The Manchurian Candidate - Review
The Manchurian Candidate by
Finished reading The Manchurian Candidate book - took me almost a week. I started reading it on a flight with nothing to choose from and no idea of what the story line/genre is. It has turned out to be a shocker. I have been following the election news cycle in the US very intently of late and its amazing that the story revolves around various aspects of the life of a man whose mother is consumed with passion for political power and step father is a putty in her hands. He is also an amazing actor in the political arena - a very notorious senator whose brand is anti-democracy, pro-autocracy and divisive on many levels similar to current prevalent atmosphere. His enemies fear him and his friends revere him in awe - for he holds their reputation and lives in his head smeared with dirty secrets.
A man is brainwashed/trained to become the perfect assassin. Someone who can take orders and implement them to the T. He can kill and forget who ordered it, how he did it, that he did it and not have guilt associated with his action. Such a being can not put himself or anyone else in danger even if caught. His name is Raymond Shaw. His step father is a formidable state senator who rose to power and recognition through savvy tactics of his intelligent and ruthlessly ambitious wife. She can anything done,any strings pulled and seek vengeance at friends and foes alike should they injure her pride. Raymond is cold and dead inside with an inability to form meaningful human connection to another. He hates everything in the world and hence has no fear of losing anything. Until a girl comes along with whom he falls in love with. She is the only person whom he could open up to and on one of his killing missions he shoots her dead. He feels terrible,terrible sense of loss and melancholy but his mind is so twisted that he doesn't know why.
It takes a new level to which science of psychological manipulation and brain washing can be used for. Seven to eight years in the making, Raymond put into a state of deep hypnosis and loaded with truth serums doesn't reveal his secret. The story is fast paced and the plot gets interesting when Raymond is contacted by his ex-boss Marco who complains of recurring nightmares which suggest a contradictory story to what the world has been led to believe in. The story the world has been told gets Raymond a medal of honor for his bravery and gallantry in overseas war. Marco contests that the war never took place and they have been brainwashed to believe in it. Albeit having much to lose, Raymond wants the truth and asks his friend to go ahead with an investigation. They accidentally find out what Raymond's trigger phrase is, how when in the state of activation, he takes orders and implements them without thinking or questioning. His mother is the mastermind and at the helm of this secret operation to build a perfect assassin. She shows some conflict in her emotions for using her own son and putting him in positions of heart break but her ambition leaves her with no choice. She wants to rule the country and then the world through her husband Johnny as the president.
Raymond hated and is resentful to anyone and everyone in the world but it is not possible to feel apathy towards what he undergoes as a human machine. There was an episode from Doctor who where a lovely girl Billy Potts who is taken to an alien planet by the doctor has physical surgery done to her. Most of her organs are transplanted into a new robot suit and her heart feels pain, head feels duty. The story ends with himself killing himself which I didn't see coming but maybe Marco had more sympathy and love for a man who accepted him as a trustee and ally. I am giving this a 5-star rating for the novel idea, brilliant portrayal of characters and the Iselinism overlap with current political situation in US(Trumpism) is spot on. This is almost a prophetic book.
Finished reading The Manchurian Candidate book - took me almost a week. I started reading it on a flight with nothing to choose from and no idea of what the story line/genre is. It has turned out to be a shocker. I have been following the election news cycle in the US very intently of late and its amazing that the story revolves around various aspects of the life of a man whose mother is consumed with passion for political power and step father is a putty in her hands. He is also an amazing actor in the political arena - a very notorious senator whose brand is anti-democracy, pro-autocracy and divisive on many levels similar to current prevalent atmosphere. His enemies fear him and his friends revere him in awe - for he holds their reputation and lives in his head smeared with dirty secrets.
A man is brainwashed/trained to become the perfect assassin. Someone who can take orders and implement them to the T. He can kill and forget who ordered it, how he did it, that he did it and not have guilt associated with his action. Such a being can not put himself or anyone else in danger even if caught. His name is Raymond Shaw. His step father is a formidable state senator who rose to power and recognition through savvy tactics of his intelligent and ruthlessly ambitious wife. She can anything done,any strings pulled and seek vengeance at friends and foes alike should they injure her pride. Raymond is cold and dead inside with an inability to form meaningful human connection to another. He hates everything in the world and hence has no fear of losing anything. Until a girl comes along with whom he falls in love with. She is the only person whom he could open up to and on one of his killing missions he shoots her dead. He feels terrible,terrible sense of loss and melancholy but his mind is so twisted that he doesn't know why.
It takes a new level to which science of psychological manipulation and brain washing can be used for. Seven to eight years in the making, Raymond put into a state of deep hypnosis and loaded with truth serums doesn't reveal his secret. The story is fast paced and the plot gets interesting when Raymond is contacted by his ex-boss Marco who complains of recurring nightmares which suggest a contradictory story to what the world has been led to believe in. The story the world has been told gets Raymond a medal of honor for his bravery and gallantry in overseas war. Marco contests that the war never took place and they have been brainwashed to believe in it. Albeit having much to lose, Raymond wants the truth and asks his friend to go ahead with an investigation. They accidentally find out what Raymond's trigger phrase is, how when in the state of activation, he takes orders and implements them without thinking or questioning. His mother is the mastermind and at the helm of this secret operation to build a perfect assassin. She shows some conflict in her emotions for using her own son and putting him in positions of heart break but her ambition leaves her with no choice. She wants to rule the country and then the world through her husband Johnny as the president.
Raymond hated and is resentful to anyone and everyone in the world but it is not possible to feel apathy towards what he undergoes as a human machine. There was an episode from Doctor who where a lovely girl Billy Potts who is taken to an alien planet by the doctor has physical surgery done to her. Most of her organs are transplanted into a new robot suit and her heart feels pain, head feels duty. The story ends with himself killing himself which I didn't see coming but maybe Marco had more sympathy and love for a man who accepted him as a trustee and ally. I am giving this a 5-star rating for the novel idea, brilliant portrayal of characters and the Iselinism overlap with current political situation in US(Trumpism) is spot on. This is almost a prophetic book.
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