One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey - Book Review: School Edition!

Hello, everyone! I'm back, and I'm here to review One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Next (or as I refer to it as, OFOTCN) by Ken Kesey. Short summary: it's about a guy who is institutionalized but doesn't back down from authority. In case you haven't guessed, this causes a whole lot of shenanigans. But enough about that. Let's get onto the review!

So as some of you know, I wasn't too impressed with Keroauc's One the Road, and I took that as a bad omen about what I would think about the other books in my American Literature of Rebellion class. After reading OFOTCN, I had to smack myself silly and remind myself that I should not judge a book on its cover, or in this case, genre.

That's right. I love this book. A the end of the novel, I felt like I was twisted up in a ball of yarn that a cat had played with for two hours. I was committed (no pun intended), and I actually connected with the characters despite their flaws or supposed mental instability.

For example, I love McMurphy - in a platonic hope-you-make-it kind of way. At first, I thought he was a copy of Dean, but the difference of McMurphy being a redeemable and somewhat helpful character made him more enduring. Sure, he was still a con-man, but he also cared about the other inmates, which is something I didn't get from Dean.

I also liked the narrator, Bromden. He wasn't obsessed with McMurphy as Sal was with Dean, and I think that we learn more about his past and his journey and ultimately, where he ends up becomes important to the reader. I was proud of his triumphs and saddened when he couldn't get out of his own head.

That's another thing. Despite the fact that the narrator is crazy and on drugs and scarred out of his mind, the novel was still coherent. I understood every word and most of the meaning despite everything being caught in the "fog" or controlled by the "machines in the all." I still got every rising action, every dramatic turn, and every climax. The effect of "crazy" was still there without losing the coherency.

Now if you follow me on twitter (@KK_Donna_Blog), then you know that I had a lot of "feels" when I finished reading the novel. A lot of it had to do with the conclusion which left me feeling angry, pleased, and depressed all at the same time. I won't give anything away (this is a spoiler-free zone), but I will say that if you connect with the characters, the way that I did, I'm sure you'll be feeling the same way.

With everything said and done, I'm giving this book four and a half playing cards out of five, and I'm taking out half a card only because I found myself skipping over the more repetitive parts.

That's it for this review! Comment down with books you've read in school that surprised you. Subscribe to the blog by adding your email address to the Subscribe Box down below or off to the right. Add me to your circles by clicking the Google+ Button on you right. Follow me on twitter @KK_Donna_Blog for up to date information on the blog and ridiculousness about my life. Follow the tumblr dedicated to the blog which you can find at this link. Read on, lovelies! I'll see y'all next post!