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A review of One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest

by Ken Kesey

A man confined to a mental hospital battles against the authority of the institution

Reviewed by: Paul A. Paterson
About Paul A. Paterson

One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest Randle Patrick McMurphy is a free spirit. He's loud, rough, rude and crude, and he's been confined to the halls of a mental institution for crimes he's committed. McMurphy finds himself quickly at odds with Nurse Ratchett who, as the head nurse of the institution, runs the wards with an iron hand loaded with cold, brutal efficiency. Before McMurphy arrives, the residents shuffle through their daily routines in varying stages of stupor. After the rebellious inmate arrives, Nurse Ratchett's web of control begins to slowly unravel.

What starts as good-natured fun turns into a grim struggle for control over the hearts and minds of the other patients. Narrated by Big Chief, an outwardly mute native American of gigantic size, McMurphy's antics slowly begins to give back to his fellow patients the humanity stolen from them by institutionalization.

Vivid in its depiction of events and unrelenting in its message, One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest is a powerful and gritty read. Kesey drives home the point that, without freedom, man is reduced to something less than human and, as his hero's campaign proceeds, the other inmates begin to enjoy the taste of rebellion and start to push their own limits. It becomes clear McMurphy and Nurse Ratchett will never live in harmony and there can be only one ultimate result.

Most people are familiar with the film, starring Jack Nicholson, but it is certainly worth taking the time to read the book on which the film was based.

Click here to buy this book, or read more about it at Amazon.com: One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest

Copyright © by Paul A. Paterson, 2002

Reviewed by Paul A. Paterson:
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