by Ken Kesey
278 pages
Alright, so I know you’re probably thinking that I should stop reading books that have been made into movies, but the truth is two-fold: 1. I love this movie, and 2. SOOOOOO many movies are based on books. This one had been downloaded on my Kindle for a while, just waiting to be read. When I was looking for something to fit this category, most of the books at the tops of lists were things I’d already read. When I saw One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, I was excited.
Just to make sure it fit the category, I did a little research, but tried not to read too much about it because I don’t like spoilers. Some reports said it fit because Chief is the narrator and he pretends to be deaf and mute. Because of this, they think anyone who would lie about this would lie about other things. Other reports said this made him more reliable because people didn’t hide their thoughts and feelings around him because they were sure he couldn’t hear anyway. So I was a little nervous but decided to read it anyway. It paid off. I discovered this fact pretty soon into the book when he says something along the lines of “It’s all true, even if it didn’t happen.” Um, what?
Maybe I am getting ahead of myself. Let me break it down for those who haven’t seen the movie. This book takes place in an asylum. We are introduced to a new patient named R.P. McMurphy. Mc Murphy is actually pretending to be crazy because he believes his time in the hospital will be a cakewalk compared to the farm work he has been sentenced to serve. Little does he know that he is there until the evil Nurse Ratched gives the OK for his release. (To put it in perspective, Nurse Ratched has been ranked the #1 movie villain by the American Film Institute.) In the movie, we follow McMurphy’s story. In the book, we get the story as told by Chief.
Chief is a Native American who is believed to be deaf and mute. Because Chief had spent the past 20+ years not speaking or responding when people spoke, the staff of the hospital spoke freely around him. As our narrator, Chief introduces us to the inner workings of the ward and the people in it. In the beginning Chief walks us through a day in the hospital, about a half hour at a time. From the moment McMurphy enters the scene, things change drastically. McMurphy enters and introduces himself to each man individually. He shakes their hands and talks to them like they are people. He doesn’t talk down to them or assume they are incapable of understanding what he is saying. He quickly learns that Nurse Ratched plays mind games with the men in order to keep them in their place. McMurphy is outraged and immediately tries to change things by getting under her skin.
It is through his observations, McMurphy is also able to befriend the men on the ward and discover that Chief is only pretending to be deaf and mute. The two start talking and Chief lets McMurphy know that he is smaller than he used to be. Here we gain an understanding of what Chief is going through. Before this point, we see more of the unreliable narrator aspect. Sure, Chief knows everything that’s happening, but he also tells us things that could not possibly be real. For example, he tells us that one time he saved one of his pills and when he opened it up there were wires inside that were used to control the men’s minds. He is also sure that this particular type of wire is designed to dissolve when exposed to air. Chief also believes that the men’s dorm moves up and down like an elevator when they sleep and he is convinced that he can hear the gears in the walls at all times. He also tells a story about a patient who got so upset one time that his hand turned into a big metal ball and he hit an orderly with it. Chief suffers from paranoid schizophrenia. While we definitely want to believe him, these and other similar stories, make it hard to tell what is real and what isn’t. During their first conversation, Chief tells McMurphy that he used to be much bigger and McMurphy ensures him that he is huge. He then discovers that Chief’s problem is that he has lost all pride and confidence and self-assurance. He promises Chief that he will help him get back to his normal size.
I am afraid to give away too much of the ending, but I will say that the relationship between McMurphy and Chief is quite remarkable. If you have seen the movie, the book helps to explain more of the commitment that Chief has to McMurphy. It explains why he felt obligated to help him “escape” at the end.
I really recommend reading this book. Even if you have seen the movie and absolutely loved it (like I have). I will not claim that it is my favorite book, but it is definitely an important book. It shows the horrible racism of the time and also the horrific injustices that could happen at these asylums. It also shows the importance of accepting people for who they are and for truly listening to what they are telling you.
It is always easy to compare a book to its movie – most of the time the book is better. Here I will take a slightly different approach. I liked both equally. Although they are quite drastically different, I don’t really think they can be prepared. As I read the book, I often imagined what the movie would look like if they remade it today, and followed the book more closely. I imagined something fantastical full of CGI and such. Would it be a better movie? Probably not, but it does make for a good book. I don’t know if I am really making a lot of sense, but it makes sense to me (so if you want to discuss it, pick my brain, etc., just ask).
4.5 Stars!