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Loading... One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1962)by Ken Kesey
  
» 76 more Favourite Books (67) 1960s (2) 20th Century Literature (133) BBC Big Read (118) A Novel Cure (70) Top Five Books of 2016 (503) Books Read in 2016 (1,690) Satire (21) Read (29) Books Read in 2018 (2,046) Animals in the Title (12) Read These Too (16) 100 World Classics (57) Fiction For Men (85) Readable Classics (33) Books Read in 2012 (92) Pageturners (36) Books tagged favorites (263) Put a Bird On It (11) First Novels (17) Boys to Men (9) Penguin Random House (20) Five star books (711) Books tagged unread (13) LT picks: Blue Books (197) Unread books (981) No current Talk conversations about this book.  wellreadcatlady | Jul 9, 2018 |  If you can read this novel without squirming, you are a stalwart soul. It is so realistically horrific that it made me shudder. Kesey begins his story with an almost lighthearted humorous view of McMurphy, the fly in Big Nurse's ointment, who can stir up the quiet of the men's ward at the state insane asylum. But, he rapidly takes us beyond that to a realization that McMurphy is treading a dangerous road and playing a game in which he doesn't truly understand the rules or recognize the stakes. Kesey makes a serious statement about abusive authority, and I felt a tightness form around my heart as I thought about the control Big Nurse has and how devoid of compassion she is. The men on the ward receive more of what they need from McMurphy than they do from any of the staff, and while none of the men on the ward improve at the hands of the doctor or nurse, McMurphy gives many of them the will to live. He surely breaths life back into Chief. Finally, Chief as narrator is inspired. He should be a very unreliable narrator, being an inmate of the asylum. He tells us himself of his hallucinations, but we come to realize that he is the perfect silent observer and understands more of what lies beneath events than one would expect. He hears and sees everything and he foreshadows the ultimate outcome, even as he frees himself from the "fog" that the institution imposes upon him. This novel has earned its reputation as a modern classic. While the movie was very well done, I think the book has even more impact. Despite having some rough edges and being set in an environment we would hope does not any longer exist in this guise, its message is not dated at all. The Nurse Rached's of the world are still out there. It will continue to be a meaningful read well into the future. (  ) phantomswife | Jul 6, 2018 | Read this book, and have also watched the movie - the movie has NOTHING on this book, so, please do yourself a favor and read the book even if you've seen it on the big screen. Don't get me wrong, the movie is great - if you've already read the book, it's amazing to see it come to life. And, yes, I know Jack Nicholson is pretty, but STILL! Read the book, too! The book crafts these incredibly vivid images of despair, torture, and sadness that you FEEL as if you are watching a film. It's an incredible story of mental illness, friendship and the camaraderie between these patients and the strength of the human spirit. I laughed out loud several times, and I cried even more. Set in a mental asylum in the ’60s, McMurphy, our "anti-hero" is sent to stay, because he wants to avoid prison. He is not "crazy" - and it becomes a power struggle between him and "the system" (and in particular, an extremely power hungry nurse). There are so many layers to this story, and I hungrily peeled through them all and am sure if I read this again, I'd find many more layers. ( ) Bookapotamus | Jun 27, 2018 | life in a mental ward, 1960s, all male; great moments; disturbing view of women (  ) margaretfield | May 30, 2018 | As an observation on psychiatric hospitals/jails/reform institutions, this book made me really sad. As a metaphor for our society, it made sad AND scared! (  ) Bricker | Apr 24, 2018 |
 The world of this brilliant first novel is Inside—inside a mental hospital and inside the blocked minds of its inmates. Sordid sights and sounds abound, but Novelist Kesey has not descended to mere shock treatment or isolation-ward documentary. His book is a strong, warm story about the nature of human good and evil, despite its macabre setting.  What Mr. Kesey has done in his unusual novel is to transform the plight of a ward of inmates in a mental institution into a glittering parable of good and evil. Has the adaptationOne Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest [film] by Miloš Forman One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest : A Play in Two Acts by Dale Wasserman Is abridged inOne Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest / Thumb Tripping / The End of the Road / The World According to Garp by John Barth Has as a student's study guideCliffsNotes on Kesey's One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by Thomas R. Holland Ken Kesey's One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest (Modern Critical Interpretations) by Harold Bloom Coles Notes: Kesey's One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey Ken Kesey's One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest (Barron's Book Notes) by Peter Fish
References to this work on external resources.
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This book is just about perfect. I loved that it’s told from Bromden’s view and that he’s just in the background in most of these scenes that he’s witnessing. Even though Bromden isn’t the main character the plot is around he still very insightful about what he is seeing and his past. It can be hard to understand what he is talking about at first, but it becomes easier. I loved the relationship between McMurphy and Bromden, it’s so simple. McMurphy is obnoxious, but you root for him. He’s doing these guys some good. The Big Nurse is a uptight, but she’s doing her job and trying to make it go smoothly, so you also understand where she is coming from. Seeing these two butt heads and test each other is funny but tense. The ending is crazy, even though I had a feeling what was going to happen, I kept willing it not to happen. But even what I thought wasn’t the full ending. It’s beautiful ending in its way. (