10 Minute Reads: The Manchurian Candidate
A 10 minute summary and brief review of Richard Condon’s 1959 suspense novel.
Raymond Shaw was born to a sick, scathing woman who desired very much to rule the world. Despite a childhood wherein she was molested and raped repeatedly by her own father and wherein she developed a sadistic and competitive relationship with her brother, Ellie would have her way in all things or she would unleash hell.
Everything Ellie did was calculating. Ellie left Raymond’s father for attorney John Iselin, and started building him up as a formidable political candidate. Johnny wins his race for US senate, making Ellie one of the most powerful people in the world.
She wields her political influence like an atomic sword, constantly and nefariously moving her man and her ideas forward, and leaving an incalculable body count in her wake. Ellie craves authority and influence to no end and is willing to do anything to have ultimate power and bend others to her demands.
One particular summer, her son Raymond took up with a girl. It was the first girl Raymond ever showed any interest in, and he wasn’t just interested, he was in love. Jocelyn Jordan and Raymond Shaw touched each others hearts that summer, shared their first kiss, and build an insurmountable bond. Something inside of Raymond blossomed like it never had before. This encounter with Jocelyn Jordan profoundly changed him. But Ellie Iselin wouldn’t allow a relationship with anyone in her family that didn’t come with some sort of advantage in her quest to rule the world.
Jocelyn’s father, Jim Jordan is a Democrat and Ellie and Johnny are Republicans. The Johnson’s can’t give Ellie anything she needs. She despises Tim Jordan, and she’ll be damned if little Jocelyn Jordan foils her plans for Raymond’s future. She bends Raymond to her will, writes Jocelyn a letter explaining that Raymond is actually a homosexual, and signs it. Raymond doesn’t see Jocelyn again, and his heart continues to crumble.
In an uncharacteristic stance of rebellion against his mother, Raymond enlists in the US military and is sent to China to fight in World War II.
In 1939 Captain Bennet Marco and his Army battalion, including Raymond Shaw, were stationed in China along the northern border. One night on patrol, his group was kidnapped by a group of Chinese and Russian military allies. They were held for three days, while a Pavlovian scientist probed the deepest wells of their brains and built them up as unwilling and unknowing terrorist sleeper cells.
When they were released, they had been given a harrowing tale to tell of a firefight wherein they lost two men and a single America soldier, Raymond Shaw, managed to save the rest of his injured and overrun battalion. To ensure the story stays together, they’ve instilled extremely strong affection, friendship, and loyalty into them for one another. For his efforts, Raymond was awarded the Medal of Honor, the military’s highest award.
Raymond takes a job with a newspaper in New York City and settles into his new life quickly. Raymond notices some new proclivities since his departure from the armed forces. For one, he now has an insatiable sex drive. He needs it, at all times, and he has started paying prostitutes for quick fixes. This suits him, because Raymond isn’t especially fond of people. His entire life he’s been completely emotionally detached except for the one summer with Jocelyn Jordan.
After a few months stateside, Raymond receives a letter from another member of his army crew, Al Melvin. Al has been having nightmares about their three day adventure in China and worries he is losing his mind.
The next day, Ben Marco shows up in New York City. Ben is sick, and needs Raymond’s help. He too is having nightmares and is now afraid to go to sleep. The army has placed him on indefinite sick leave. Raymond connects Ben with Al and the two are able to confirm they are having identical dreams.
In these dreams, they’ve been taken captive by a mixed group of Russian and Chinese soldiers and scientists. They’re tortured, made to smoke Yak dung cigars, and given new memories. Raymond is ordered and follows through with killing two of their army brothers.
Raymond has always hated the hoopla over his Medal of Honor. He suspected long ago his mother had something to do with the whole affair, and it has always left a sour taste in his mouth. Raymond suggests that Ben March court-martial himself for lying on the Medal of Honor paperwork, forcing the army into a full-blown investigation of the incident. Ben and Al go to the army with their information, but Ellie Iselin has already pulled her strings there and instead of an investigation, Bennet Marco leaves as a Colonel and the man he presented his information to commits suicide.
Raymond and Ben know they must escalate this issue. Ben goes to the FBI and CIA and forms a task force. They are able to ascertain the men were indeed kidnapped by the Chinese and Russian forces and their minds were overtaken by Pavlovian scientists. Based on the information they’ve acquired, the task force knows Raymond is the main sleeper in the plan.
They fill him in on their findings, and Ben continues his exhaustive research. He must figure out how the Chinese and Soviets are planning to activate Raymond, and what their master plan is.
Raymond meets annually with his mother despite his despising her very existence. If he didn’t, there’s no telling what Ellie would do to him. During this particular engagement, she tells him she’d like to arrange a marriage for him to none other than Jocelyn Jordan. Turns out, marrying Jocelyn can suddenly produce something that Ellie wants very much. She is going to get Johnny on the ticket for the Democratic Vice Presidential spot and needs to be sure Tim won’t cause any problems. Raymond is to go to Washington and attend a costume ball that very weekend and reintroduce himself to Jocelyn Jordan.
Raymond meets Ben for drinks that evening. While in the restaurant, the bartender is telling a story and uses the phrase, “Why don’t you pass the time with a little solitaire?” Raymond demands a set of playing cards and deals out a hand of solitaire. When the queen of diamonds comes up, he sits and waits. The bartender continues his story, “…get yourself a cab to Central Park and jump in the lake.” Raymond runs out of the restaurant, leaving Ben to put the pieces together.
Ben Marco sees the encounter and is immediately elated. Once he fishes Raymond out of the lake in Central Park, he meets his FBI/CIA team to tell them the news. He understands Raymond’s activation key, and he thinks he knows how they can stop it. Together, they devise a plan.
