One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest in Vampires, Weres and Fae!

Mar 13, 2016 Audrey rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favorites, 300-books-everyone-should-read

I love this even more the second time. Such a wonderful bunch of characters!

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Mar 13, 2021 Keli rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: i-wanted-to-like-it-more, now-i-know-what-the-hype-was-about, bittersweet

Synopsis- A 50th-anniversary edition of Ken Kesey's searing American classic.

Boisterous, ribald, and ultimately shattering, Ken Kesey's One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest has left an indelible mark on the literature of our time. Turning conventional notions of sanity and insanity on their heads, the novel tells the unforgettable story of a mental ward and its inhabitants, especially tyrannical Big Nurse Ratched and Randle Patrick McMurphy, the brawling, fun-loving new inmate who resolves to oppose Synopsis- A 50th-anniversary edition of Ken Kesey's searing American classic.

Boisterous, ribald, and ultimately shattering, Ken Kesey's One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest has left an indelible mark on the literature of our time. Turning conventional notions of sanity and insanity on their heads, the novel tells the unforgettable story of a mental ward and its inhabitants, especially tyrannical Big Nurse Ratched and Randle Patrick McMurphy, the brawling, fun-loving new inmate who resolves to oppose her. We see the story 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 powers that keep them all imprisoned.

Hailed upon its publication as a "glittering parable of good and evil" (The New York Times Book Review) and a "roar of protest against middlebrow society's Rules and the invisible Rulers who enforce them" (Time), Kesey's powerful book went on to sell millions of copies and remains as bracing and insightful today as when it was first released. This new deluxe audio edition commemorates the 50th anniversary of the original publication of the novel on February 1, 1962, and will be a must have for any literature lover.

Review- This is a tricky one to review. It's one of those "of its time" kind of reviews because the blatant and offensive casual racism and sexism are horrible. The story was alright. The narration by John C Reilly was fantastic. The storyteller's perspective was great. I saw the movie as a kid and all I really remembered was Jack Nicholson riling up Nurse Ratched and the lobotomy bit. I didn't remember Harding or Chief or the orderlies or the fishing trip. So this was pretty much new. I liked that the story being told is through the perspective and memory of a crazy person. And we're left wondering what's true and what's not?

I didn't like McMurphy. He was not a nice man. Sure he had his charms, but ultimately he was a violent conman who just did things to piss people off and get what he wanted. I'm with Nurse Ratched on this one.

And poor Nurse Ratched, I think she gets a bad rap. She's working with people with a wide range of mental disorders and likely needs order, which for some reason is bad. If you have issues with authority like McMurphy or delusions about a controlling state like Bromden then Nurse Ratched is going to be your worst enemy and she won't be portrayed in the fairest light.

I know that this was published five years before the "Summer of Love" and at the start of the feminist revolution. I'm fairly certain that mothers were still being blamed for causing autism or schizophrenia in their children. This was not written in a very pro-woman period. I understand all that but it doesn't mean I have to excuse it. I can try to see around it, but honestly the story wasn't good enough to excuse what I find offensive and not entertaining. And also I wasn't really sure who the author was rooting for, was McMurphy or Ratched the hero.

Rating - Two stars for the story and one for the narrator. ⭐⭐⭐

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ - Devoured the book, couldn't put it down.
⭐⭐⭐⭐ - Really liked it, consumed within days
⭐⭐⭐ - Enjoyed a fair bit, better than average
⭐⭐ - Meh
⭐ - Absolute drivel ...more

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