*** Spoiler Alert ***
I enjoy reading books set in asylums, so this novel tickled me pink; it did not disappoint. I'd seen the movie years ago and remembered enjoying it and it appears the screenplay followed the novel well. McMurphy initially irritated me with his brash and loud ways, disrupting the order and tranquility of the psychiatric ward; however, around halfway through the book I began to picture him as Sawyer from "Lost" and he suddenly became incredibly appealing. He struck me as charming and protective, with just a touch of grit. I truly think he had the best interests of his friends in mind when making his stand against Nurse Ratched. I don't think, as she suggested, he was trying to milk them for money (unlike her milking them for their souls).
I had two main problems with the novel: dialect and Nurse Ratched. Dialect, for me, is always distracting, never conducive to plot flow, and occasionally sounds forced, even demeaning to (usually) Southerners. (How McMurphy ended up in Oregon was never explained). Nurse Ratched was undoubtedly a flat character; Kesey likely purposely wrote her this way to drive home his metaphor. She ran the ward as Satan, carrying her wicker basket full of evil, doled out to whomever she saw fit to saddle with it at the moment. I wished Kesey would have shown a softer side to her, a kind moment of helping a patient, a friendly chat with a fellow nurse, a laugh from her mouth. Maybe this is how the narrator (Chief) saw her, though. It was all black-and-white and machinery to him.
Two of the most powerful scenes in the novel were when McMurphy tries to lift the piece of machinery and fails and says, "At least I tried;" also, the final one, juxtaposing the light having come out of McMurphy's eyes as the world finally smothered him (literally and figuratively) with the emergence of the Chief becoming unsmothered, larger than life, and out to rebel against conformity. I nearly cried during the last scene. Great writing
I enjoy reading books set in asylums, so this novel tickled me pink; it did not disappoint. I'd seen the movie years ago and remembered enjoying it and it appears the screenplay followed the novel well. McMurphy initially irritated me with his brash and loud ways, disrupting the order and tranquility of the psychiatric ward; however, around halfway through the book I began to picture him as Sawyer from "Lost" and he suddenly became incredibly appealing. He struck me as charming and protective, with just a touch of grit. I truly think he had the best interests of his friends in mind when making his stand against Nurse Ratched. I don't think, as she suggested, he was trying to milk them for money (unlike her milking them for their souls).
I had two main problems with the novel: dialect and Nurse Ratched. Dialect, for me, is always distracting, never conducive to plot flow, and occasionally sounds forced, even demeaning to (usually) Southerners. (How McMurphy ended up in Oregon was never explained). Nurse Ratched was undoubtedly a flat character; Kesey likely purposely wrote her this way to drive home his metaphor. She ran the ward as Satan, carrying her wicker basket full of evil, doled out to whomever she saw fit to saddle with it at the moment. I wished Kesey would have shown a softer side to her, a kind moment of helping a patient, a friendly chat with a fellow nurse, a laugh from her mouth. Maybe this is how the narrator (Chief) saw her, though. It was all black-and-white and machinery to him.
Two of the most powerful scenes in the novel were when McMurphy tries to lift the piece of machinery and fails and says, "At least I tried;" also, the final one, juxtaposing the light having come out of McMurphy's eyes as the world finally smothered him (literally and figuratively) with the emergence of the Chief becoming unsmothered, larger than life, and out to rebel against conformity. I nearly cried during the last scene. Great writing
Back to all reviews by this member
Back to all reviews of this book
Back to Book Reviews
Back to Book Details
Back to all reviews of this book
Back to Book Reviews
Back to Book Details
