I first read this book during unfortunate personal circumstances circa 1993. It immediately resonated with the 25 year old rebel that I considered myself to be at the time. Over the years I've read this book about once every five years, and am currently on my 4th copy after giving it to a number of folks with the understanding that they were to pass it along. A lot of the reviews here want to make comparisons to "cuckoo" and "notion". For the life of me I can't understand why... Sailor Song is a More...

The phrase I was searching for throughout "Sailor Song" was "wish fulfillment." It's difficult to read the protagonist, Ike Sallas, as anything but the man hero that Kesey constructed in McMurphy of "One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest," and really anything but a stand in for the agonized activist Kesey himself. I'm loathe to draw comparisons between authors and their subjects, but Ike Sallas is simply not a believable character, and if he's just a construct, well, then I guess that's the only optio More...

Well well. I'd read the reviews and wasn't going to bother, but came across the book while traveling and decided to give it a go. Most of the book is certainly enjoyable. There are some great moments, and a decent set-up. A few explanations are missing, and some of the lingo I didn't understand, but I kept reading assuming a few more details would be forthcoming. But they weren't. I don't regret reading the book, but would highly advise expecting absolutely nothing from the ending. As others hav More...

Wow, I really liked this book for like 7/8's of the way through. Kesey paints a wonderful picture of a small, coastal Alaskan fishing village full of colorful characters that come into "good fortune" brought on by big business, hollywood types. There was just the right amount of salty sea anecdotes, heroes dressed in middle class garb, villains with suspicious motives, vigilante religiosity, paranoid drug pushers, and reformed drunks all working the various angles of dealing with the draw of mon More...

What do you do with a book by Ken Kesey? I guess you read it no matter what. The first 95% of this book is about murder on the high seas, eskimos, and GMO marijuana. The last 5% is fiction. It's kind of like JR waking up from the dream sequence. A weird choice on the part of the rider. This was the closest I've ever come to putting down a 600 page book with fewer than 20 pages to go.

In the spirit of fair play, I must inform you that Ken Kesey is my favorite. There is no book I love more than "Sometimes A Great Notion".

"Sailor Song" was a disappointment.

The style was more Vonnegut than Kesey's previous books had been. The content was much more disjointed, held together with cheesy puns and semi-ridiculous scenarios. The novel was clearly wanting development.

At the same time, there was a lot of promise. There was a girl with a big crush, an Angry Aleut, an albino mastermind More...

To say that I fell in love with the characters of this tale would be an understatement. From the first page to the last I've loved following Isaak and Greer through rugged Alaskan terrain. It is a tale that says too much that isn't said. It rings true to alot of our own societal issues in that if we don't shape up we're apt to destroy ourselves. This story creates a town that in the end destroys itself due to its own greed. A truth with which we're all aware yet most of us chose to be ignorant t More...

This is a quick read, and not as good as Keasy's Cuckoo... or ...Great Notion. The scene was set in Kuniak, Alaska, about 2010. Our hero, Ike Sallas, is a retired environmental terrorist. Other important characters are average people. Plot is set when sick Hollywood types sail in to produce an ancient Eskimos movie. What we learn is that the world is full of dichotomies, good and bad, green and black, new and old, etcetera. One part of the dichotomy always threatens the other and in the end the More...

"One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" and "Sometimes a Great Notion" are two the greatest novels I've read. Like those two, Kesey's "Sailor Song" is full of memorable characters and a wonderful, imaginative plot that keeps the reader intrigued. Lots of social commentary mixed in, too, which holds up two decades after the book was written.

Problem is, with a massive book like this, the reader would expect a great payoff. Kesey keeps the reader in suspense, presenting a number of possible outcomes, yet More...

So it's been a while since I dived into the sheets with Ken Kesey. In high school I feel in love with Cuckoo, and after college it was "Sometimes", which I often describe as the longest poem I'll ever read. I read "Sometimes" several times over and it only got better.
It's been nearly a decade, and I stumbled across this novel, which was given to me with the explanation that if I were a T. Robbins fan, I would like this. Well I've never read T. Robbins, and I'm a solid Kesey fan, so what to do w More...

