One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest cover art

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

50th Anniversary Edition

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About this listen

 A fiftieth-anniversary edition of Ken Kesey's searing American classic.

Boisterous, ribald, and ultimately shattering, Ken Kesey's One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest has left an indelible mark on the literature of our time. Turning conventional notions of sanity and insanity on their heads, the novel tells the unforgettable story of a mental ward and its inhabitants, especially tyrannical Big Nurse Ratched and Randle Patrick McMurphy, the brawling, fun-loving new inmate who resolves to oppose her. We see the story through the eyes of Chief Bromden, the seemingly mute half-Indian patient who witnesses and understands McMurphy's heroic attempt to do battle with the powers that keep them all imprisoned.

Hailed upon its publication as "a glittering parable of good and evil" (The New York Times Book Review) and "a roar of protest against middlebrow society's Rules and the invisible Rulers who enforce them" (Time), Kesey's powerful book went on to sell millions of copies and remains as bracing and insightful today as when it was first released. This new deluxe hardcover edition commemorates the fiftieth anniversary of the original publication of the novel on February 1, 1962, and will be a must have for any literature lover.

 Classics Genre Fiction Literary Fiction Psychological Thriller & Suspense Fiction

Critic reviews

"A work of genuine literary merit . . . What Mr. Kesey has done in his unusual novel is to transform the plight of a ward of inmates in a mental hospital into a glittering parable of good and evil."
--The New York Times Book Review

"[A] brilliant first novel . . . a strong, warm story about the nature of human good and evil . . . Keysey has made his book a roar of protest against middlebrow society's Rules and the invisible Rulers who enforce them."
--Time

"The final triumph of these men at the cost of a terrifying sacrifice should send chills down any reader's back. . . . This novel's scenes have the liveliness of a motion picture."
--The Washington Post

"An outstanding book . . . [Kesey's] characters are original and real. . . . This is a tirade against the increasing controls over man and his mind, yet the author never gets on a soap box. Nor does he forget that there is a thin line between tragedy and comedy."
--Houston Chronicle
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Amazing narration that keeps you intrigued. Love how this book addresses our corrupt ‘democratic’ society

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This is a book that's been on my 'to read' list for many years, but I never seemed to get round to buying it. I tried the sample audio, and if I'm honest I wasn't sure if I would enjoy it as the adventures sounded quite brash. It was quite the opposite. the narration is brilliant, and each character really came to life with different accents and speech patterns. Rather than ploughing through the book I found I thoroughly enjoyed it and listened to it over just 2 days.

Great story, brilliant narration

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John c Reilly brings so much passion to the characters voices. you sense deep emotion to each persons varied feelings. The book is so powerful, I enjoyed the movie a lot, however this audiobook brings so much more to the fantastic but deeply emotional story.
This is a perfect story and production.

First Cass Narration, Perfect Book!

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This is one of those books that you return to time and again.

Simply brilliant.

Simply brilliant

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Love the film and always intended to read the book but I did it this way instead. Loved the narration. Really brings it life.
Overall story is really good too. The power struggles, the challenges and marching on towards the end that was inevitable.

Really great narration performance

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