focal point and quite apparent, it still has scary similarities to today’s world of talking heads in the media and political world. You also get the sense of Greek tragedy and a psychological study through Raymond’s 9 year ordeal during the political rise of his family. The characters are developed in three dimensions, even Raymond’s mother, who is in competition as the worst mother of all time, has sympathetic moments.

Dealing with political manipulation and spy thriller, Richard Condon weaves a tight human drama against the backdrop of political espionage and intrigue.

The Manchurian Candidate, published in 1959 is as relevant as it was than as it is now.

The Manchurian Candidate by Richard Condon