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

5.0

Read this book, and have also watched the movie - the movie has NOTHING on this book, so, please do yourself a favor and read the book even if you've seen it on the big screen. Don't get me wrong, the movie is great - if you've already read the book, it's amazing to see it come to life. And, yes, I know Jack Nicholson is pretty, but STILL! Read the book, too!

The book crafts these incredibly vivid images of despair, torture, and sadness that you FEEL as if you are watching a film. It's an incredible story of mental illness, friendship and the camaraderie between these patients and the strength of the human spirit. I laughed out loud several times, and I cried even more.

Set in a mental asylum in the ’60s, McMurphy, our "anti-hero" is sent to stay, because he wants to avoid prison. He is not "crazy" - and it becomes a power struggle between him and "the system" (and in particular, an extremely power hungry nurse). There are so many layers to this story, and I hungrily peeled through them all and am sure if I read this again, I'd find many more layers.