One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
Like many high-profile events associated with the name of the “merry prankster” Ken Kesey, his debut novel One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1962) caused a sensation in American literary life. Kesey was immediately recognized as an exceptionally talented writer, and the novel became one of the defining works for the Beat and hippie generations. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest is a raw and devastatingly honest exploration of the fragile boundary between sanity and madness. “If anyone wants to feel the pulse of our time, let them read Kesey. And if all goes well and the order of things remains unchanged, he will be read in the next century as well,” wrote the Los Angeles Times. Indeed, the novel continues to live on today, losing none of its wild popularity.