Monday, May 27, 2019

SOMETIMES A GREAT NOTION


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Sometimes A Great Notion, Ken Kesey, Viking Penguin, 1964, 628 pp
 
Summary from Goodreads: This wild-spirited tale tells of a bitter strike that rages through a small lumber town along the Oregon coast. Bucking that strike out of sheer cussedness are the Stampers. Out of the Stamper family's rivalries and betrayals Ken Kesey has crafted a novel with the mythic impact of Greek tragedy.
 
My Review:
Most people only know of Ken Kesey, the novelist, because of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. Some people know of him as the grand master of the Merry Pranksters in all their counter-cultural madness. "Either you're on the bus or you're off the bus."  Sometimes A Great Notion was his second novel. It is long, it is deep, it is a bit experimental, but it is also considered his masterpiece.
 
I spent four days reading the book's 628 pages. The last two days I read over 200 pages a day because once I got through the eye of the needle that was the beginning, I was exponentially more enraptured every day. If you like long novels, this is one well worth spending your time reading.
 
The novel concerns an Oregon logging clan, their struggles, their successes, their deep family problems. If at any moment it feels like the Stampers are going down, you don't find out until the very end if they will. 
 
Such fully fleshed heroic characters, such desperate dysfunction, such glorious writing about the people, the location, the weather, the physical and emotional strife. Such eccentricity in the face of change, such sheer cussedness indeed!
 
John Steinbeck is probably the most famous writer of the American West. Another guy who became well known for one novel: The Grapes of Wrath. Both went to Stanford University, both wrote about the plight of the common man. They were a generation apart. I would bet that Kesey read Steinbeck. My favorite Steinbeck novel is East of Eden. I think Sometimes a Great Notion was Kesey's East of Eden

19 comments:

  1. I must look out for that. I have "Cuckoo's" in a pile somewhere and remember the film. I enjoyed "Grapes" and really liked "Eden" as a movie. As its a long one though I might have to wait post-retirement! [grin]

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    1. Ha! Definitely a post-retirement goal!

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  2. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest is on my list to reread soon, but now I'd like to try Sometimes a Great Notion instead! East of Eden is my favorite Steinbeck, too.

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    1. I hope you find it as great as I did!

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  3. I have not read Kesey but I would like to. I think that sometimes an author’s most famous novel is not always their best. As for One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s nest, I did live the film so I might read that first.

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    1. The movie of One Flew Over is good but the book is so much better.

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  4. Wasn't there also a movie made of Sometimes a Great Notion, maybe starring Paul Newman? I seem to remember that though I never saw it. Google would know. Kesey was a remarkable writer and a remarkable human being. I would guess his work is not so well known to modern readers and that is a shame.

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    1. I have not seen the movie and most people who have found it not good, especially compared to the book. The more I read by and about Kesey, the more I admire him.

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  5. This sounds like a good one! I hate to admit but I thought Ken Kesey only wrote Cuckoo's Nest and that was it... man I'm so misinformed.

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    1. Nah, you are not alone. Plus you were probably not even alive in 1964. I only learned about his other novels after I read Cuckoo's Nest thanks to the internet.

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  6. I've not heard of this Ken Kesey novel before... I'll add it to my reading wishlist.

    East of Eden is my favorite John Steinbeck novel as well.

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  7. Interesting parallels between their lives. I've not read Cuckoo's Nest, and sometimes people think I am a total weirdo for that.

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    1. Well Cuckoo's Nest is loaded with mental health issues and is quite a heavy read, actually. I don't think you are a weirdo.

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    2. Thank you! I guess it surprises people, only because when I was more focused on fiction, I read so many 'must-reads'.

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  8. Yeah I'd like to read Kesey's great opus. I liked the Beats but haven't tried much of the Pranksters yet; they differed quite a bit it seems. Here's an article I just came upon: https://theamericanscholar.org/when-kerouac-met-kesey/#.XPWWLi2ZM_U

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    1. Yes, different generations almost. Beats vs Pranksters. I love them both. The article was great, thank you!

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  9. I had heard of this novel, though I haven't read this, One Flew..., or any Steinbeck's. I have most of Steinbeck's novels on my TBR though, someday...

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    1. Steinbeck is rewarding to read. I know about someday...

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