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ree_mvd 's review for:
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
by Ken Kesey
Story: 2☆
Audiobook Narration: 2☆
Unfortunately, I didn't really enjoy 'One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest.' It was nothing like I was expecting and I found it quite the slog to get through. While I'm sure this book was highly influencial when it first came out, I don't think it has aged particularly well. I have a hard time explaining why I didn't like it (because mostly I just found it a bit dull) but I will try to explain a couple of my thoughts below:
1) The biggest ick for me about this book was the fact that the primary antagonist (Nurse Ratched) wasn't portrayed as problematic because she was tyrannical - she was portrayed as problematic because she was tyrannical AND ALSO female. She was constantly described as a castrator of the men in the book (side note: and was also constantly sexualised), meanwhile there were hundreds of other male staff who were complacent in her behaviour (which was inarguably monstrous) and whom were excused of all their part in it the whole ordeal. And it didn't stop at Nurse Ratched, all the problems the men in this book had were attributed to a woman in one way or another. Moreover, the patient's treatment in the hospital was described as: stripping the patients of their 'manhood' rather than their 'humanhood.' And, it all just felt a tad misogynistic. Like, why does it have to be so gendered?
2) The book did not really explore the fact that many of the patients within the hospital had real, genuine psychological challenges. All of their issues were attributed to the conditions of the hospital and the treatment from nurse Ratched (and the loss of their 'manhood'). I have no doubt the horrible environment that they were in contributed to the worsening of their symptoms but it cannot be the sole reason for the challenges these men faced. For example, the protagonist Chief Bromden was able to seemingly 'cure' (what I assume was) his schizophrenia by escaping the mental institution at the end. Sorry, but that's not how Schizophrenia works. Yes, being in that awful mental instutition likely made his symptoms worse, but he will go on to suffer from symptoms outside as well. Being 'free' will not solve his psychological challenges. And I just don't feel like that was addressed. It almost gives of the assumption that mental health challenges are not real (but merely the result of poor treatment and the 'castration' of their manhood).
3) The book had some serious pacing issues. Scenes with little weight to the plot of the story were given waaaaay too much page real estate whereas big events (like the death of a patient) were described in like 1-3 sentences and then were quickly moved away from. Like, can we sit with some of these big impactful events a bit more? Give the seriousness of the situation time to sink in.
Ultimately, I think I just don't really enjoy contemporary fiction. It's not really for me (unless it is extremely well crafted). I have heard the movie is better than the book though, so maybe I'll give it a watch sometime and see what I think of the story then.
Audiobook Narration: 2☆
Unfortunately, I didn't really enjoy 'One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest.' It was nothing like I was expecting and I found it quite the slog to get through. While I'm sure this book was highly influencial when it first came out, I don't think it has aged particularly well. I have a hard time explaining why I didn't like it (because mostly I just found it a bit dull) but I will try to explain a couple of my thoughts below:
1) The biggest ick for me about this book was the fact that the primary antagonist (Nurse Ratched) wasn't portrayed as problematic because she was tyrannical - she was portrayed as problematic because she was tyrannical AND ALSO female. She was constantly described as a castrator of the men in the book (side note: and was also constantly sexualised), meanwhile there were hundreds of other male staff who were complacent in her behaviour (which was inarguably monstrous) and whom were excused of all their part in it the whole ordeal. And it didn't stop at Nurse Ratched, all the problems the men in this book had were attributed to a woman in one way or another. Moreover, the patient's treatment in the hospital was described as: stripping the patients of their 'manhood' rather than their 'humanhood.' And, it all just felt a tad misogynistic. Like, why does it have to be so gendered?
2) The book did not really explore the fact that many of the patients within the hospital had real, genuine psychological challenges. All of their issues were attributed to the conditions of the hospital and the treatment from nurse Ratched (and the loss of their 'manhood'). I have no doubt the horrible environment that they were in contributed to the worsening of their symptoms but it cannot be the sole reason for the challenges these men faced. For example, the protagonist Chief Bromden was able to seemingly 'cure' (what I assume was) his schizophrenia by escaping the mental institution at the end. Sorry, but that's not how Schizophrenia works. Yes, being in that awful mental instutition likely made his symptoms worse, but he will go on to suffer from symptoms outside as well. Being 'free' will not solve his psychological challenges. And I just don't feel like that was addressed. It almost gives of the assumption that mental health challenges are not real (but merely the result of poor treatment and the 'castration' of their manhood).
3) The book had some serious pacing issues. Scenes with little weight to the plot of the story were given waaaaay too much page real estate whereas big events (like the death of a patient) were described in like 1-3 sentences and then were quickly moved away from. Like, can we sit with some of these big impactful events a bit more? Give the seriousness of the situation time to sink in.
Ultimately, I think I just don't really enjoy contemporary fiction. It's not really for me (unless it is extremely well crafted). I have heard the movie is better than the book though, so maybe I'll give it a watch sometime and see what I think of the story then.