I never finished reading this, but I watched Kesey write it at the Dirty D in Astoria. When he held a book-singing at the Maritime Museum after completing the book, for the first, and only time,(for myself), I went to get an author's signature on a book. (I once went to a book-signing for a Star Wars book, as a gift for my cousin Pete, who loves Star Wars, and liked that particular author.)
I remember particularly the effort that Kesey put into personalizing each book. He didn't just have a pen More...

I came to this novel many years after reading and loving his other novels, and was fully prepared to love this book. My wish was fulfilled for about 3/4 of this novel, with very interesting characters, lively plot, and novel situations. However the last 1/4 of this book is pure weirdness, and though I enjoy the visionary elements, it does nothing to resolve the plot. Overall I enjoyed this book, but would have a hard time recommending it to others.

I'll admit my 2 stars are based entirely on having read Sometimes a Great Notion only months previous. It's great writing but none of the characters, or the story itself, really gained traction with me. If I had never read any of Kesey's writing beforehand I surely would have rated it differently. Previously established standards set me up to be dissapointed, a 2 star book when compared to Cuckoo and Sometimes a Great Notion.

Abandoned early- only 65 pages deep. Sometimes a Great Notion is in my top 3 novels. As I was reading Sailor Song, I felt I was setting myself up for disappointment. Sadly, 25 years of life, acid, etc. changed his artistry. All artists evolve, and I prefer Kesey's early works, just as I prefer the early works Grateful Dead.

Though a bit more nautical than I was hoping, this book was an epic journey into the backatcha bandit and scruffy masculine heros. Reading this book before Sarah Palin was announced to be McCain's Vice President definitely damaged my view of her. This book gave me exactly the Alaska I wanted.

A fun a peculiar book from the mind of Kesey. Set in a bizarre and oddly bleak post-apocalypse, a film crew takes over a small town much to the dismay of anyone with a speaking role. Worth it for the prose alone.

It has been a long time, but I read this as a 20-something, and I remember it rocking my world a bit. It was at that time one of the strangest things I had read. I might have to revisit this.

Brilliant. Kesey almost Tom Robbin'esque in his descriptions and delightful cast of characters. Well written and a must read. One flew overs the Cuckoo's nest and had some fun :)

illustrates the parallels between hope and hopelessness as interpreted through individual and cultural perspectives of environmental end-times.
and it's a sweet love story.

This book was amazing. It didn't make sense always but didn't have to. Reminded me of a post-apocalyptic Watchmen, but way better. Need to read more by Kesey.

this book is great for me. it is fun to read and absorbing. kesey tends to paint a similar protagonist in all of his novels. basically, he replicates himself into his protagonist: strong-minded, strong-bodied, radical and independent. Kesey also understands the flaws a character like this can have, as well as the flaws we all can have. This creates an epic environment in the novel, as each character sorts through their own life's unique problems while trying to survive the plot.

anyways, this boo More...

I have tried to read this book several times, but can never get through it. Something about the story just doesn't hold me.

A different take on the Alaskan lifestyle, (in the near future). Without the last few years of politics to muddy the story.

A very good read..passing this one onto a good friend. Little bit of everything. I live in the Y.T. and found very much in common with the theme of not wanting modernization to spoil the wilderness where I live.

A very fine novel. Where the good ended happily and the Bad ended unhappily - 'cause that's what fiction means.

One of his last books and not nearly as good. Was his typically wild style but lots of loose ends and randomness.

A strange book, but enthralling none the less. It definitely kept me reading, but not a very plausible story.

This book is audacious. Kesey really goes wild with the finale. Well worth the read.

The voice in this book rings true and is easy to trust.
I imagine if Kesey sold produce at a farm stand he would always give you a little something extra for your money.
“here try a couple of these peaches with your apples.”
Thoroughly enjoyable book.