One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
In this classic novel of the 1960's, Ken Kesey's hero is Randle Patrick McMurphy, a boisterous, brawling, fun-loving rebel who swaggers into the world of a mental hospital and takes over. A lusty, life-affirming fighter, McMurphy rallies the other patients around him by challenging the dictatorship of Big Nurse. He promotes gambling in the ward, smuggles in wine and women, and openly defies the rules at every turn. But this defiance, which starts as a sport, soon develops into a grim struggle, an all-out war between two relentless opponents: Big Nurse, backed by the full power of authority...McMurphy, who has only his own indomitable will. What happens when Big Nurse uses her ultimate weapon against McMurphy provides the story's shocking climax.
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Community Reviews
A surreal exploration of state run mental health facilities in the 1960s, a thoughtful commentary on the abuse of institutional power
Well, this one is a classic as it should be considered.
You’ll feel every emotion possibly navigating this institution with our boys. I would recommend every human read this.
Well, this was on one of those lists. And i do like to cross things off lists. I wasn’t sure that I would make it through the whole book, there was so much violent treatment of the residents of this special ward. The story moves in a more empowering direction but a lot of the cultural expectations are mired in 1960s language and acts.
This book is amazing but often excruciating to read, especially at the beginning when it’s slow, and the end when it has become clear what is going to happen. Also it hasn’t aged well and the misogyny and racism feel brutal.
Really brilliant book - I haven't actually read anything like it before so even though it was written 50 years ago it was refreshing, different! Very powerful investigation into life in a mental hospital but also has many allegories to life in the general and the systems which maintain/restrain us. Such an unexpected hero comes along to turn this whole world on its head; people start questioning the system, standing up for themselves, believing in themselves and living a life. At what costs?
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