One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

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

3.5

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.

well that hurt my brain

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

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.

new favourite book

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

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

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.

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.

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.

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

Wild and unnerving with manic flow and prose.

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.

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

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

didn't initially like it but the ending got me

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.

"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.

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

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.

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.