I’m sure that most people know Ken Kesey‘s One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, mostly through the Milos Forman movie with Jack Nicholson. For those, who don’t or who need a reminder, it’s the story about some patients in an asylum. Their daily routine is broken by the arrival of a new patient – Randle McMurphy, who stands up against the iron rule of Nurse Ratched.

So far, so easy. The book itself isn’t. It’s a read you have to work for and it takes its time. But it’s worth it. This book is an instant favourite.

The story is narrated by Chief Bromden, a huge half -Native American, who pretends that he is deaf and mute and has been pretending for years. He’s quite definitely paranoid, seeing machinery in everything and the Combine (the combination of all authority figures ever, which keeps surpressing the “common man” without him even noticing) everywhere. But his craziness is very poetic and definitely metaphorical, giving Kesey a huge playground for adding layers of meaning.

It’s at the same time depressing and not at all. The ending’s ambivalent, but it’s also the only logical one.

Loved it.

[I wanted to watch the movie again, because it’s been ages that I did, to compare it to the book. I was convinced that I own the DVD, but apparently I don’t. So, first, I need to get access to the movie. Then I’ll do another post for the comparison. :)]