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  • One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

  • By: Ken Kesey
  • Narrated by: Ken Kesey
  • Length: 3 hrs and 19 mins
  • 4.4 out of 5 stars (210 ratings)
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One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest cover art

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

By: Ken Kesey
Narrated by: Ken Kesey
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Summary

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest is one of the most electrifying, most admired novels of our time. Set in the bleak confines of a state mental hospital and narrated by a half-Indian patient named Chief Bromden, it's the story of a titanic battle of wills between two unforgettable characters.

On one side is Big Nurse, who rules her ward with iron discipline. On the other is Randle Patrick McMurphy, a lustful, brawling, life-loving new inmate who refuses to knuckle under to Big Nurse's soul-destroying methods. In the end, McMurphy pays the ultimate price for his defiance, but not before the rebellious spirit has shown Chief Bromden the way to reclaim his future.

©1962 Ken Kesey (P)1993 HighBridge Company

Critic reviews

"A glittering parable of good and evil." (The New York Times Book Review)
"A roar of protest against middlebrow society's Rules and the Rulers who enforce them." (Time)

What listeners say about One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

Average customer ratings
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Poor

Downloaded this one as was a lot quicker than the one on YouTube...now I know why! As it doesn’t read the full book and misses out loads of the the book. Glad I didn’t purchase it.

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7 people found this helpful

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Bad

This book is not the same as the original written and skips a lot of sentences and passages.

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7 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

I'm so glad I got this!

I have meaning to read/listen to this title for so long and felt ashamed that, as a book lover, I have never read it. You are in a mental institution and you see the cogs in the machine, and the big nurse pulling the lever. Until,that is a new patient arrives and his aim is to break down the whole operation. It is narrated by another patient that you feel yourself cheering for him at the end. A beautiful story about human soul and its obstacles through life and against oneself.

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6 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Should clearly be marked as abridged version

Beautifully narrated - of coourse - by Ken Kesey. This is perfect for those happy for the abridged version. Unfortunately, I was looking for the full text.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

good book and storyline

the performance was good and the story was gripping, but quite shocking as well. really enjoyed it and a relatively short book compared to what i have been reading recently.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

A true classic

Finally got round to listening to this classic… recommended by many. A really good listen -over the narration by the author

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

It’s a classic for a reason

I’d recommend this to everyone. Beautifully observed with an eye to small details. Absolutely loved it.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Brilliant

I really enjoyed the audiobook . At first I thought the narrator wasn’t suited and had I not loved the film
so much I wouldn’t have purchased it from listening to the sample . However once Mac
Mac murph entered and the narration started livening up I really enjoyed it . I was so sad that it was only 3 hours . Could the full story be made available in audible ?

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

An American Parable

Kesey has written a well crafted tale that touches upon a deeply understood notion of personal and social freedoms. It is full of humour and pathos and perfectly depicts the dysfunction at the heart of the American ideal.
The mental hospital can be read as a metaphor for modern America, with Big Nurse the authoritarian, life suppressing figure who in sustaining the patients denies them true well being, true selfhood. In the end, the Red Indian, Broom Bromden, breaks free. The true natural American spirit is released. It is a nod to hope for us all

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

movie was better

wrong narrator for this story.
needed to have a bit more emotion in parts.

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