It’s amazing how an artist’s death can inspire people to further appreciate his or her work, isn’t it? When Ken Kesey died, I was already intrigued by the famous hippie author, since my brother’s friend had been working on filming a documentary with him. So when Kesey died, I decided that I needed to read some of his work. The first book that came to mind, of course, was One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. I’d seen the movie, but I’d never read the book. And when I saw the 30th Anniversary Edition of the book on cassette -– read by the Kesey himself –- I quickly snatched it up.
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, for those of you who have managed to avoid the story, is about the residents of a psychiatric hospital –- as told by Chief Bromden, an Indian who’s faked being deaf and dumb so he won’t have to deal with life on the ward. One day, however, a new patient shows up. Randall Patrick McMurphy (“Mac”) is a fiery redhead who got himself transferred to the ward to escape the hard labor of a jail sentence. Mac stirs up the ward. He teaches the other patients to enjoy life and stand up for themselves while he continuously angers the ward’s big, controlling nurse.
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest explores what it means to be sane –- as well as the price of being different and shaking things up. It’s definitely a classic. And this audiobook is a classic told in the way it was meant to be told -– by the man who created it. It’s an excellent story by a great (and definitely eccentric) author.
Kristin Dreyer Kramer has been writing in some form or another (usually when she was supposed to be doing something else) since the ripe old age of ten—when she, her cousin, and their two Cabbage Patch Dolls formed the Poo Authors’ Club. After a short career in advertising, Kristin got sick of always saying nice things about stuff that didn’t deserve it—so now she spends her days criticizing things, and she’s much happier for it.
Since creating NightsAndWeekends.com in February of 2002, Kristin has spent her life surrounded by piles and piles of books and movies—so many that her office has become a kind of entertainment obstacle course.
As if her writing and editing responsibilities for N&W.com weren’t enough to keep her out of trouble, Kristin also hosts a number of weekly radio shows: Reel Discovery, Shelf Discovery, and On the Marquee. She’s also a proud member of the Broadcast Film Critics Association (CriticsChoice.com), the Central Ohio Film Critics Association (COFCA.org), the Online Film Critics Society (OFCS.org), and the Women Film Critics Circle (WFCC.Wordpress.com).
Kristin lives in Columbus, Ohio, with her husband, Paul, and their daughter, Anna. She welcomes questions, comments, and fan mail at kdk@nightsandweekends.com.
Kristin Dreyer Kramer has been writing in some form or another (usually when she was supposed to be doing something else) since the ripe old age of ten—when she, her cousin, and their two Cabbage Patch Dolls formed the Poo Authors’ Club. After a short career in advertising, Kristin got sick of always saying nice things about stuff that didn’t deserve it—so now she spends her days criticizing things, and she’s much happier for it.
Since creating NightsAndWeekends.com in February of 2002, Kristin has spent her life surrounded by piles and piles of books and movies—so many that her office has become a kind of entertainment obstacle course.
As if her writing and editing responsibilities for N&W.com weren’t enough to keep her out of trouble, Kristin also hosts a number of weekly radio shows: Reel Discovery, Shelf Discovery, and On the Marquee. She’s also a proud member of the Broadcast Film Critics Association (CriticsChoice.com), the Central Ohio Film Critics Association (COFCA.org), the Online Film Critics Society (OFCS.org), and the Women Film Critics Circle (WFCC.Wordpress.com).
Kristin lives in Columbus, Ohio, with her husband, Paul, and their daughter, Anna. She welcomes questions, comments, and fan mail at kdk@nightsandweekends.com.
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