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sarahbethhh's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Mental illness, Forced institutionalization, and Medical trauma
Moderate: Homophobia, Racism, and Suicide
Minor: Racial slurs
greenan26's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Graphic: Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Torture, and Violence
Moderate: Homophobia and Suicide
asolis's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Self harm, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Medical trauma, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Cursing, Drug abuse, Drug use, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Alcohol, and Colonisation
swimfast724's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Body shaming, Bullying, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Mental illness, Self harm, Suicide, Forced institutionalization, Suicide attempt, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
lidia7's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
Graphic: Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, and Forced institutionalization
Moderate: Mental illness, Self harm, Suicide, Murder, and Gaslighting
Minor: Body shaming, Homophobia, Sexual assault, Dementia, and Alcohol
traingossip's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Ableism, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Racism, Self harm, Sexism, Suicide, Forced institutionalization, Medical trauma, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
Moderate: Confinement, Eating disorder, Hate crime, and Homophobia
aimee_shmee's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Suicide
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Physical abuse, and Racism
skeptic_hecate's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
I believe that this book is especially about sexual repression. Women and men who are demonized by their use of sexuality. It is because of this sexism that no one can be free.
Also, nurse Ratched is properly evil, definitely one of the highlights of the book and one of my favourite villains. I highly recommend this book.
Graphic: Death, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, and Suicide
Moderate: Homophobia and Violence
Minor: Sexual assault and Sexual violence
foxo_cube's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
I will say that it isn't perfect. It's, shall we say, a product of its time: most common-or-garden varieties of discrimination are thrown in casually here and there, and it does make me cringe a little bit at points. Personally, I try not to hold older books to the same standard I'd hold new publications in that regard, but it's worth mentioning as it is a little off-putting.
The main storyline is that of a criminal, McMurphy, entering a psychiatric ward expecting an easier life than what he was experiencing on a work farm, and discovering that he has made a terrible mistake. Being a rebel by nature, he quickly makes it his job to break down the strict and cruel Head Nurse.
The clashes between the staff and McMurphy are great - sometimes funny, sometimes shocking, sometimes devastating, often some mix of all those things - but what I love so much about the book is how the patients of the ward have real humanity to them, and the slow but sure change in atmosphere throughout the war between McMurphy and Nurse Ratched is written beautifully. McMurphy is a rough, problematic, but undeniably charming character with a gentleness to him we only see through Bromden's eyes, especially when they form a friendship.
This aspect, the platonic love story, is one of my favourite things about the book overall. The way Bromden discusses him, and their conversations, even when they're focused on boosting Bromden's confidence (usually in pretty bawdy fashion), is written with a lovely tenderness. McMurphy is a grey-area character who most definitely manipulates the hell out of a lot of the patience for money and cigarettes, but his growing care towards the people on the ward and rage at the mistreatment they face is, nonetheless, very real.
Bromden is a proudly unreliable narrator who phases in and out of the "fog", as he describes it - seemingly dissociative periods where he exists on autopilot, or flashbacks to his past, or hallucinates. He has spent his time on the ward pretending that he can neither hear nor speak, meaning he gets to be a fly on the wall during private meetings and such due to the staff often using him as a cleaner. He hates the system he's in, the state of the world, and the treatment he faces on the ward, but feels powerless to stop it, meaning that McMurphy is both a godsend and a terrifying presence to him. His character growth is fairly subtle at first, but the end scenes - which are devastating - are a powerful culmination of the book's events: when McMurphy is lobotomised, Bromden performs the most sincere expression of love and respect that he possibly could have.
I've read this book a good few times now, and it's always a total rollercoaster ride of emotions.
Graphic: Ableism, Bullying, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Suicide, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Gaslighting
Moderate: Homophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Medical content, Grief, Murder, Sexual harassment, War, and Injury/Injury detail
milohno's review against another edition
3.5
Moderate: Body horror, Body shaming, Chronic illness, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Murder, and Gaslighting
Minor: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Cursing, Homophobia, Pedophilia, Racial slurs, and Racism