Rating: 
Summary: As excellent as the movie was...
Review: ...the book is better.I had to read _One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest_ for my Literature and Film class, and I don't think I've ever enjoyed a book "for school" as much as I enjoyed this one. I'd never seen the film before I read it, and not knowing the plot presented in the movie was definitely worth it. If you've seen the movie (and even if you haven't), read the book for Dale Harding. Those who've seen the film will remember him as.. a rather dislikable character at odds with McMurphy throughout. He was done a -great- disservice in the film, and was by far my favorite character - I read it mostly to experience scenes with him. Ken Kesey's prose is quirky and elegant - with such descriptions of physical idiosyncracies that I've never seen so accurately written - such as the way he describes Harding as trapping his pretty hands between his knees and folding his thin shoulders about his chest like green wings. It's difficult to understand at times, since the narrator, Chief Bromden, is also a mental patient on the ward and sees things differently than a sane person would - but anything he says that's hard to grasp at the beginning slowly becomes clear as the narrative goes on. _One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest_ is made brilliant by a number of things: the beauty and eccentricity of the prose, the development of character, the layers of plot and subtext, and the subtle messages, meanings, and morals scattered throughout the pages in such a way that you learn them but don't realize they're there. I highly recommend this book - it's one that will stay with you again and again, and is warranted a second and third time reading.
Rating:
Summary: one flew east, one flew west....
Review: One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest is one of the greatest novels written. Certainly Kesey's best and the best to come out of the counterculture movement of the 60s. The book is told from the point of view of Chief, who has schizophrenia. This causes the pov to be skewed, and a certain amount of distrust in the narrator (is Big Nurse really that bad, or is it Chief's illness?) It's a heroic story, McMurphy being our (anti)hero. There's so much going on in the book, you could write a book analyizing it. I will say that if you liked the fiction of the Beats or Hunter Thompson, you'll definitely like this novel. It is also told in one of the most intersting voices - along with novels like Huck Finn, Great Gatsby, Catcher in the Rye. This i definitely one of the best novels written. I have the Viking Critical Edition of the book. Besides a great introduction, a chronology of Kesey's life, and the text, there are also three other sections, topics for discussion and paper, and a selected bibliography. Section 2 contains letters from Kesey, and selections concerning Cuckoo's Nest from Kesey's Garage Sale. There are Kesey's sketches of what he visualized the characters to look like and an early draft of the opening sequence of the story. There's also an excerpt from Tom Wolfe's Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test. Section 3 contains literary criticism of the the novel, and these are some great selections of the work done on Kesey's novel. Section 4 is called analogies and perspectives. It contains scientific articles on lobotomy and shock treatment. It's a great addition to a critical edition, and one that you don't see done elsewhere. There are also excerpts from Dale Wasserman's play One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Ellison's Invisible Man (chapter 11), Robert Penn Warren's All the King's Men, and Jack Kerouac's On the Road (where Sal and Dean meet). And there is a sketch of Neal Cassady written by Kesey (taken from Kesey's Garage Sale), which is great to compare with Kerouac's Dean Moriaty. Cuckoo's Nest is one of the masterpieces of American literature, one everyone should read. And the Viking Critical Edition is a great edition to have. I'd recommend getting this edition of the book, but if not, at least pick up another edition. This is great stuff.
Rating:
Summary: WOW!
Review: It's sad to think that so many people have only seen the movie - I think I was lucky in that I read the book first. The book is sooooooooo stirring and heartfelt.
Rating:
Summary: One of my favorite books
Review: I thought the movie was interesting, so I read the book.
Then I read it again, and again. I just can't get over how
good it is. The book and the movie are very similar, but the
book is so much better. The most compelling difference is that
the book is told in first person by the Chief, who is
delusional.
The character development is amazing. It's like I know each one personally. This is the best and worst that humanity has to
offer. I can't recommend this one enough.
Rating:
Summary: I liked it!
Review: This book has all the classical characters that make it interesting...you got the wicked Nurse Ratched whom I couldn't get enough of and cuckoo McMurphy whose antics were fun to read about and all the fun everyone had in the book regardless of them being at a mental hospital....A must read!!
Rating:
Summary: Mesmerizing!
Review: Ken Kesey brings the goods with this delightful and intense masterpiece. I read it in 2 days and will never forget it! This book has the power to change your life as it has mine. You must go into the book with an open mind and be willing to read between the lines as there is much depth and symbolism within the humor and drama. Kesey, before he began his acid road trip as detailed in Tom Wolfe's Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test, wrote this gem which focuses on the classic struggle between conformity and individuality, between good and evil, and tests the limits of sanity and insanity. Anyone who needs a shove telling them to stand up for themselves and what they believe in despite the overwhelming invisible forces of conformist society should read this ASAP. 1st person narration from the rather unique perspective of a dillusional 6 foot 8 Columbian-Indian, Chief Bromden, or Chief Broom as the orderlies refer to him as, who pretends to be deaf and dumb, makes the read flow smoothly. Although not for the politically correct or faint of heart, this esoteric novella enlightens and entertains throughout the whole ride and shows why it's a timeless classic. It's in my top 5 best books of all time - period. Check it out - it will leave an indelible impression.
