It's truly challenging to know precisely where to commence. The back of my edition boldly proclaims,

"THE EARTHY, TORRID STORY OF A LUSTY, YELLING, PAUL BUNYAN OF A MAN AND HIS BATTLES WITH SOCIETY." (In fact, it's all in capital letters.) That does describe one aspect of the book, but mostly it's rather like those advertisements for action movies where they emphasize the love story angle to attract women to come and watch. You know how they splice together the mere 5 minutes actually dedicated to the supposed love story and then have a voiceover such as, "a love that wouldn't be denied"? Just like that.

Alright, let me step back and explain a bit about the framework of the book. It centers around the Stamper family, who journeyed west to Oregon sometime around the turn of the 20th century. We get to know Henry, the family patriarch, who arrived in Oregon and found his calling in logging and attempting to "whup" the land. He has two sons: Hank, from his first wife, and Leland Stanford from his second. The second wife eventually departs (she was from the east and not the type of woman suited for living in a shack on the shore of a river in the middle of nowhere Oregon), taking young Lee with her. Lee leaves with very little affection for his father but a deep hatred for Hank because Hank has been having an affair with Lee's mother. Years later, Lee is a college student in New York when he receives a postcard from his family in Oregon asking him to return and assist with the family business. Surprisingly, Lee comes back, but with complex motives.

He gets reacquainted with his family - the irascible Henry; his cousin Joe Ben, who is the self-proclaimed ray of sunshine; Viv, Hank's wife; and of course, brother Hank, whom Lee immediately begins to size up and determine how best to exact his revenge. Against this backdrop is the drama the family is entangled in with the town, involving a loggers' strike and a deal the Stampers have made with a lumber company. A plethora of themes are at play in the book - what family truly means, loyalty, the need for every man to prove himself, whether any man can truly be an island, revenge and its代价, the lines between love, obsession, and duty, strength and weakness and what defines each are just a few.

The writing style can be a bit perplexing at times. Kesey employs several tactics that are initially difficult to follow. To cover multiple viewpoints, he jumps between scenes of what different characters are doing and saying at any given moment. He uses parenthetical or italicized text to convey a character's thoughts on whatever is transpiring. He also switches from third-person to first-person narration effortlessly, and the first-person narration isn't always by the same person, even within a few paragraphs. These techniques can indeed pose a challenge to the reader, but they are highly effective once you get into the rhythm.

I truly adored this one. It is recommended for: those who relish stories about the wilderness and man's relationship with it, people with daddy issues, people with mommy issues, people with brother issues, lumberjacks, and those who enjoy reading descriptions of rain.

Quote:

"This is an insidious malady chiefly common in that mythical organ that pumps life through the veins of the ego: care, coronary care, complicated by galloping fear. The go-away-closer disease. Starving for contact and calling it poison when it is offered.... Never accept candy from strangers. Or from friends. Sneak off a sack of gumdrops when nobody's looking if you can, but don't accept, never accept... you want somebody taking advantage? And above all, never care, never never *never* care. Because it is caring that lulls you into letting down your guard and leaving up your shades...."

Sometimes the language just overwhelms.

This is precisely the case here. Although it's not entirely accurate to simply say "language." Kesey, while not a poet, is a lucid writer. It's more the complexity of the book structure, especially on the sentence and paragraph level, rather than just the chapter or book level.

At its core, the story is simple. In fact, it could be said to have the same narrative heart as Kesey's other two novels, "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" and the underrated "Sailor Song." However, in this case, Kesey doesn't tip the scales as much, giving the central battle more weight.

At its essence, this is a Greek myth. Two half-brothers, representing polar opposite personalities - headstrong and pragmatic versus weak and overly-educated - battle each other through incest. One brother sleeps with the other's mother, and then that brother tries to sleep with the first brother's wife. It's a tawdry melodrama.

Worse still, it's a misogynistic tawdry melodrama. Granted, Kesey grew up in a different era, pre-feminist, so to speak. But it's not just that the misogyny offends contemporary sensibilities; it weakens the story because the female characters are never fully developed and their motivations are never clear.

It's also true that, although Kesey eases his grip on the scale, he still favors the active, pragmatic, manly step-brother. In fact, one gets the sense that Kesey, more than anything else, is writing about himself, pitting two halves of his personality against each other and hating on the weak writer - even as he had to use the weak writer to express what he wanted to say. This preference only exacerbates the misogyny.

Not to mention the casual racism and his ridiculous use of Native American characters as some kind of Noble Savage.

The problem seems to be that Kesey is so enamored with the cult of authenticity that the story gets distorted. Native Americans are seen as authentic but ruined by the modern world; women are never able to be truly authentic; blacks are only authentic along certain lines, such as making danceable music. In this very white world, the n-word is used surprisingly often.

The book is definitely overwritten. Easily two hundred pages could have been trimmed without anyone noticing.

And yet, the book won me over. Despite all my misgivings. He built the conflict so powerfully.

