Rating: 
Summary: A Fantastic book
Review: 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: 
Summary: One flew east, one flew west, one flew over the cuckoos nest
Review: Ladies and gentlemen. If you are looking for some entertainment, but are tired of TV programs and the like: Invest seven dollars in this little masterpiece and you will be engrossed in this enjoyable read. There's something for everyone here. Kesey paid close attention to the effects that drugs can have on one's body and he describes this process so vividly that one can actually imagine what it must be like to swallow some of those "red pills." Do you like characters that will be branded in your brain long after you are finished reading the book? Kesey delivers in this area as well. He makes his characters so realistic that on more than one occasion I would see an individual in town and make a mental note of how they reminded me of Harding (or Billy, or Ratched, or McMurphy, etc...). And the characters are true to themselves too. Enjoy a good plot? How about a fun-loving, reckless, enormous man entering a mental hospital that is strictly regulated by an old Army nurse with huge breasts that she tries to conceal throughout the novel? :) It is not a difficult book to read, nor is it very long. I challenge one to try to read through McMurphy's antics without shaking one's head and smiling. Enjoy!
Rating:
Summary: a common theme, a different approach
Review: the topic explored in one flew over the cuckoo's nest is not innovative by any means, it is touched on in other novels like a clock work orange and 1984, perhaps more clearly. the detail that sets it apart from these other novels, though, is the setting. placed at a mental hospital, it allows the book to dabble in the socially taboo subject of dementia, daring to explore the effects of government intervention and ostracism. this is not a book that makes you feel particularly happy or enlightened, but an excellent read nonetheless.
Rating:
Summary: Chief, Interrupted
Review: Had 'One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest' been written in the 90's and not in the 60's the narrator an Indian Chief would be called a Native American Chief. PC-ness aside, actually it is hard to believe that such a book would be written in the 90's. It smells counterculture; it smells like the sixties. This story wouldn't come from a mind of a contemporary writer, because by our time the issues have change. Have they?Ken Kesey's 'One Flew...' is usually read as an allegory of the individualist. Free-spirited McMurphy is the rage against the machine --personified as the nurse Mrs. Ratched. After the new patient is admitted into the hospital the 'fatal attraction' is instant and mutual. They both represent different things, and fight for different sides. The story is told by Chief Broom an Indian --or a Native American, pick which one you prefer-- that pretends to be deaf and dumb, just to be left a lot and not be bothered by the other inmates. As he is an almost invisible presence --at least before McMurphy arrives-- he is allowed to some 'privileges' that the other ones are not. He can clean the meeting room white a meeting is taking place, and he can hear --although the staff thinks he cannot-- what is being discussed. Having this character as a narrator gives the reader the chance of knowing the inside side of the story; at the same time one can have the required distance with the Chief's observations and comments. Sarcasm is one of the Chief's chief use of language. He has a unique mind to comment the events around. For instance, at some point, talking about the hospital he says that 'there is something strange about a place where the men won't let themselves loose and laugh'. Besides, even being considered a lunatic, he has a very down-to-earth view of reality. When thinking about the nurse after she has another big fight with McMurphy, the Chief tells to his readers: 'to beat her you don't have to whip her two out of three or three out of five, but every time you meet'. This is a wise person --after all, Indian Chiefs are the smartest ones in their tribes--commenting that the system, the Establishment is powerful and knows that it is not easy to defeat it. But it is not impossible either. This was the purely 60s way of thinking --and one must be grateful to that, otherwise the world would be even worse. There is a movie version, directed by Milos Forman and staring Jack Nicholson and Louise Fletcher. The author Kesey abominated the movie --and reportedly never watched it-- because the Chief is not as important in the film. However, it is still a good and interesting movie. A contemporary writer would probably tackle the issues in another way, not so plain and sincere as Kesey did, creating a metaphor that will last until the day we have master and slaves. And, the last time I checked, it is not going to end very soon.
Rating:
Summary: A Mysterious Insight into Insanity
Review: This novel is a dark look into the life of an insane asylum, told through the eyes of the committed Chief Bromden, who has faked being deaf and dumb for his entire ten-year stay at the ward. Randle Patrick McMurphy is a newcomer to the asylum, and his self-assured competitive outlook on life upsets the rules and regulations of the ward. He is the first to challenge the ultimate authority, the Big Nurse, and he helps the other men gain the bravery and willpower to stand up for themselves. McMurphy helps Chief Bromden find himself and ultimately break out of his shell. This book presents some ideas and images that are difficult to follow, but this only makes the book more realistic, because it is expected that it would be hard to comprehend the workings of a troubled mind. As the characters evolve and adapt to their changing surroundings, Kesey sheds light on human morals, and the sometimes corrupt short-term solutions to problems that people come up with to make their lives easier. Through the power struggles between the Big Nurse and her patients, Kesey also demonstrates that there is a fine line between sanity and insanity. Many of the narrator's mysterious observations are metaphors for how people act in reality, and it is fascinating to journey through his warped mind and see the world as he sees it. I highly suggest this book to anybody who likes to read books that call for a fair amount of thought and deciphering, but are rewarding in the end.
