Ken Kesey anyone?

[alonewiththegods]

I've recently read One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest, but it took me a while to finish. Although I thoroughly enjoyed the novel, I struggled with it a bit to begin with but once it got going I thought it was really good. I've always liked the film and found the book even better. So really, I was just wondering what the others from the Bukowski demographic made of Kesey's work? if anything.

 

[mjp]

I remember liking Demon Box, but I read it a long time ago, so I couldn't say why I liked it.

 

[Purple Stickpin]

I suppose the "All Things *Not* Bukowski" forum must be closed for maintenance. In any case, I found Sometimes a Great Notion to be better than Cuckoo's Nest.

 

[Ponder]

I remember liking Demon Box

Isn't that the book with the short story The Last Days of Superman?
I was just thinking of that one before I looked at your post. And it IS s good book.

 

[mjp]

The Day Superman Died? Something like that, yes. I can't find the book at the moment, so I'm relying on Google.

 

[Pogue Mahone]

Sometimes a Great Notion is one of the best novels I've read. A complicated structure that puts you inside the minds of each character. Even with a great cast, it was impossible for the film to replicate the book.

 

[Ponder]

Well, I was close. I read the book Demon Box 25-30 years ago.

 

[skiroomalum]

I always loved that Cuckoos Nest was told from the Chief's perspective. I read that around the same time I read
Last Exit, over 30 years ago.

 

[Pogue Mahone]

And Kesey said he never watched Cuckoos Nest, which is too bad because even if it the book was better, the film was a damn good adaption. Was he being pretentious? Or maybe someone from Hollywood just rubbed him the wrong way? Maybe he'd learned a little bit from Kerouac, who acted just as pretentious when Superman introduced the two.

The Day Superman Died was a classic, from begining to end. Kesey always believed things were not random, but happened for a reason. That vision of Neil counting railroad ties for hours on speed until he finally decided to take a little nap is a classic end to a tragic figure.

 

[Purple Stickpin]

Too bad the bus didn't come by before the train did.

 

[Petey]

One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest is in my Top Ten list since I read it in 2008.

https://bukowskiforum.com/threads/one-flew-over-the-cuckoos-nest.3328/

 

[zobraks]

Neil counting railroad ties for hours on speed until he finally decided to take a little nap

Too bad the bus didn't come by before the train did.

I reckon it would have been all the same to Neal Cassady, whether he had been run over by a bus or by a train.
:rollfool: