Ken Kesey

Boisterous, ribald, and ultimately shattering, Ken Kesey's One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest is the seminal novel of the 1960s that has left an indelible mark on the literature of our time. Here is the unforgettable story of a mental ward and its inhabitants, especially the tyrannical Big Nurse Ratched and Randle Patrick McMurphy, the brawling, fun-loving new inmate who resolves to oppose her. We see the struggle through the eyes of Chief Bromden, the seemingly mute half-Indian patient who witnesses and understands McMurphy's heroic attempt to do battle with the awesome powers that keep them all imprisoned.

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

Boisterous, ribald, and ultimately shattering, Ken Kesey's 1962 novel One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest has left an indelible mark on the literature of our time. Here is the unforgettable story of a mental ward and its inhabitants, especially the tyrannical Big Nurse Ratched and Randle Patrick McMurphy, the brawling, fun-loving new inmate who resolves to oppose her. We see the struggle through the eyes of Chief Bromden, the seemingly mute half-Indian patient who witnesses and understands McMurphy's heroic attempt to do battle with the awesome powers that keep them all imprisoned.

This edition includes a new forward by Kesey, a new text introduction by Robert Faggan, and line drawings the author made when writing the book, many never before published.

--back cover

The suicide left its own mark on Kesey, who had witnessed a man willing to make the greatest sacrifice in honor of a way of life, a way of life that no developer could buy from him. In a perverse way, the Indian embodied Thoreau's vigw that "in wildness is the preservation of the world." The dam represents machinery that destroys one way of life in service to another. 

An international bestseller and the basis for the hugely successful film, Ken Kesey’s One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest is one of the defining works of the 1960s.

In this classic novel, Ken Kesey’s hero is Randle Patrick McMurphy, a boisterous, brawling, fun-loving rebel who swaggers into the world of a mental hospital and takes over. A lusty, life-affirming fighter, McMurphy rallies the other patients around him by challenging the dictatorship of Nurse Ratched. He promotes gambling in the ward, smuggles in wine and women, and openly defies the rules at every turn. But this defiance, which starts as a sport, soon develops into a grim struggle, an all-out war between two relentless opponents: Nurse Ratched, backed by the full power of authority, and McMurphy, who has only his own indomitable will. What happens when Nurse Ratched uses her ultimate weapon against McMurphy provides the story’s shocking climax.

Source: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/537784/one-flew-over-the-cuckoos-nest-by-ken-kesey/9781101209042

overall, i think it's a well-written piece of literature and i enjoyed reading it, but i can't ignore the blatant racism and misogyny throughout the whole book... we're supposed to root for a literal sex offender who raped a 15 year old girl? it was all making me very uncomfortable

asmo

Carmen Maria

Jaden Nelson

Sorry, it’s a DNF. I had planned on listening to the rest of the book on audiobook but I don’t really want to finish it that badly. I did enjoy some of the humor and I’m a sucker for symbolism, but it felt stale to me and it just wasn’t really my thing.

Ken Kesey's One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest captured the radical anti-establishment mood of 1960s America. Tyrannical Nurse Ratched rules her psychiatric ward with an iron fist and a penchant for electric shock therapy, so when the boisterous McMurphy arrives - intent on disruption and showing the other patients a good time - a titanic battle of wills emerges. Kesey explores the shadowy boundaries between conformity and individuality, sanity and madness, with devastating effect.

Source: https://www.penguin.com.au/books/one-flew-over-the-cuckoos-nest-popular-penguins-9780141037493

Penny Devereux 

Mia Caven

this was pretty good. characters with interesting quirks and stories. not one of my favourites but I can get why it’s liked

Lara Engle

I've read this book twice in the last year, once for a high school class I was tutoring and the second time for a college course. This book is so layered, it grows with repeat readings. Some books get less interesting and fall apart if you read them more than once. Cuckoo's Nest draws you deeper.

melanie 

A criminal feigns insanity and is admitted to a mental hospital where he challenges the autocratic authority of the head nurse.

Julian

Another classic story about individuality, mechanization and industrialization. A critique on societies treatment of mental health. However, it was written in 1962 so it has racist/sexist undertones

Colleen

4 Stars

*Original and perceptive if a bit chaotic in style*


As I worked my way through my TBR backlog, I eventually came to One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. I went into it a little hesitantly as this is the sort of story that is typically hit or miss for me. Most of the time, I’m not a fan of unreliable narrators or stream-of-consciousness. But I have to say that Kesey did a great job of creating a strange but compelling story. The atmosphere of suppressed frenzy was palpable. And somehow the story seemed both far-fetched but yet believable. Maybe not the specifics, but some of the insights into human nature were quite perceptive.