Kesey took a page from Faulkner's playbook. "Sometimes a Great Notion" is like "Absalom, Absalom" for the Pacific Northwest: the Harvard-educated sophisticate called upon to explain how people can live in a place like Oregon (or Mississippi), how they can live at all? True, Kesey doesn't see as clearly or with the expansive vision of Faulkner. But boy, can he write.

He builds up the story in layers, one on top of another, like a song. The voices often speak simultaneously, a jumble of words like a river. It dissolves all notions of linearity while still maintaining a fair amount of tension. By the end of the book, despite the accumulation of inanities and despite this being my second read, I was turning the pages like it was a thriller.

I have never had such an enjoyable experience while reading a book. This book is undoubtedly among the top 5 for me.

I truly relished the unique style, the distinct voice, the larger-than-life characters, the profound themes it addressed, and the captivating storyline.

It is significantly better than "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest," which I also greatly enjoyed.

I opted to read it in small segments because it was so excellent that I didn't want it to come to an end too quickly.

Afterward, I will purchase a hard copy and read it again.

I can't wait to immerse myself in this wonderful book once more and discover new details and nuances that I might have missed during the first reading.

It has left a lasting impression on me and has become one of my all-time favorite reads.

I haven't read this in a hundred years.

However, it's one of the Books That Made an Enormous Impression on Me.

I remember it far better than I remember most of what I've read since.

In fact, it's way better than Cuckoo's Nest.

If there is such a thing as A-1 "location-lit", then this book surely qualifies.

And even if that's not a recognized genre, you still know exactly what I mean.

The story within these pages had a profound impact on me, etching itself into my memory in a way that few other books have managed to do.

It's a testament to the power of great literature and how it can leave a lasting impression long after the final page has been turned.

Perhaps one day I'll pick it up again and rediscover the magic that first drew me in all those years ago.

Maybe my fractionated attention span isn't up to the challenge of this book. It seems as if Kesey deliberately made it obscure to put off the casual reader.

I give in! Uncle!! It simply isn't able to hold my attention. Just when I begin to follow a particular thread, Kesey throws it aside, seizes another thread and adds it to the bundle that is already in my hand.

Many Goodreaders are acclaiming this form of storytelling as visionary. However, after several hundred pages, it becomes difficult to care about the characters.

The constant switching of threads and the lack of a clear narrative arc make it hard for me to engage with the story on a deeper level.

While I can appreciate the creativity and experimentation that Kesey is undertaking, it ultimately falls short for me in terms of maintaining my interest and investment in the characters and their fates.

Perhaps with a more focused and sustained attention span, I might be able to better appreciate the nuances and complexities of this book. But for now, I'm left feeling a bit disappointed and disengaged.

Flying over a wasp's nest is indeed good, but the film, thanks to Forman, I perhaps liked a little more.

However, this his book is better.

It is a wonderful story of a logging family.

The detailed descriptions in the book bring the characters and their lives to life.

We can feel the hard work and struggles of the logging family, as well as their joys and loves.

The author's writing style is engaging and makes it easy for the reader to get lost in the story.

Overall, this book is a great read and I would highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys a good story about family and life.

I read this book over forty years ago and it had a profound impact on me back then.

It was truly a remarkable piece of literature that left an indelible mark on my mind.

The story, the characters, and the themes all came together in a way that was both captivating and thought-provoking.

Since then, I have often thought about that book and how it influenced my perspective.

Now, perhaps it is time for a reread.

I believe that revisiting this book could offer new insights and a deeper understanding of its significance.

However, finding the time to do so has been a challenge.

With the busyness of life and all its demands, it can be difficult to carve out the necessary hours.

But I am determined to make it happen.

I know that it will be well worth the effort and that it will once again touch my heart and soul.

There is a trauma waiting for you at the end of this extremely long, complicated, convoluted, insurmountable reading. If you find the strength and tenacity to turn the pages, one after another, you will find this trauma and it will be yours forever. Congratulations, now you too have been marked for life.

As Rossari says on the back cover, "This book is not an easy read. It is not a walk. It is a fucking mountain. One must apply oneself, tune in, persevere, feel the music. And then who knows, it may also happen to you - as it seems to have happened to someone - to be charmed." Rarely have I read more accurate descriptions on the cover of a book.

Because if you tune in to the music of this book, you will understand that it is not all an exercise of pen and penises (yes, not the pena, the penis - I really said penises) made up of complex and deliberately enigmatic prose. It is something more. An experience that hurts. A book about the unresolved, the insoluble. About an Oregon that is not so different from the one that can be seen much closer to home.

If you want to climb the mountain, know that the landscape up there is really shit. And it is precisely for this reason that it is so beautiful.

Sometimes I live in the country.
Sometimes I live in town.
Sometimes I take a great notion.
To jump into the river an’ drown.

I know little about Oregon State. What little I do know is that it's damp almost all of the time, has its fair share of trees and woodland, and it's where 'The Goonies' and 'Stand by Me' were filmed, and River Phoenix was born there.

