One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest

Okay, so you've probably all seen the movie with Jack Nicholson... and if you haven't, you should, because it's excellent. But as good as it is, it must be said that the movie cannot, CANNOT compare to the book. Because here's the thing: the best part of the book is the voice of the narrator, the Chief, whom everyone assumes is deaf/mute but really sees and hears everything and is able to contribute insight and memories of his own that sharply contrast the events of the hospital. His voice is unique and un-reproducable, especially in a movie in which he has like two speaking lines. So... the book:

Readability: Very. The only complicated bits are the early ruminations of the Chief involving fog and the Combine and machines. Possibly a bit delusional, but on the other hand... one of the most clearheaded delusional people I've ever heard of. And relates it all in a way that makes you think maybe it's the world itself that's crazy, and the Chief is the sane one. As he says, "it's the truth even if it didn't happen."

Enjoyability: Very very. Intriguing, beautifully written, characters you get emotionally involved with... A book I will definitely read again.

Best quote(s):

"I can see all that, and be hurt by it, the way I was hurt by seeing things in the Army, in the war. The way I was hurt by seeing what happened to Papa and the tribe. I thought I'd get over seeing those things and fretting over them. There's no sense in it. There's nothing to be done."

"A successful Dismissal like this is a product brings joy to the Big Nurse's heart and speaks good of her craft and the whole industry in general. Everybody's happy with a Dismissal." (Oh lord, hope this has changed. Has it?)

"Because he knows you have to laugh at the things that hurt you just to keep yourself in balance, just to keep the world from running you plumb crazy."

Favorite character: I'm partial to Billy Bibbitt. Because he's so sweet and what happens to him is so tragic, and like so many of the men he is in the hospital because he was "never able to adjust to the outside world."

Least favorite characters: Um, duh. Nurse Ratched. Best example of abuse of power that I can think of. And also of someone who is in the mental health profession for all the wrong reasons. It feels funny to put such a weighty word on someone who is a nurse, who always smiles, etc., but... I think she is Evil.

Social impact: Well, it certainly says something about the state of mental health care, especially in state run hospitals.... something, as someone trained as a counselor, I cringe a little to think about. And also, of course, at the old practices like Shock therapy and Lobotomy. But also I think having the Chief set up as a reliable narrator and getting a glimpse inside his mind says something about the treatment Native Americans received in Oregon and elsewhere, and also about how veterans have been treated (that's where the Chief first started getting lost in the fog). A completely unique perspective.

I just realized I've written all I wanted to about this book without once mentioning McMurphy, the main character. But on second thought... no, nope. I don't really have much to say about him.

One flew east, one flew west, one flew over the cuckoo’s nest...

We've all seen the movie, and it's a good one, but when the author of a book refuses to see the film version, as Ken Kesey did, it's probably worth looking into their reasons why. His reason apparently was that it does not show the story from the 1st person viewpoint of Chief Bromden and although I'm not sure how they could have done this on a movie I agree with him. McMurphy, the antihero of the story, is the main character in the movie and although he is certainly a fun character to follow part of the heart of the story is lost.

Readability: Very readable. Chief's narrations are easy to read and have a fantastic flow and the battle between McMurphy and Nurse Ratchet keep you reading because you want to know who will win, and it's not who you'd expect.

Enjoyability (is that a word?): Well, I enjoyed it.

Favorite quote(s): "Even when he isn't laughting, that laughint sound hovers around him, the way the sound hovers around a big bell just quit ringing-its in his eyes, in the why he smiles and swaggers, in the way he talks."

"Idiot, you just had a nightmare; things as cray as a big machine room down in the bowels of a dam where people get cut up by robot workers don't exist. But if they don't exist, how can a man see them?"

"You had a choice: you could either strain and look at things that appeared in front of you in the fog, painful as it might be, or you could relax and lose yourself."

"I'd think he was strong enough being his own self that he would never back down the way she was hoping he would. I'd think, maybe he truly is something extraordinary. He is what he is, that's it. Maybe that makes him strong enough."

I can't really quote any of the others I wanted to because I think they would give too much away.

Favorite character: Chief Bromden, the narrator of One Flew. Chief has been in the mental hospital for the last 20 years-the affect of his experience in the army during WWII (argument for providing better services to veterans anyone?) and the loss of his family's way of life with the destruction of Celilo Falls. He narrates the story and has an almost omnipotent view on what is going on because everyone assumes he is deaf and dumb since he doesn't speak. Although he is in a mental institution Chief's narration is sharp and observant and though some of his ramblings may seem insane at first he is just seeing a different truth.

Least favorite character: Nurse Ratchet. This woman is evil, pure and simple. Well, maybe not that simple. Chief sees her as being part of the combine, the machine that processes everyone and makes them, too, part of the machine. To Chief she is just part of the larger system that tries to make people conform and destroys those who don't. To McMurphy she is the symbol of that machine that must be destroyed.

Social impact: This book does a great job portraying the horrible conditions of many mental institutions. Kesey based it upon his own experience working at a mental institution and reading about the Oregon State Mental Institution, where Cuckoos Nest is set, leaves a grim image--including a room full of the forgotten cremated remains of patients. It also shows the lack of respect given to the Native American tribes who lived on the banks and fished Celilo Falls which were flooded in 1957 with the construction of the Dalles Dam. This was where Chief was from and their destruction, and most importantly what that did to his father, clearly haunts him, "the Combine. It worked o him for years. He was big enought to fight it for a while. It wanted us to live in inspected houses. It wanted to take the falls. It was even in the tribe, and they worked on him.

Greatest impact: I think the two major works of Ken Kesey, this and Sometimes a Great Notion, hold a special place for Oregonians, at least they do for me. I've been to these places. They're not just abstract visions but places I know and love which just makes it all the better.

Recommended for: Anyone who gets nerdy over the history of Oregon, mental institutions, native peoples etc. Anyone who likes a good story of an antihero up against the man or who is maybe, just a little, cracked up themselves.