January Novel: One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

Even if you haven’t seen it, you know about the movie One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest from 1975. You know it stars Jack Nicholson as a sane person in a 1960s asylum. You know calling someone “Nurse Ratched” means they are a terrible person. And you know her ward is not the kind of place you want to spend an extended period of time.

And if you’re like me, you haven’t seen the movie, and that really is all you know about the story. I knew this would be a controversial book but as is my policy with the books on my reading list, I had no idea what else the book was about. I like it best that way so I can read the book with an open mind and free of misconceptions.

I expected this book to be harsh. I expected a messed-up group of people trying to make it in a messed-up world. I didn’t expect psychological torture, lobotomies, and men treated like children so long they started acting like them. 

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