Rating: 
Summary: An American original
Review: One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest is an American original, and a true classic of the literature. It is a book that is at once disturbing, tragic, vibrant, hopeful, and poignant. It is a rather complex work, and exists on several levels: brilliant allegory, biting satirical fable, or social, anarchistic, or nihilistic literary masterpiece. The book does not seem to have much in the way of an actual meaty plot - suffice it to say, it is probably more than you expect; it certainly was in my case. I recommend the book to the general reader - although it is not really an easy read (it contains some dialogue which takes some time to get into the flow of), you will probably get through it pretty quickly. This is one of those books, though, that has a deeper and more far-reaching resonance than its mere surface meaning. It has a mood and a mode of foreboding that will stick with you long after you have turned the last page. Although I have not seen the rather renowned movie which is based on this work - and although Jack Nicholson seems like the perfect actor to play McMurphy - I doubt that it contains the wealth and depth of vitality and resonance that this book does. One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest is a true classic of 20th century American literature, and comes as a highly recommended read.
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Summary: Kesey at his best
Review: One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest illustrates a modernized battle of good and evil. For centuries, there have been stories of peasants and commoners against tyrannical beasts and monsters, but this story offers a twist of plot and persona.
Instead of being the usual fairy tale, this book presents a realistic look at life in a hospital, through the eyes of one of the patients, a "chronic" Indian named Bromden. "Chief", as he is called by some of the patients on the ward, does little more than mop and clean and listen to conversation. Bromden hears and knows everything that goes on at the hospital, and even many of the things that none of the patients know, mostly because everyone believes him to be deaf, and will pretty much say anything around him. The main conflict exists between the head nurse, Nurse Ratched, whom the patients call the "Big Nurse", referring to her size and the intimidation she has over them, and the patients themselves, and a new patient named Randle Patrick McMurphy.
From the time he first enters the ward, McMurphy butts heads with the Nurse, trying her patience at every chance he gets. Randle begins to represent the most liberating force that the other patients have ever known, and he finally gives them the strength to stand up for themselves. Soon he comes to the realization that to get out of the hospital, he must conform to the rules instead of breaking them, and in the end he is consumed by the "Combine" of society, to meet an inevitable fate. At the same time, he ultimately becomes a savior to his "followers," the patients on the ward whom he befriended during his sentence.
Not only is this book a story of triumph against authority, but also an analyzation of what modern society can do to people. The danger of conformity and need for individuality are both revealed in the story, as well as the pain that can be caused by ignorance, shown by the emotions felt by "Chief," and McMurphy as well. They both have underlying emotions not seen by anyone except in a small slip of a facial expression or a bad choice of words, and both work hard to cover it up. McMurphy, especially, wants to keep up a strong front in order to keep the trust of the others, but he is slowly being eaten away by the pressure that is now on him to do this as he attempts to get on the good side of the Big Nurse at a last chance of being released. He desperately wants to get out, unlike many of the others who are there by their own admission.
Centered mainly around the actions of the "acutes," the book gives a funny and interesting look at the lives of people most of us only hear about. Sometimes, it feels better to get away from the mediocre "real world" and go to a place where nothing at all is what someone would call "normal", and this is exactly what the book, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest can do. This book is plausible fiction at it's finest.
Rating:
Summary: Into another world I go
Review: when I first picked up this book to read for extra credit in English, I thought "hm, interesting...wonder what it's like." the girl next to me was also reading it, but she quit after the first three chapters...I finished it...and loved it. no joke. It was like I found myself in the world of someone who, like me, observed rather than acted. The time setting is one of my favorites and the overall plot was great. Another of my favorite 'the struggles of human nature' kinda novels. a great read.
Rating:
Summary: BELONGS ON THE TOP SHELF
Review: Bromden's hallucinations are terrifying, and they are one of the book's central components. The movie fails to vividly depict the Chief as schizophrenic. Overall, the movie couldn't tap the novel's layered, visually stunning look into the dynamics of defining and categorizing insanity. Better then Prozac Nation which is what our generation got-- but I'm interested in Short of a Picnic, the one about all different mental maladies in a collection. Also, Nicholson doesn't have red hair, like Kesey's envisioned, but his performance was a worthy approximation of the character's spirit.
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