Scan barcode
hillmeister's review against another edition
5.0
I am an Oregonian. So, I understand that the Oregon wilderness leaves no stone untouched by moss, no nail untouched by rust, how it is everything but emptiness. It is a wilderness that flourishes or fails “in complete disregard for man and his aims,” as Hank Stamper explains it, and there isn’t much use in fighting it. It is likely to suffocate you if you try to fight it. Sometimes A Great Notion is about knowing when to yield - when to allow and accept vulnerability. One of the characters, Jonas, reminisces that the plains of Kansas are a place with lots of space but also a place where a man might feel “a freezing emptiness.” Through powerful and evocative prose and characters that both exasperate and captivate, Kesey floods these desolate plains by giving us a story and a wilderness that “whups us all” into “giving an inch”! This book is a literary masterpiece and one of my all-time favorites!
“Reality is greater than the sum of its parts, also a damn sight holier.”
“[the rain] A friendly sound even. It was nothing fearful after all. The same old rain, and, if not welcomed, at least accepted- an old gray aunt that came to visit every winter and stayed till spring. You learn to live with her. You learn to reconcile yourself to the little inconveniences and not get annoyed. You remember she is seldom angry or vicious and nothing to get in a stew about, and if she is a bore and stays overlong you can train yourself not to notice her, or at least not to stew about her.”
“Reality is greater than the sum of its parts, also a damn sight holier.”
“[the rain] A friendly sound even. It was nothing fearful after all. The same old rain, and, if not welcomed, at least accepted- an old gray aunt that came to visit every winter and stayed till spring. You learn to live with her. You learn to reconcile yourself to the little inconveniences and not get annoyed. You remember she is seldom angry or vicious and nothing to get in a stew about, and if she is a bore and stays overlong you can train yourself not to notice her, or at least not to stew about her.”
rutt's review against another edition
1.0
dnf. set it down after only 10%. the casual way kesey sprinkles in overt racism through the entirety of the portion i read just totally puts me off. there are so many other books to read instead.
jess_mango's review against another edition
4.0
This book had been sitting on my shelf for probably close to 15 years. I had previously read Kesey's One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, which I really enjoyed, so I picked up this one at a used book sale way back... and it sat and sat on my shelf. It takes a special motivation for me to pick up a 700+ page book so this one sadly sat and sat. WELL, this year it got picked for me in the Reading 1001 TBR Takedown challenge, so it finely got its time in the sun!
Firstly, this was a challenging read, but in the end, it was rewarding. It was constantly changing narrative perspective, sometimes even within a single paragraph. Perspective would change from one character to another and from first person to third person. The three main characters are Hank and Leland Stamper, who are half-brothers and their father Henry. The Stamper family lives in the fictional town Wakonda, Oregon (not to be confused with the Black Panther's home nation of Wakanda) and work as a logging family. Then there is a logging strike and Hank and Henry need help so reach out to the younger brother, Leland who had moved to the east coast to go to college. Leland journeys home looking to help his family AND also seek revenge on his older brother hank.
And so picks up the strongest part of the story (for me) the tension and family dynamics between the Stampers. The book was a lot of work to read but there were definite highlights for me. I enjoyed reading the back stories of how Hank met his wife Vivian and the side story of local movie theater owner Willard Eggleston. There was also some sweetness with Leland and Vivian bonding over books.
This was definitely one of the more challenging books that I've read in awhile, but I am glad that I finally got to it.
This book counts towards the Popsugar 2020 Reading Challenge Task #32: a book with at least a 4 star rating on goodreads (this one currently is rated 4.17)
Firstly, this was a challenging read, but in the end, it was rewarding. It was constantly changing narrative perspective, sometimes even within a single paragraph. Perspective would change from one character to another and from first person to third person. The three main characters are Hank and Leland Stamper, who are half-brothers and their father Henry. The Stamper family lives in the fictional town Wakonda, Oregon (not to be confused with the Black Panther's home nation of Wakanda) and work as a logging family. Then there is a logging strike and Hank and Henry need help so reach out to the younger brother, Leland who had moved to the east coast to go to college. Leland journeys home looking to help his family AND also seek revenge on his older brother hank.
And so picks up the strongest part of the story (for me) the tension and family dynamics between the Stampers. The book was a lot of work to read but there were definite highlights for me. I enjoyed reading the back stories of how Hank met his wife Vivian and the side story of local movie theater owner Willard Eggleston. There was also some sweetness with Leland and Vivian bonding over books.
This was definitely one of the more challenging books that I've read in awhile, but I am glad that I finally got to it.
This book counts towards the Popsugar 2020 Reading Challenge Task #32: a book with at least a 4 star rating on goodreads (this one currently is rated 4.17)
langwidere's review against another edition
5.0
i last read this when i was 16, in english class. i was astonished to realize just how much kesey’s descriptions of the natural world, of the northwest,
of the temperate rainforest, etc. had impacted my own writing and worldview. truly a special book. for all that there are bigoted elements present—and i don’t mean to diminish these. i noticed them as a teenager and i noticed them now—they really pale in comparison to all the other aspects of this book which are by and large deftly handled and sympathetic. an excellent rich sprawling dirty family saga written in blood, money, and rainwater. NEVER GIVE A INCH indeed.
of the temperate rainforest, etc. had impacted my own writing and worldview. truly a special book. for all that there are bigoted elements present—and i don’t mean to diminish these. i noticed them as a teenager and i noticed them now—they really pale in comparison to all the other aspects of this book which are by and large deftly handled and sympathetic. an excellent rich sprawling dirty family saga written in blood, money, and rainwater. NEVER GIVE A INCH indeed.
scottg73's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
jadepfaefflin's review against another edition
challenging
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs
Moderate: Death and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Misogyny and Racism
ishade's review against another edition
5.0
unfortunately obsessed. men being men. boys being boys. the suffocating trap of "masculinity" (whatever that means). the coolest style. pretentious drama incarnate. what is the message? the message for me may not be the message for kesey, but in my heart i'm obviously right. a man's gotta make it with himself before he can make it with other people, but he's gotta make it with other people before he can make it with himself. etc.
alisonjfields's review against another edition
5.0
Surprisingly one of the best books I've read (I'd put it easily in my personal top 100 American novels), this epic Faulkner-in-Oregon gothic makes you glad MacBeth never got into the logging business. Gorgeous prose, rich characters and a landscape so finely drawn you will be lucky if you can come out not feeling cold, wet and muddy.
luca4417's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
inspiring
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75