Rating:
Summary: I FLEW OVER THE CUCHOO'S NEST
Review: One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey is a great description of the United States' mind in the 60's. The United States' mind in the 60's was to be rebellious and to fight the machine. Ken Kesey put this thought into his novel but switched things around such as: The United States is a Insane Asylum, the rebel Is Randle Patrick McMurphy (aka Mack), and the machine is personified as Miss Ratched. An Indian inmate called Chief Bromden tells this book in the first person. He pretends to be deaf and dumb so he can avoid being annoyed by other inmates, and this makes his appearance almost invisible. This is important to the story and the reader he is then able to go into staff meetings that other patients are not allowed in and is then able to know what is going to happen to the other men or the asylum. He has done this ever since he has arrived to the hospital. This changes though after McMurphy arrives. It is hard however in some parts of the story to know if what he is seeing is actually happening since he is insane and has hallucinations at random parts in the novel. This can be confusing and also weird at times. Such as the fog he sees over and over in the asylum. The story picks up right away in the first five pages of reading. It starts with Chief Broom mopping (he helps out with cleaning around the asylum) and then a new inmate is brought into the hospital and is named Randle Mcmurphy. The instant Randle steps in he is automatically taking charge of the inmates and introducing himself as a gamboling man and would like to play with the inmates sometime. Miss Ratched instantly knows McMurphy will be a problem in the ward. "That is exactly is what the new patient is planning: to take over. He is what we call a 'manipulator'" (Ken Kesey page 29). It then picks up with McMurphy starting to hang out with the Acutes (patients in the ward that have not been there a better part of their lives) and becomes basically their leader. McMurphy is then introduced to group meetings and does not like how they are done, so he then starts to use him into his and other patients advantages such as turning the bathing room into a gamboling room and starting a basketball team. He also does other big things with this advantage but you will have to read to find out. Something though does not settle right with Mack. He notices that No one in the ward was or has ever laughed sense his arrival and that it seemed no one ever spoke or even asked of something to Miss Ratched. He then spoke to one of his better friends (later becomes his best) in the ward: Harding. Harding then starts to tell Mack about the shock therapy treatment and worse the lobotomy that Miss Ratched is capable of using on patients. This then gives McMurphy another reason to get on the Nurse's bad side. After that Randle starts coming up with more and more outrageous stuff to do in the ward. Chief Broom then reminds us about that Miss Ratched has always got the upper hand on things and that if you wanted to win the war with her you cannot win two out of three or three out of five, but you must win them all, then you have your victory.
The thing I loved most about this book was how Chief Broom's literature got better as his state of mind got better, such as: in the beginning it is really weird on what is happening or not and that his words were messed up, and as the story progresses his literature gets a whole lot better and he starts using better and more advanced words in his sentences. This change struck me as very cool. Another great thing about this book was the character development, with your antagonist and your other protagonist. These characters also change as the story progresses. The conversations between inmates in this book (especially McMurphy and Harding's) are hysterical and witty. All of these things give the book a very good realism affect. I would suggest this book to anybody who likes reading comedy, adventure, drama, and conversations. Overall this book is one of the greatest of all classics out there to read and enjoy. It is one of my personal favorites. This book made me laugh, cry, get the true meaning of life (but I'm not going to tell), and maybe a little bit of pee came out. It lives up to its name.
Rating:
Summary: One of a kind
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: 4.5, good
Review: Don't watch the movie before you read the book! This book has a little bit of everything in it and it's funny, catchy and crazy all at the same time. I'm not going to describe the plot like everyone else, just read this. It takes hardly any time to read but it's a great book and the author describes things very well. Make sure you know what all the words mean (ie. the diagnoses, etc) before you read though!
Rating:
Summary: Everything
Review: Hilarious, sad, disturbing, side-splitting, infuriating, raging, comic, warm, wonderful, and insightful, this book covers all the bases. What brillance to write about a mental institution this way. I've run across Nurse Ratchett more times than I care to remember. The characters are so real. I'm reminded of the movie "King of Hearts" only that is truly comic, tinged with sadness. "Cuckoo" is VERY disturbing but a must read. The film ain't half bad either. Also recommended: McCrae's BARK OF THE DOGWOOD
Rating: 
Summary: A disappointment
Review: I am currently reading this book for my H English 10 class, and i find it to be extremely dull. Yes, I understand, it takes everyone a step deeper into the lives of the mentally challenged people of our time. However, it is a difficult book to follow. There is a constant changing of characters, which lead me into great confusion of the importance each one displayed within the text. I was very disappointed when I began reading this book. I always heard great things about it, but i guess, it's just not my cup of tea.
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