Reviews

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey

theodoreeeeeeads's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense medium-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

4.0

A good read with nuggets of brilliance all along the way. Twists and turns, moments of light and dark which leave you brimming with joy and desperately sad. 

Mack is an extraordinary character, who embodies a spirit of uplifting and encouragement despite unwavering challenge. A real insight into the profound effect one person can have on the lives of his contemporaries.

itsjustjane's review against another edition

I couldn't get into it 

lj00's review against another edition

dark emotional funny reflective fast-paced

4.5

athousandgreatbooks's review against another edition

4.0

Nurse Ratched runs the ward of a mental hospital with an iron fist and keeps the patients drugged, submissive, and cowing under her unbending rules and regimen. She is the true epitome of the mechanical oppression of authority and high-brow psychiatric societies, stomping out life and its aberrations with strict routine and order.

But when McMurphy, a fun-loving, brazen, unapologetic, brawling redneck is admitted to the ward and begins to oppose her, the Nurse's unrelenting control over the patients begins to loosen, and laughter and life start to seep back in. Seen from the eyes of Chief Bromden, a seemingly deaf and dumb Native Indian, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest is a stunning debut novel by Kesey, a classic beat-generation work in its underlying message.

I think I was still too hungover from [a:Solzhenitsyn|18545271|Solzhenitsyn|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png] 's [b:The Gulag Archipelago 1918–1956|70561|The Gulag Archipelago 1918–1956 (Abridged)|Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388293026l/70561._SY75_.jpg|2944012] to be following it up with as light a read as this. But that was only for the first one-third of the book. Before long, the story and the characters were developed sufficiently enough to keep me engaged, and boy did it make me laugh hard. I knew where it was headed as I had already seen the movie adaptation, but there is no comparison between the two mediums.

kitalla's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional

3.75

hunky_dory_1971's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

greljo76's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

This is a hard book to rate because I really loved parts of it. The characters are so vividly and perfectly described, you really roote for all the patients and deeply loathe nurse Ratched. I get invested in their lives and curious about their future. It's fun, thoughtprovoking and heartbreaking. But...and it'sa big but, it did not age well. I know it's a product of its time, but still the racist and sexist parts, of which there were many, makes this an especially hard story to truly love. The story apart from those parts though, is still worth the read. Glad I read it, and really want to see the movie again now.

sanniebannanie's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny mysterious sad tense slow-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

4.5

esmeevl's review against another edition

dark sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

benmcfc's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0