A review by feedingbrett
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey

sad medium-paced

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

4.5

Under the guiding and empathetic eye of an American Indian patient of the story’s mental health unit, we are led to trace the influence of the unit’s new arrival, Randle McMurphy, as the readers are treated to an insight into the constricting and inflicting system that governs it. Watching this newbie identify, question and react against the oppressive powers’ counterintuitive effect of their ‘therapeutic intentions’,  aspects of the story that dramatically mirror true issues in the mental health space - exploitation, manipulation, politics, and segregation being the key takeaways from this initial read. Recognising the humanity behind the labels that these patients are forced to don, notably set at a time where cultural acceptance and awareness were disparate in comparison to today. While it is fairly easy to pin down Miss Ratched as an unsympathetic antagonist, given that the novel places the cross-hairs on her, while the personal flaws exist that live up to such a title, one can also identify behind the socio-political strings that shape her. This sympathy I carry is perhaps linked to my similar professional position, but it didn’t require the novel at all to highlight the human that lives underneath that label.