Product Description

These deluxe editions are packaged with French flaps, acid-free paper, and rough front.

"A glittering parable of good and evil . . . a work of genuine literary merit."--The New York Times

Other Penguin Great Books of the 20th Century:

The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad
Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
The Adventures of Augie March by Saul Bellow
The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton
A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce
Swann's Way by Marcel Proust
My Antonia by Willa Cather
On the Road by Jack Kerouac
White Noise by Don DeLillo

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #6177 in Books
• Published on: 1963-02-01
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 336 pages

From Library Journal
This excellent version of Kesey's classic novel does not supplement the fine Recorded Books edition (Audio Reviews, LJ 2/1/93). However, this Blackstone version is a worthy companion, based on the reading skills of narrator Tom Parker. Parker does an exceptional job of bringing to life the characters of Randall Patrick McMurphy, Big Nurse Ratched, Chief Broom, and the others occupying the Oregon mental hospital. He is especially good with Chief Broom, the story's narrator, presenting the chief's state of mind in seeing dark forces behind the nurse's actions plus the changes he undergoes through McMurphy's rebellious, fun-loving nature. Parker's skills and the continuing popularity of this work make this version a required purchase for all collections, even those libraries that have the earlier edition.?Stephen L. Hupp, Univ. of Pittsburgh at Johnstown, PA
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From AudioFile
The counterculture embraced this allegory of individualism versus the establishment, which, as a film, gave Jack Nicholson one of his more memorable roles. Cowed by sadistic Nurse Ratched, the inmates of a mental hospital are galvanized by a new patient, the free-spirited McMurphy, who enters a pitched battle of wills with the nurse. Narrator Tom Parker does a workmanlike, if somewhat detached, job; his tone nicely mirrors the iconoclasm in his text but doesn't quite nail the personality of the first-person narrator. Y.R. (c)AudioFile, Portland, Maine

About the Author
Ken Kesey studied writing at Stanford University with Wallace Stegner and Malcolm Cowley. His novels include Sometimes a Great Notion, Sailor Song, and Last Go Round, as well as two children's books and several works of nonfiction.

Customer Reviews

My favorite book
I was fortunate enough to read this book before ever seeing the movie. The movie was decent, but it in no way captures what this book is all about. This book is the work of a genius. Do yourself a favor, don't rent the movie from Blockbuster, read this book, and carry its memory with you forever.

An Interesting Tale, Not An Engrossing One.
The first half of this book is quite slow. It does have its funny and sincere moments though. If the first half of the book was as well written as the last half, it would deem five stars. The protagonist in this tale is a good natured lug who tries to inject the spirit of life into a ward of patients of mental illness. He unveils the hollowness and darkness they live day in, and day out, while striving to weaken the clinical hold over them by the head nurse. It is a touching and heartwarming story. It illuminates the contemptible views we had, and to a large extent still have of "mental illness."

A must read or every student.
There are some books I feel every teen should read. Especially in light of recent current events. Today's children & teens sometimes have no real concept of how lucky they are to live in a free society.
This in such a book to remind them that things could be so different!