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Title: Ken Kesey's One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest (Modern Critical Interpretations) by Harold Bloom, Ken Kesey, Henry W. Berg ISBN: 0-7910-7118-9 Publisher: Chelsea House Publishing Pub. Date: July, 2002 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $19.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.49 (281 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: A Fantastic book
Comment: For a book written by a paid volunteer to use hallucinogenic drugs, a book written by a man who at some points while writing was under the influence of LSD and peyote, and a book that funded the writer's San Francisco to New York road trip on psychedelically painted bus, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest turned out perfectly normal, in fact even clever and stimulating. Considered a masterpiece by many, this novel is an extremely insightful satire of the society of the 1950's. Just as the drugs and psychedelic bus may suggest, Kesey could in fact be considered a founding-father of hippie-ism. His "hippie" attitudes shine through with this book, which in many ways challenges numerable aspects of authority and society. The setting is inspired by Kesey's work at the Menlo Park, Virginia hospital, where he was introduced to LSD by a government-sponsored program researching the effects of hallucinogenic drugs. This experience led him to continue his drug use, and further developed his opinions of society, which we can read about in this excellent book. The story starts when R.P. McMurphy is admitted into the mental ward, transferred from a work farm. He's a self-proclaimed gambling champion and womanizing sex machine, a rough-around-the-edges cowboy of a jokester. McMurphy is the one person who stands up to Nurse Ratched, the symbol of the cold oppression and conformity in society. The book is the story of the patients' struggle against the strict policy and rules of the ward. Under the leadership of McMurphy, who sings, laughs, walks around wearing only a towel, and does anything that he can think of which will disrupt the cold order that Nurse Ratched has on the ward, their adventures include everything from rowdy poker games, to a fishing trip, to a completely against policy late night party in the ward, complete with alcohol, marijuana, and prostitutes. The books end is sad, but realistic and a reminder of the control society ultimately has The narrator of the book is the paranoid Chief Bromden, a 7 foot something giant of an Indian who fakes deaf and dumb in order to hear everything and yet remain safe. It is his narration that keeps the book interesting. Bromden, always standing in the corner with a broom, is able to see and hear everything that goes on in the ward. He is extremely insightful and the style that Kesey uses to portray Bromden as a character is very entertaining to read. Bromden, a paranoid schizophrenic, at some points in the story, hallucinates. The imagery that he provides is usually mechanical and he often talks about seeing fog from a machine that the nurse controls. His hallucinations are metaphors, he describes the ward as having hidden mechanical components, and frequently he sees fog that represents confusion and fear. He depicts society as a combine, a giant machine, and all of the patients at the hospital are broken parts needing repair. They are parts that didn't fit into their place in the machine, didn't fit into the conformity of society. Not only is it an entertaining read, but also a compelling cautionary story. Kesey is giving a warning about a society centered around conformity. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest is Kesey's investigation of the control of the 1950's society over the individual, bringing into play themes ranging from the importance of laughter and sexuality to the definition of insanity. The book's ending gets mixed reactions, but it is realistic, and a reminder of the control society ultimately has. One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest is a fantastic book, a highly recommended read, both entertaining and intellectually stimulating, truly a masterpiece.
Rating: 5
Summary: Look at the world inside-out!
Comment: What is the world you see when you read this book? It may not be real, but that doesn't make it any less true. Here is a place where feelings become sensations and overpower the "real world". On the face of it, the action takes place in a lunatic asylum. It could just as well be our world. It's populated by a lot of characters that feel more sane than the keepers of the place. The maker of all the rules - the Big Nurse - is the scariest of all, in her confidence that this is entirely her world, run as she likes. Enter Randall Patrick Macmurphy. Rules? What rules? They don't exist as far as he's concerned. This world is just another to be moulded to his liking. Within a minute of his entry, he's run up against the Nurse. Every inmate sees something new about life- it's possible not to follow someone else's rules and live to tell the tale. The Nurse's world cracks up, bit by bit. R.P.Mcmurphy too realizes the extent to which it's possible to fall into the games life creates. This is one character you'll remember forever - and the lesson he preaches. All the inmates - you included - learn that the game is a game only as long as you know you're playing it. Get caught up and you're just a token on the board. Ken Kesey talks through Chief Bromden - an indian who plays at being deaf and dumb in an effort to run from the game. Grammar is an easy prey to the Chief's onrushing thoughts as he struggles to keep up with the speed of events around him. The prose sparkles with electricity as he "sees" his feelings and expresses them as events. Hostility in the air becomes a chill, and the sensation of death is falling into a furnace. This is a book that reads like walking through a "hall of crazy mirrors". You look back on yourself and don't know whether to laugh or cry.
Rating: 5
Summary: One of a kind
Comment: Want to get people's attention and have a break-out, runnaway movie and book? Set it in a mental institution. And while that alone is a great premise--enough to make the thing work, what Kesey does with this material is beyond compare, for what sounds like a good idea, frequently doesn't play out in the world of books and movies. Not so with "Cuckoo." This brilliant, funny, disturbing, and ultimately sad novel took my breath away when I first experienced it as a movie, many years ago. Recently I bought the book, hoping that I wouldn't be disappointed. I wasn't, and the story still packs a wallop. Trust me, if you're looking for a harrowing adventure, this is it. The characters are just beyond compare and the writing is excellent. The crazieness of the situations reminded me of something out of Vonnegut (Slaughter House Five) McCrae, (Bark of the Dogwood), or possibly even some of Pelzer's work. The question being, "Who is really the insane one here?" If you like a good story, a well-written book, and above all, a novel that will move you, this is it.
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Title: A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess ISBN: 0393312836 Publisher: W.W. Norton & Company Pub. Date: November, 1986 List Price(USD): $13.95 |
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Title: On the Road by Jack Kerouac ISBN: 0140042598 Publisher: Penguin USA (Paper) Pub. Date: January, 1991 List Price(USD): $14.00 |
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Title: Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut ISBN: 0440180295 Publisher: Dell Publishing Pub. Date: 03 November, 1991 List Price(USD): $7.50 |
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Title: The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test by Tom Wolfe ISBN: 0553380648 Publisher: Bantam Pub. Date: 05 October, 1999 List Price(USD): $14.95 |
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Title: The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger ISBN: 0316769487 Publisher: Little Brown & Company Pub. Date: 01 May, 1991 List Price(USD): $5.99 |
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