mass market paperback, 255 pages
English language
Published Nov. 10, 1976 by Picador.
Chief Bromden, half American-Indian, whom the authorities believe is deaf and dumb, tells the story of a mental institution ruled by Big Nurse on behalf of the all-powerful Combine.
Into this terrifying grey world comes McMurphy, a brawling gambling man, who wages total war on behalf of his cowed fellow-inmates. What follows is at once hilarious and heroic, tragic and ultimately liberating.
Since its first publication in 1962, Ken Kesey's astonishing first novel has achieved the status of a contemporary classic. --back cover
I get why there was a fuss and it became a classic, and it is well enough written that I finished it. I just didn’t find it that great a book, and although interesting it wasn’t really for me. Literarily valuable perhaps and worthy of consideration as a thing of its time and for a view of how people are, yes, but nothing to rave about - rather like Catcher in the Rye.
This book was quite an amazing read. I loved following the adventures of McMurphy as he bucked against the system and tried to help those around him. Seeing through the eyes of Bromden with his psychedelic descriptions were like watching a Tom and Jerry cartoon and really made this story enjoyable.
Ken Kesey wrote an absolutely perfect story, the plot grips you asking what McMurphy will dare next, written from a perspective that happily contextualizes and compares the exploits of McMurphy, until the very end. This is a must read book for anyone interested psychiatry and a tribute to Ken Kesey's literary power.
