Poorly Worded Manchurian Candidate Continues to Please

The Manchurian Candidate, written by Richard Condon in 1959, is considered a classic in Cold War literature, and it has been made into two movies since  its creation. But how does it hold up today?

The plot is centered around a man named Raymond Shaw who, while serving in the Korean War, was kidnapped and brainwashed with the rest of his squad by communists. However, the thing that makes Raymond special is that he holds a disdain for virtually the whole human race, a trait I found refreshing due to how many characters in books try too hard to be likeable or just turn out inadvertently unlikeable. Since he is so disconnected from other people emotionally, he is chosen by the communists to be made into an assassin.

Shaw could only be “activated” into becoming an assassin by the phrase “how about a game of solitaire to pass the time?” and drawing the queen of diamonds. Upon his “activiation”, he would do anything he was commanded to do without any prior memory of executing the task after completing it.

This thriller, however, follows other characters along the way,  including Ben Marco, Raymond’s friend and former squad leader who tries to figure out what is wrong with Raymond. This character is one I grew to like and respect, just as I grew to hate his megalomaniacal and controlling mother as I learned more about her.

Despite having an excellently crafted cast of characters and an intriguing storyline, the book suffers from issues with wording, such as in the following quote, “He had elected himself Head Chump when he stepped down from Valhalla and telephoned this sweaty little advantage taker.” This quote makes virtually no sense and is only one example of the rather poor wording that pops up every once in a while in the book.

Despite the issues in the wording, The Manchuria Candidate is a very good book with colorful and interesting characters. It includes a highly interesting plot and twists that I never saw coming.