Silly Trickster

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest - Ken Kesey
2001 was a rough year for authors, we lost a great many wonderfully different minds that year; John Knowles, Eudora Welty, Clifton Hillegass (of Cliff's Notes fame) Douglas Adams, and the original Trickster himself, Ken Kesey. Kesey was a fascinating person, and a wonderful author if a bit unconventional. This book and Sometimes a Great Notion, also by Kesey, both made the Modern Library's top 100 books of the 20th century (reader's list) - - which is not too bad for someone who had been completely stoned for the past 30 odd years. For those of you who aren't aware, there is quite a unique lineage from the beat poets down through the experiential writers of the 60's and the hippies of the late 60's and early 70's. But enough of that, this book provides us with easily identifiable characters (Randall McMurphy, Nurse Ratched), and exposes the wretched existence in the mental hospitals of the 50's. More than that though, it provides a model of a life well lived (or enjoyed anyway), and a in depth exploration of the human condition. There are few books I would recommened more than this - even if you have already seen the movie (w/ Jack Nicholson) - or play (w/ Gary Sinese), it is well worth the read.
Rating: A
Related:
Sometimes a Great Notion - Kesey
The Electric Kool Aid Acid Test - Tom Wolfe
Hell's Angels - Hunter S. Thompson