  “This world . . . belongs to the strong, my friend! The ritual of our existence is based on the strong getting stronger by devouring the weak. We must face up to this. No more than right that it should be this way. We must learn to accept it as a law of the natural world. The rabbits accept their role in the ritual and recognize the wolf is the strong. In defense, the rabbit becomes sly and frightened and elusive and he digs holes and hides when the wolf is about. And he endures, he goes on. He knows his place. He most certainly doesn't challenge the wolf to combat. Now, would that be wise? Would it?”

Kesey took readers to an unexpected place. And by that I don’t just mean the fact that the story is set inside an asylum. No, what was unexpected was the way the story twisted those forgotten members of society into underdog heroes as they fought to resist the seemingly tyrannical control of Nurse Ratched. 


  “All I know is this: nobody's very big in the first place, and it looks to me like everybody spends their whole life tearing everybody else down.”

I did actually like having a female “villain.” The way Nurse Ratched exerted control was interesting. And it showed how very different people can seem in other people’s perception. It’s surprising how some people jump from female antagonist to sexist though. Yes, she was the only female character with significant page time, but that doesn’t mean the story is sexist. If anything, it shows how easily the men villainize a woman in control. The story is admittedly crude though, and that did boarder on gratuitously crude at times.

Nonetheless, I have to say I was never truly captivated by the story. Oh, I was engaged by it for sure and invested in what would happen. But I was also never wowed by it. The narrative was so inconsistent in structure that it was frustrating at times – although, admittedly, that did add to the atmosphere. 

This is sometimes the downside to reading classics. By the time later generations get around to reading them, those stories have been imitated and retold and reiterated so many times that there isn’t a shock factor. I can absolutely see why this book made such a splash when it was first published in 1962 though. I’m glad I finally read it, but I’m also glad to move on.

 
RATING FACTORS:
Ease of Reading: 4 Stars
Writing Style: 3 Stars
Characters and Character Development: 4 Stars
Plot Structure and Development: 4 Stars
Level of Captivation: 3 Stars
Originality: 5 Stars

Gillian Rose

I really liked the movie so always wanted to read this. It wasn't my favorite. The characters and story is good but it is slowwwww in the middle. Oh well.

With Illustrations and a Preface by the Author

Katie Siegle

Although I had to read this for school, I enjoyed it. There are plenty of literary devices that the reader does not get bored when reading. I really liked the characters and how all of them differed from one another. Had I not had to read this for school I probably would not have, but I'm glad I did. I recommend this to anyone to likes classic literature.

felicity yoon

I am sorry, just the writing style doesn't match with me, as soon as I pick up to read, I somehow fall asleep not once but four times. The narrative is untrustworthy, and the dialogues are boring too. That's what maybe the author intended to cuz the characters are kinda cuckoo. But I can't continue with it and DNF it.

Ken Kesey's story of life in a state mental hospital is a classic of American literature. This collection features not only a Fresh Air with Terry Gross interview with the late Ken Kesey but also narration by the author himself.

Source: https://highbridgeaudio.com/oneflewovercuckoosnestexpanded.html

One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest

I read this before apparently but do not remember whatsoever so here we go again.

As someone with mental health issues, the book really speaks to a lot of my personal experience. It’s visceral and powerful in its revelation that most of the patients are in the institution willingly - or at least for lack of a better option. Mental illness really can be it’s own trap. 

[Caveat, I am white]: I will say I am conflicted about the inherent racism in the book - specifically anti-black. The book clearly confronts anti-native American sentiment, but I’m not sure how purposeful the anti-black racism is. I understand there’s a lot to be said about the period & the setting, but it’s still something to recognize and talk through. I intend to do some more reading on it.

overall a poignant and unfortunately very relatable read

Bowie 

I read this before apparently but do not remember whatsoever so here we go again.

As someone with mental health issues, the book really speaks to a lot of my personal experience. It’s visceral and powerful in its revelation that most of the patients are in the institution willingly - or at least for lack of a better option. Mental illness really can be it’s own trap. 

[Caveat, I am white]: I will say I am conflicted about the inherent racism in the book - specifically anti-black. The book clearly confronts anti-native American sentiment, but I’m not sure how purposeful the anti-black racism is. I understand there’s a lot to be said about the period & the setting, but it’s still something to recognize and talk through. I intend to do some more reading on it.

overall a poignant and unfortunately very relatable read

Amelie

It was interesting with depth, but it still had an element that didn't draw me in, maybe because it was for school.

