Life is too short...
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This dull and dusty book dragged on with the occasional witty insight. I was relieved when it ended in its's decisive manner. Not worth it.
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A classic that everyone should read
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This is a amazing novel. The central character, McMurphy, has been sent from prison to a mental institution - as he initially sees it, a big step up. No more working in the fields; he now has a cushy life sitting on a hospital ward. Until he realises that the straightforward rules of 'serve your time and be released' no longer apply: he is now imprisoned even further and is at the mercy of hospital government in the form of the Big Nurse.
Although Kesey's novel is intended as a metaphor for the government's control of people's lives, the reason it works so well for me is because the characterisation is equally interesting in its own right. McMurphy's tense, carefully fought and long drawn out battle with the Big Nurse shows us a lot about his character and shows his growing sense of responsibility towards the other men. The freedom he tries so hard to give them is heavily undermined when he learns that they have entered the hospital voluntarily: his own sense of self worth has become closely tied to his efforts to increase theirs. To learn that the other "prisoners" are in fact there seemingly of their own free will is shocking to McMurphy, who cannot understand them.
McMurphy is the outcast, the rebel, the top dog of his own world, who initially starts by actively embracing the hospital, and ends by loathing it yet not quite managing to leave (despite opportunities). He cannot comprehend why the other men are there voluntarily, yet his desire to help them prevents him from leaving and makes him one of them.
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An amazing example of American fiction.
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'One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest' by Ken Keesy is one of the most prominent examples of American fiction in the 20th century. The novel is based, almost entirely on the interactions he had with mental patients while he was working at a mental institution. While Ken Keesy experimented exstensively with LSD, he became very interested in studying perception. This led to the production of 'One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest'.
'One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest' is the intense story of a group of mentally ill patients and their over bearing nurse. This Nurse has complete control over the hospital ward, and the patients are entirely beaten down and do not question her authority. McMurphy arrives - and everything changes. A rouge, gamballing, criminal who subverts all authority. He challenges the Nurse's power, first as a game, then as a desperate attempt to prove to the patients that life is worth living. He lives with men, who feel that their lives are over, as they helplessly confrom to the Nurse's whim. McMurphy, brings laughter, adventure, women and booze to the small hospital world; most importantly, he provides these men with a hero. They idolise him as a saviour and through their devotion force him to become one, as he gives his life in their defence. Keesy's novel is powerful, and uplifting, yet with a fatalistic note. We know it can not end happily as the Nurse is a symbol for the whole system of government and McMurphy is only one man. However, the whole novel resonates with power, despite the nihalistic undertones.
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Nearly as good as the film, told from the POV of the Indian
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McMurphy, sacrificing himself for the good of the ward, is actually a Christ-like figure in this book. His conflict with Nurse Ratchet is a rivetting, moving experience.
A minor point: unusually, the book is not quite as good as the film. Another example I can think of where this is the case is The Shining, which strangely also stars Jack Nicholson. However, though it doesn't quite reach the giddy heights of Forman's cinematic masterpiece, it's still an excellent read.
The most significant difference to the film is that the book is told from the perspective of the Indian rather than McMurphy. Anecdotes suggest that Kesey was none too pleased with this.
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The Greatest Twentieth Century Novel?
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Simply genius. Kesey can split your sides - the pandemonium in front of the unplugged TV, or that fishing trip! - just as he can utterly choke you when revealing the fates of his endearing, off-and-up-the-wall creations. The swashbucking, streetwise, glib McMurphy and his pal, earnest and spiritual Big Chief Bromden, throw in their lot against the sinister Big Nurse's regime. When they inspire the rest of the ward (we're in a mental institute here) to join in the fight against crooked middlebrow authority, the scene is set for a mad, winner-takes-all showdown.
The novel is microcosmic of 1960's America, as such Kesey was lauded as a prophet by the civil rights movement. Little wonder! However, if you are solely concerned with great books you need look no further than this one. A classic line or an enlightening episode is always just over the page... BEWARE! The all-powerful Combine will stop at nothing to reassert its orderly, grey rule!
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