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One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

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One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

By: Ken Kesey
Narrated by: Ken Kesey
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About this listen

 One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest is one of the most electrifying, most admired novels of our time. Set in the bleak confines of a state mental hospital and narrated by a half-Indian patient named Chief Bromden, it's the story of a titanic battle of wills between two unforgettable characters.

On one side is Big Nurse, who rules her ward with iron discipline. On the other is Randle Patrick McMurphy, a lustful, brawling, life-loving new inmate who refuses to knuckle under to Big Nurse's soul-destroying methods. In the end, McMurphy pays the ultimate price for his defiance, but not before the rebellious spirit has shown Chief Bromden the way to reclaim his future.

©1962 Ken Kesey; (P)1993 HighBridge Company Classics Fiction Genre Fiction Literary Fiction

Critic reviews

"A glittering parable of good and evil." (The New York Times Book Review)
"A roar of protest against middlebrow society's Rules and the Rulers who enforce them." (Time)
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Finally got round to listening to this classic… recommended by many. A really good listen -over the narration by the author

A true classic

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the performance was good and the story was gripping, but quite shocking as well. really enjoyed it and a relatively short book compared to what i have been reading recently.

good book and storyline

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A Timeless classic. There is a great interview at the end too with Ken Kelsey

A Timeless classic

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I’d recommend this to everyone. Beautifully observed with an eye to small details. Absolutely loved it.

It’s a classic for a reason

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Kesey has written a well crafted tale that touches upon a deeply understood notion of personal and social freedoms. It is full of humour and pathos and perfectly depicts the dysfunction at the heart of the American ideal.
The mental hospital can be read as a metaphor for modern America, with Big Nurse the authoritarian, life suppressing figure who in sustaining the patients denies them true well being, true selfhood. In the end, the Red Indian, Broom Bromden, breaks free. The true natural American spirit is released. It is a nod to hope for us all

An American Parable

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