ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOOS NEST by Ken Kesey

ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOOS NEST by Ken Kesey ***** - This book is on my ‘100 classics to read before I turn 25’ list - and its five-star rating is so well deserved. Based in my home state of Oregon in the 1960s, this novel follows the misadventures of RP McMurphy and the friends he makes at a mental hospital. Told through the eyes of the supposed mute and deaf Chief Bromden, you fall in love with these characters and their purpose.

What I loved about this book: nearly everything. Every character comes to life throughout the course of the novel, and you learn to sympathize with each one (except Nurse Ratched, of course). You develop a crush on McMurphy, you cry for Billy Bibbit, and you cheer on Chief Bromden. By the end of the novel, I was dying to watch the movie just so that this experience didn’t have to end. The writing was superb, as most classic writing is, and made me think (which is always what I want in a novel). By the time I finish it, I had to set it down and cry a little.

What I didn’t love: nearly nothing. It was difficult to get into at first, although I’m blaming that on extraneous circumstances and I don’t fault the book for that. The use of the N-word and interesting choice of adjectives to describe the three black workers reminded me of the cultural differences between now and 1962. However, I prefer to see these minorly cringey moments as a way of observing either how the author thought when writing the book, how the author decided to portray society, or simply how society was at the time. A learning experience, shall we say.

A five star read all around, so happy I chose this for my last year, and now onto something lighter, longer, and potentially more romantic? What’s your next read?