Books like One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest was an amazing read. It symbolized so much in a comical yet serious tone. And it was written in such a manor that the story enraptured you and kept you guessing as to what would happen next. The narrator, chief, was a well thought out choice for the main role. His self containment made for a crazy story with even crazier outcomes. Since the story is narrated by a World War Two veteran with schizophrenia, the story is filled with flashbacks, hallucinations, and mental breakdowns. He is one of the "chronics", patients who suffer from serious mental illness and trauma and will most likely live out the rest of their days in the institution. He pretends to be deaf and mute, so the orderlies and other patients won't bother him too much. He's spent years in silence, but that all changes when McMurphy is admitted to the ward. The conflict in the story is caused by the ongoing power struggle between McMurphy and Nurse Ratched, the administrative nurse. Ratched has an extremely strict way of running things at the hospital and if a patient so much as questions her orders there are severe consequences, such as electroshock therapy. She runs the ward almost like a prison camp, and that doesent sit well with McMurphy, who is a social rebel and doesent conform to conformity. Ever since their first group meeting, McMurphy made it his mission to get inside of Ratched's head and turn things to his advantage. He unites the patients to pull off insane stunts just to try and anger Ratched, but eventually they backfire and he experiences the full extent of her wrath, after a suspenseful confrontation. The writing style of the book is one of my favorites. Because the narrator is insane, there are parts of the story that are told in a serious manner but are almost too crazy to be true, which leads the reader to come to the conclusion that the character is hallucinating. But then there are parts when he talks about the "fog" and it is clear that he is hallucinating. It is a very interesting perspective to write from, especially coming from that time period. I enjoyed this book for many reasons. It displayed a few different themes, like don't conform to what others say is good for you. The author also wrote the book in a way that kept the reader interested and with always some idea to ponder when thinking back on a certain scene or chapter. I would recommend this book to everyone provided they are above age 13 because there are some parts that are meant for mature readers. But all in all it was a great book and scores a place in my favorite books.