The Manchurian Candidate

De: Richard Condon

Narrado por: Christopher Hurt

Buried deep within the consciousness of Sergeant Raymond Shaw is the mechanism of an assassin, a time bomb ticking toward explosion, controlled by the delicate skill of its Communist masters. Shaw returns from the Korean War to an idolizing and unsuspecting country. In a farcical, uproarious scene, he is greeted amid flashbulbs and frock coats by his power-hungry, domineering mother and her politician husband, who have decided to use Shaw's fame to further their own unscrupulous ambitions. What follows is at once a spy story, a love story, and a sobering, yet outrageously funny satire on demagoguery in American politics. Two tender love stories provide an undercurrent theme: the powers of light against the powers of dark. Shaw, the pawn, the brainwashed, is caught between the forces struggling for his soul.©1959 by Richard Condon (P)1995 by Blackstone Audiobooks

Reseñas de la Crítica

"A psychoanalytic horror tale...and an irate sociopolitical satire." (The New York Times)
"Filled with that 'un-put-downable' element which makes this sort of [listening] a great deal of fun indeed." (San Francisco Chronicle)

Monotonous performance

Great story, but unfortunately, I struggled to finish due to the monotony of the naration.

Why was I reading phrases from Robert Grave’s “I, Claudius”

I can certainly understand why Robert Graves would be a model for an extraordinary writer, but this author has literally lifted exact phrasing from his historical fiction novel, “I, Claudius”. I would invite anyone to read the passages about Livia and Augustus, her previous marriage and divorce from Tiberius Claudius Nero, and subsequent marriage to Augustus - literally the EXACT same situation, relationships, characterization of personalities and phrasing. Why?

a classic

struggled to finish. good basic story but no excitement but shows how brain washing done

Well Known Political Thriller

The Manchurian Candidate is possibly best known from its film adaptations, the first being the old black and white version starring Frank Sinatra and Angela Lansbury, and the second being more modern featuring Denzel Washington and Liev Schrieber. I have only seen the first of these adaptations, and can say that the film version does not stray very far from the novel it is adapted from. I am curious about reading the novel more, as the narrators delivery was a bit bumpy. It was noir-ish and while not terrible, I think his delivery downplayed significantly tense events. The sound quality overall left something to be desired as this sounded like an old recording. All in all not a bad listen, but not a great one.

What a wonderful title!

Both the author and the narrator of this book are truly skilled and make this title a genuine treat. The speed of both the plot and narration are perfectly excecuted and the characterization is superb. What is an excellent plot is made even better by this narration!

Balancing terror with humor with shocking effect

In the pale light of our North American crime wave in Washington. The Russians and Chinese use of “brainwashing” seems ironically amateur.

Great story; great narrator.

I've seen both versions of the movie, but they didn't take anything away from the book version. Excellent writing.

Book is even better than the film

Always been one of my favorite films but the book doesn’t let you stop listening it just gets better and better

It was a good book, not a great one but a good one

It was a good book, not a great one but a good one.
the narrator falls in the same category.

Loved it

Finally reading the book, the movie is a top favorite for me. Enjoyed the differences between the two, with the book being more complex and deep. The narrator performed women and different men very well. Reccomended!