My New Favorite Book

My new favorite book is One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, by Ken Kesey. This will be one that I read over and over. Kesey has this knack, just like Flannery O'Connor, to put things in a hilarious light only to hit one on the head with the true and very serious nature of whatever situation he's pseudo-mocking. I love it so much I could marry it!

I don't even know where to start with this irreverent little gem...probably general themes that reoccurred throughout the novel:

• machination of modern America, dehumanization
• tools in the Big Machine: those who work to repair machine and keep it going while others work to destroy it, lack of responsibility because the machine itself has become its own entity
• lunacy: pretending to be crazy making one crazy, crazies with more sense and awareness than so-called normals, self-admitted lunatics vs. committed
• retribution on those not personally responsible for original hurt
• gender roles: stereotyping, function of sex in healthy relationships
• race: stereotypes, representational, expectations and duties based on race

This isn't your grandmother's book. I would only recommend this book to mature readers who like thought-provoking themes more than exciting plots.

Happy reading!