Ken Kesey's 'Sometimes a Great Notion' is a contemporary American masterpiece. Set on the rain-soaked Oregon coast in the fictional town of Wakonda in the early 1960s, the story revolves around a logging family, the Stampers. They cut and procure trees for a local mill in opposition to striking, unionized workers. They live in an old house on the river and keep to themselves, making them the scourge of the town.

The bitter strike is at the center of the novel, with the labor force demanding the same pay for less hours due to the ongoing problem of less demand in the market. The Stampers, who own and operate their own company, decide to continue logging, causing fury among the locals. A Union man is called to town to try and solve the dispute, but the Stampers play dirty and won't budge.
The story is really about the day-to-day lives of the Stampers. A large part of the narrative takes place within their home, and the conversations between family members can seem to last for pages. The dialogue takes some getting used to, with lots of slang and derogatory comments. At 715 pages, the novel can be a bit tiresome at times, but overall, its length becomes less of a problem as you get more involved in the story.
The novel's multiple characters speak sequentially in the first person, which can be confusing at times. The most intelligent of the Stampers is Leland, who returns to Wakonda after years on the east coast. He is attracted to Hank's partner Viv, and the two will come to loggerheads later in the novel. The weather is also an important aspect of the story, with constant rain and a damp atmosphere. Kesey brings the whole place to life in a vivid and articulated way.
Overall, 'Sometimes a Great Notion' is an astonishing masterpiece and has to be up there with the best of the great American novels. I'm still mystified as to why it seems to have gone into obscurity, but all that matters to me is my own unforgettable reading experience.

I had picked up and put down this book countless times. I made numerous attempts, but without any success, to get through the first 100 pages. It was not until a co-worker and I decided to form a "one-off" book club with the intention of reading it before a theater adaptation by a local company that I managed to make any real progress.

Even with a clearly defined reason in hand, the initial 100 pages can be quite taxing. It is advisable to read slowly, relishing the flavor of the words, even if one cannot fully understand all the meanings. However, one must persevere because around page 120, the entire book suddenly unfolds, and the story clicks into place. I like to envision it as the sunshine finally piercing through the seemingly impenetrable grey rain clouds of Oregon.

Once that transformation took place, it became extremely difficult to put this book down. The prose became more accessible, the side stories made greater sense, and the characters had such a powerful hold on me. I absolutely adored this book and am eagerly looking forward to reading it again and again in the future.

The friend who recommended this book to me had warned me that it was a little difficult.

For the first 30 or so pages, I was completely at sea. Kesey’s style is both lyrical and non-linear.

Eventually, the characters and settings fell into place, and that was when the book became completely engrossing.

Kesey switches frequently between inner monologues, dialogue, and description. He also switches between characters, often within the same paragraph.

It’s a unique style that gives the reader an all-encompassing view of the action. Often, the same event is viewed from several different perspectives.

It takes a little getting used to, but the effect is well worth the effort.

There were many wonderful aspects of the book, including the humorous dialogue and the fascinating group of supporting characters.

However, my favorite part was Kesey’s descriptions of the Northwest. The setting is integral to the novel as the characters seem to be controlled and influenced by the weather as if they were puppets.

The book is full of loving descriptions of the beauty and bleakness of Oregon. I’ve never been to the Northwest, but Kesey’s book allowed me to visit for a little while.

The actual plot of the novel is almost irrelevant. It involves a quirky family, named the Stampers, who are singlehandedly keeping the entire town on strike.

The town is a logging town, and the inhabitants are striking for better wages. The logging company has made a deal with the Stampers to provide the seasonal quota on their own in an attempt to break the strike.

Extra conflict arrives in the form of young Leland Stamper, an unbalanced, East coast educated member of the family bent on revenge.

The main draw of the novel is to watch the conflicts between the Stampers and the town and between the members of the family themselves.

All this plays out against a mood of encroaching disaster. It’s a human saga that occurs over the course of a few wet months in Oregon, and it’s a lot of fun.

A book begins with a rather shocking image - a human arm giving the finger, suspended from a flag pole. And let me tell you, it's not "Game of Thrones". Just from that opening, you know it's going to be something special.

I was truly amazed. I attempted to read this book in my early 20's or perhaps late teens, after having read "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" and the now somewhat questionable "Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test". At that time, I wasn't quite ready for a book that could so truly capture the essence of coastal Oregon, not to mention depicting loggers in a grand Shakespearean style.

This time around, I really loved every single second of this book. Kesey might have taken LSD and let his imagination run wild, but I believe it opened up his mind in such a way that he was able to truly get into the characters and really understand the relationship between man and nature. I'm so glad I had enough beers before seeing the movie that I didn't remember a thing.

Here's a rather sage review of the movie from IMDB: "It is a great movie whether it was faithful to the book or not. Kesey was high on drugs when he wrote the book and from what I understand it is obvious to the reader. 600 pages of weirdness. If people like that then that is fine for them. That doesn't diminish the straightforward message of this movie."

Sorry fella, but there's no weirdness here. This book is a masterpiece that delves deep into the human condition and the beauty and harshness of nature. It's a must-read for anyone who loves literature and wants to experience something truly unique.