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A review by hfjarmer
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey
4.0
I am not typically one to read reviews and book analyses before deciding on a rating, but this book was an exception. The primary reason for this was that while reading (actually, listening since I enjoyed this in an audiobook format) I could loosely connect the characters and their respective power dynamics to a larger social-political-economic picture, but without much knowledge of the time period during which One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest takes place, I didn't feel I could accurately judge the book until I had some further context.
I was immediately drawn into the "world" Kesey created upon introduction to our narrator - Chief Bromden. Utilizing a character who is presumed to be deaf and dumb by the other patients and hospital staff alike is one of the most intriguing narrative perspectives I've ever read. Bromden was essentially a 6 foot 7 inch fly on the wall for all of the hospital's goings on, and I absolutely loved his perspective.
And obviously you cannot discuss this book without talking about ol' McMurphy, our resident peace disturber who shakes things up on this psych ward. I think my favorite aspect of McMurphy's character is how he "lifts the fog" (as Bromden describes it) of the monotony of daily life for the patients. He is a living symbol to them of all the injustices they face on the ward and out in the real world and I think this metaphor is the most powerful of the whole book.
In reading more about this book, I saw another review that says Cuckoo's Nest, "focuses on the modern paradox of trying to be human in the well-oiled machine of a capitalist democracy, where you must be either a savior or a slave." McMurphy represents chaos and freedom from the system that is designed to keep people down, he challenges the idea of sticking to the status quo and remaining afraid to break the mold in favor of "lifting the fog" and designing a life of your own.
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest will stick with me for years to come. I loved the characters and their respective stories as well as what the book discusses socially. I already find myself eager to read more perspectives and interpretations of Kesey's work, and I have a feeling that I've only begun to scratch the surface of what I can learn from this novel.
I was immediately drawn into the "world" Kesey created upon introduction to our narrator - Chief Bromden. Utilizing a character who is presumed to be deaf and dumb by the other patients and hospital staff alike is one of the most intriguing narrative perspectives I've ever read. Bromden was essentially a 6 foot 7 inch fly on the wall for all of the hospital's goings on, and I absolutely loved his perspective.
And obviously you cannot discuss this book without talking about ol' McMurphy, our resident peace disturber who shakes things up on this psych ward. I think my favorite aspect of McMurphy's character is how he "lifts the fog" (as Bromden describes it) of the monotony of daily life for the patients. He is a living symbol to them of all the injustices they face on the ward and out in the real world and I think this metaphor is the most powerful of the whole book.
In reading more about this book, I saw another review that says Cuckoo's Nest, "focuses on the modern paradox of trying to be human in the well-oiled machine of a capitalist democracy, where you must be either a savior or a slave." McMurphy represents chaos and freedom from the system that is designed to keep people down, he challenges the idea of sticking to the status quo and remaining afraid to break the mold in favor of "lifting the fog" and designing a life of your own.
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest will stick with me for years to come. I loved the characters and their respective stories as well as what the book discusses socially. I already find myself eager to read more perspectives and interpretations of Kesey's work, and I have a feeling that I've only begun to scratch the surface of what I can learn from this novel.