Fraser Simons

Wild and unnerving with manic flow and prose.

Tameka Young

Kesey's in depth look into life inside a mental institution is a roller coaster ride of brilliance. I *love* a plot that is character driven, and the characters in this novel are more interesting and eccentric than most. I don't want to waste a lot of time examining the hows and the whys and what the book says about our establishment as society because there have been those far smarter and more articulate than I that have done so.

I had the pleasure of seeing an independent production of a play based on the book last night and at the time I hadn't finished the novel. Now I've never seen the movie, so I had no idea what would happen past the first 112 pages. Let's just say my mind was sufficiently blown enough to come home straight away and finish the other 150+ pages while the vision of the actors' performances were fresh in my mind. Kudos to them by the way, it was very emotional,

This novel is incredibly thought provoking, inspiring, well-written, and just plain good. I regret not having the opportunity to read it sooner, it definitely made an impression on me that is still resonating.

Tyrannical Nurse Ratched rules her ward in an Oregon State mental hospital with a strict and unbending routine, unopposed by her patients, who remain cowed by mind-numbing medication and the threat of electric shock therapy. But her regime is disrupted by the arrival of McMurphy – the swaggering, fun-loving trickster with a devilish grin who resolves to oppose her rules on behalf of his fellow inmates. His struggle is seen through the eyes of Chief Bromden, a seemingly mute half-Indian patient who understands McMurphy's heroic attempt to do battle with the powers that keep them imprisoned. Ken Kesey's extraordinary first novel is an exuberant, ribald and devastatingly honest portrayal of the boundaries between sanity and madness.

--back cover

Fellowes Cynthia

Read it years ago and have seen the play and the movie. Excellent.

B.H. Pitt

Stunning and heartbreaking. Highly recommend the audiobook narrated by John C. Reilly--he really brought all the characters to life.

Tasha Dykstra

didn't initially like it but the ending got me

Josie McQueen

I began reading this book as part of an assignment, and I had  worries about it. Published in the 1960's, the novel follows "Chief" Bromden, a large, native american, chronic patient, as he navigates life inside a mental institution in the 1950's. Despite negative connotations that come with that time period, the author is able to criticise social issues of the time while creating an interesting story. The protagonists are all individuals, the narrator is confusing (probably because of his mental issues) but describes the story well and the antagonist is someone I grew to despise. It made me think about my role in the world and how I conform to society.

Sofia Collodel

"I indulged in certain practices that our society regards as shamefull. And I got sick. It wasn't the practices, I don't think, it was the feeling that the great, deadly, pointing forefinger of society was pointing at me."


It took me a long time to finish this book, not because it wasn't fun (it was amazing) but because I wanted to fully understand everything that was happening in the hospital.
Tyranical Nurse Ratched rules her ward in an Oregon State mental hospital with a strict, unbending rutine. Her patients, scared with threats of electric shock therapy and numbed with medication don't dare to oppose her. Until everything changes with the arrival of swaggering, fun loving trickster McMurphy. 
The books delivers a very shocking message: that some mental wards are not designed to cure their patients but rather serve as instruments of oppression. The character of sane-yet-confined McMurphy is the first irony of the book. As he is sane, he fights against the wrong methods and stands up against Nurse Ratched aka Big Nurse who, being an obsessive compulsive lady, wants to have everything in order and done by the tick of the clock.
 
The book is told from the perspective of "Chief Broom" who is not a reliable narrator because he is a schizophrenic. But Kesey made use of this to come up with a strangely beautiful and interesting narrative. Had this been narrated in a straightforward manner the novel would not have the same impact and would not have been that good.

Boisterous, ribald, and ultimately shattering, this is the unforgettable story of a mental ward and its inhabitants, especially the tyrannical Big Nurse and Randle Patrick McMurphy, the brawling, life-loving new inmate who resolves to oppose her. We see the struggle through the eyes of Chief Bromden, the seemingly mute half-Indian patient, who witnesses and understands McMurphy's heroic attempt to do battle with the awesome power of The Combine.
--back cover

Irina 

The kind of book that can you you laugh and very sad at the same time.

Simon Elliott Stegall

A highly entertaining book, but not a particularly moving one. Not sure why it became a classic other than the movie. Still, a good read.

Kerry Gibbons

I have complicated thoughts about this book. They’re not wholely unrelated to race and gender and disability. So it’s gonna take me a couple days to sort those out. I’ll expand this review later.

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

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