Ben takes a force deck (deck with only diamond queens) to Raymond’s. His plan is to show them all to Raymond and probe his mind for the full Soviet/Chinese plan. But when he gets to Raymond’s, the apartment is empty. He’s already in Washington.
Raymond’s interest is only on Jocelyn Jordan. She hasn’t arrived at the party yet, and Raymond is antsy. His psychotic, power hungry, mother sees his fidgety hands and guides him into her office for a drink of cold wine. Once inside, she asks if he’d like to pass the time with a little solitaire, and provides him a deck of playing cards. Raymond freezes when the queen of diamonds comes into play.
Ellie monologues to Raymond while he’s incoherent. She has a lot she needs to get off her chest. She was behind the entire operation, but they weren’t supposed to make Raymond the super-soldier. He was only supposed to get the Medal. Ellie deeply regrets that they’ve done this to him. She knows he likely won’t make it out of this situation alive. Ellie uses this opportunity to rape her son, who reminds her of her late pedophile father, whom she still insanely adores. She leaves Raymond in the office when they’re finished, still in his zoned-out state.
There is a door to the garden out of the office. Jocelyn enters. Her costume for the party is a queen of diamonds. She and Raymond immediately pick up where they left off all those years ago. She tells him she always loved him and he can’t help but obey since she is the queen of diamonds. He tells her he’s always loved her too, and they decide to get married, straight away. Jocelyn’s costume has resulted in her own love feelings being amplified in Raymond. He is able to feel more than deeply than a normal person at this point, and so is able to love more deeply than a normal person.
They escape back into the garden, board a plane giving fake names, and elope in Puerto Rico. Raymond and Jocelyn spend two weeks in South America while Bennet Marco tries desperately to track them down. He still doesn’t know of Ellie’s full involvement.
While Raymond and Jocelyn are on their honeymoon, Ellie and Johnny Iselin accuse Jocelyn’s father of being a communist. Upon their return, Raymond goes straight to Washington with plans to beat the tar off of Johnny Iselin and cut Ellie off forever. Bennet Marco is waiting for Raymond at his apartment in New York, certain that’s where he’ll turn up first. The enhanced feelings of love and adoration the Soviets and Chinese placed in Ben for Raymond, won’t allow him to stop his quest to save his friend.
As soon as Raymond gets back in front of his mother, she gives him the activation key, “Why don’t you pass the time with a little solitaire.” And gives him his next assignment. Raymond is to make scene at a bar and known journalist hangout to provide an alibi. He is in DC this weekend. That night, Raymond rides in the back of a box truck to New York, breaks into Tim Jordan’s home and murders him. Jocelyn enters in the middle of the act, and he murders her also (Under Ellie’s order to kill anyone who tries to stop you.) before escaping to the box truck and making back to DC.
When he wakes up, Raymond is distraught at finding out his wife and father in law have been murdered and races back to New York. The level of love and grief he is able to experience starts to break the hold Ellie’s brainwashing has on him. He is remembering things.
It’s the Democratic Convention and Ellie has arranged the votes for Johnny to make the ticket. She doesn’t believe Johnny has the electability needed to secure the presidency, but having Johnny a heartbeat away will make it easy to ensure his right to the office. They are announcing his candidacy tonight.
Raymond is tortured. His mind is opening, his love for his wife is breaking through the hold the Chinese and Soviet scientists have placed over him at his own mother’s charge. He is sick because he knows he indeed murdered his comrades, he knows his mother raped him, he knows he killed his own wife — the love of his life.
Ben finally finds Raymond, and fully releases him. Raymond knows now that he is supposed to go to the Democratic National Convention and kill the presidential nominee. He is also supposed to shoot Johnny Iselin in the shoulder, wounding him. Ellie Iselin had arranged the presidency for her husband in spectacular fashion.
Raymond can’t live with himself. Both men know it. They separate, Ben for his outfit’s headquarters, and Raymond for the convention. Ben stalls his men, allowing Raymond time to execute his final wishes.
At the convention, Ellie admonishes Johnny for fidgeting. Raymond never misses, she assures him. They stand and brace for the moment at hand, and their lights are shut off forever.
Raymond murders both Ellie and Johnny as they take the stage, then turns his gun on himself.
Ellie Iselin, like so many other villains before and after her, was brought down by a force she underestimated because it was a power she never understood — love.
The Manchurian Candidate is a story of how far two competing forces are willing to go to get what they want. One is after ultimate power, and the other love and retribution.
The story is engaging and riveting, giving the reader a glimpse into the villain's psychotic mind and what someone with no moral compass and a warped worldview can do with a little money and influence.
Despite the obvious time period propaganda, or perhaps because of it— Russian enemies, military industrial complex, the CIA saves the day — The Manchurian candidate weaves together an extraordinary tale that feels plausible in the wake of America’s new and old cold wars.
Recently, author Richard Condon has come under fire as portions of his book were found to be “heavily borrowed” from other works of literature from the early 1900s.
The book has been made into two major motion pictures. A 1962 version starred Frank Sinatra as Raymond Shaw and Angela Lansbury as Ellie Iselin. While the 1962 film far outstrips the 2004 Denzel Washington and Meryl Streep adaptation in terms of performance, script writing, and acting — neither film is able to capture the truly terrifying psychosis of Ellie Iselin like Richard Condon does in the book.
Book Rating: 7/10
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Secret Coran-Stacy is an author, entrepreneur, artist, and philanthropist living the dream as a middle class suburbanite in Central Arkansas. Find out more by visiting www.secretstacy.com
