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Cover of The Last Thing He Wanted

The Last Thing He Wanted

by Joan Didionliterary work· published 1996

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The Last Thing He Wanted is a novel by Joan Didion. It was published by Alfred A. Knopf in 1996. The story centers on Elena McMahon, a reporter for The Washington Post who quits her job covering the 1984 United States presidential election to care for her father after her mother's death. In an unusual turn of events, she inherits his position as an arms dealer for the U.S. Government in Central America. In this sparsely written, quick-paced narrative, Elena struggles to cope with the spies, American military personnel, and the consequences of her father's errors that are waiting for her on a small island in the Lesser Antilles.

Adaptations (1)

The Last Thing He Wanted was adapted into a 2020 film.

  • Poster for The Last Thing He Wanted
    The Last Thing He Wanted
    2020 · film · 115 min · dir. Dee Rees · IMDb ↗

    At the turning point of the Iran-Contra affair, Elena McMahon, a fearless investigative journalist covering the 1984 US presidential campaign, puts herself in danger when she abandons her assigned task in order to fulfill the last wish of her ailing father, a mysterious man whose past activities she barely knows.

    US:Stream