The Manchurian Candidate
Book description
'Brilliant...wild and exhilarating' New Yorker
Sgt Raymond Shaw is a hero of the first order. He's an ex-prisoner of war who saved the life of his entire outfit, a winner of the Congressional Medal of Honor, the stepson of an influential senator...and the perfect assassin. Brainwashed during his time as…
Why read it?
1 author picked The Manchurian Candidate as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?
I first came across this story in the classic 1962 film version. The original novel was published in 1959. It’s a political thriller about the military son of a US political family who’s brainwashed after capture in Korea into being an assassin for a communist conspiracy. Back in the USA, he commits murders on behalf of the communists while in a hypnotic state, with no memory of his actions afterwards. It’s a dark and chilling classic of Cold War paranoia, and I read it as part of my research before I wrote How It ends.
From Saskia's list on love and paranoia in Cold War Britain and America.
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