Rating: 
Summary: What an utter disappointment
Review: I hated this book and here is why :
1.) Way too verbose (like a literature novel) for an action novel.
2.) Too much boring character development (to the point of being a distraction to the plot)
3.) Very slow. The plot took forever to develop. There was no suspense in the middle of the book.
4.) Terrible ending (the worst ending I could have imagined for this plot)
The only good thing I can say about this book
1.) I read it on the plane, so I really didn't "waste" my time per say, since I had to kill the time anyway.
Rating: 
Summary: Excellent additional info you don't get in the movie
Review: I have loved the movie the Manchurian Candidate from the first time I saw it in my 20s. The book is even better. I was surprised how much of the book was in the movie. Like the part where Marco and Rosie meet for the first time on the train. I thought that was some movie dialogue because it was so goofy.
The background information that you get in the book on things like Raymond's real father gives insight and understanding of why Raymond's mother acts the way that she does. It does not explain her ties to everyone.
I thought it was funny the way the book stereotypes Marco and the girls he meets always making him spaghetti and having the red sauce fly on his walls. I'm sure that had some symbolic meaning.
The description of the fight between Marco and Chujin is easier to understand in the book.
I like the fact that throughout the book until you find out who has brainwashed Raymond they only refer to the person as his American Operator. The American Operator is in many scenes before you find out who they but in the movie that wouldn't have worked so because you would have seen them.
The part that is different about the book is the trip to Europe with Raymond's Mother and the things that he does there.
In the book Marco is more cold hearted yet a better friend to Raymond. After all in the book they live together for some time.
Raymond relationship with his mother has to be the best part of the book and the things that she pulls on him.
The murders in the book are more brutal probably because you have to picture them in your head.
Condon's sardonic humor though out the book gives you the feeling of what people must have gone through in the 50s who were blacklisted.
I would highly recommend this book to anyone who likes political thrillers this is a real page turner and it was hard to put down.
Rating:
Summary: manchurian canidate
Review: I thought this book was interesting look into the cold war era. It was a very good read, and I enjoyed it. It was sometimes hard to follow, as the author sometimes went off the beaten path a bit. Overall though I would recomend this book.
Rating:
Summary: A Boy and His Mother
Review: Louis Menard points out his excellent introduction to The Manchurian Candidate that Richard Condon's novel is about control, conditioning, and manipulation. Raymond Shaw and his fellow G.I.s are captured in Korea, undergo "brainwashing", and are released believing that they, through the heroism of Sergeant Shaw, have been saved from a company of enemy infantry. The encounter never took place, of course, but that's the story that will win Raymond the Medal of Honor. However, Raymond has been conditioned to be the ulimate assassin. Meanwhile Major Marco, Raymond's commanding officer in Korea, has been having terrible nightmares in which he sees Raymond killing two members of their patrol in cold blood. He also sees himself and his patrol on a stage facing some high ranking Soviet and Chinese officals. The staggering nightmares cause Marco to start wondering if he, Raymond, and the others have been brainwashed. This leads him on a frantic investigation to discover the truth before something disastrous happens. Raymond can't recall any of what Marco has been dreaming about. He has been completely conditioned twice over -- once by the Pavlovian doctors and also by his mother, Mrs. Iselin, probably the most evil villainess in all of literature. She is the embodiment of Control and she savages anyone who gets in the way of her plans for domination. The Manchurian Candidate is very fine writing. Condon's style is eccentric but it is perfect for the bizarre, paranoid tale he is telling. His portrayal of Raymond as a damned soul is moving. Raymond, who is cursed with "crushing contemptuousness", is "impossible to like", but we can't help but be sympathetic to this young man who was never allowed to be himself, who was never allowed to feel. Mrs. Iselin is over-the-top, but who cares? She sends chills down your spine while providing some wicked humor. The Manchurian Candidate is a Freudian cocktail that will give you lots to chew on.
Rating: 
Summary: Great read after Umberto Eco's Foucault's Pendulum
Review: Richard Condon is a master of suspense, psychosexuality and paranoia. I read this book after Umberto Eco's Foucault's Pendulum which also deals with plots and paranoia. If you have just read Eco's book, read Condon's - you will be amazed at, and scared by, the similarities...Rik Schraag
Rating:
Summary: Alas, poor Raymond, I knew him well...
Review: Richard Condon's extraordinary novel about political upheavals, assassinations, and Communist meddling is probably one of the best politically based fiction books ever.
The story is about a man named Raymond and how, for political gain, he is mind washed into becoming a top political assassin.
That is mere formality, for this story is already well known. Now, this story is more known for the movie versions, original and re-make; however, as is often the case the book is even grander then the films.
I was enchanted by this story, as it still has at least some cultural relevance, (especially for those who lived during the assassinations of JFK and his brother RFK.)
In short, Condon directs us to look at more then just the crazy political system, but the whole wacky world. Thus, this is why the book is such a classic, and deserves and should be read by all.
Rating: 
Summary: Let the English Teachers love this one... I'm outta here
Review: This book is a good example of an author flaunting his formidable language skills instead of telling the story. In this book he digresses often into fanciful descriptions of things that do not have even the most remote relevance to the story. Read an abridged version or watch the movie, but don't subject yourself to the unabridged version.
Rating:
Summary: Thoroughly Captivating Read!
Review: This is a thrilling novel, especially relevant in the context of today's world politics. Fans of the original film will be impressed with how marvelously it was adapted from this complex and well written novel. I can't imagine why they're remaking the movie in an updated version with Denzel Washington and Meryl Streep, but hopefully they will exexcute it with the same class and poignancy as the first. A great read for people interested in the politics of the 20th Century and today.
Rating:
Summary: A Relentless Political Thriller, A True Classic
Review: Why this book is out of print is a mystery. Track down a used copy or join a nearby library that has one. You won't be disappointed. Richard Condon delivers a masterpiece of political and psychological horror, inspired by the ridiculous heights of the Cold War and the scourge of McCarthyism. The book's tragic protagonist, Raymond Shaw, was a soldier in the Korean War. He was captured by the Chinese and hypnotized and made into a programmable assassin. But the most shocking aspects of the novel are not the brainwashing, but who truly sponsored it and whom Raymond is ultimately destined to assassinate. The intrigue and curve-ball plot of this book send the mind reeling, as poor Raymond is relentlessly manipulated by those who use him, while those who want to save him deal with insurmountable obstacles. For a book written in 1959 it is surprisingly harsh, with nasty political diatribes from Condon along with prostitution, hard drug use, incest, and also a level of sexism that seems over the top today. The most obvious example of that last issue is Raymond's incredibly loathsome mother, whose evil amply propels the story; but she is sometimes a little difficult to believe in her sheer evil megalomania. But other than that, for a political thriller that is impossible to put down, you can't do much better than this classic, and the finale is truly shocking and heartbreaking. This one is well worth tracking down.
Rating:
Summary: Outstanding book of suspense and intrigue
Review: Yes! This is one of the most intriguing and suspenseful books I have ever read. It is a tale of sex, espionage, brainwashing(hypnosis), and excitement that will do you well. I locked myself in a hotel room and couldn't stop turning the pages; I read it cover to cover in a little more than a day. Get it!
|
