One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

by Ken Kesey

Finished a classic read, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, by Ken Kesey, a book I have wanted to read for a long time (especially since I have never seen the movie).  The setting is a psychiatric, in-house hospital located in Oregon, which houses both ‘acutes’ and ‘chronics’. “Chief Bromden” is the narrator, who is a deaf and mute Native American patient.  The main focus of the book centers on Randle Patrick McMurphy, who is faking insanity after being arrested to avoid prison.  McMurphy causes all types of problems for the head of the hospital, Nurse Ratched, by encouraging the patients to think for themselves, which is very much against the daily routine that creates (or tries to create) calm and quiet among the men.  McMurphy galvanizes the others to push back against authority.  He organizes daily gambling tables, a deep-sea fishing trip, selects what to watch on TV, and dictates how loud the music should be played.  As time goes on, the Chief actually opens up to McMurphy and reveals that he can actually speak and hear!  For their bad behavior, both McMurphy and the Chief face electric shock therapy, but McMurphy continues his efforts to change the environment.  He plans a party one night that involves bringing in prostitutes for Billy Babbit, an emotionally distraught, virgin young man with a stutter, breaking into the medicine cabinet to hand out pills to patients, and lavishing them all with liquor. Nurse Ratched is furious to find the place in ruins and is shocked to see Billy asleep with a prostitute.  She threatens Billy by saying she may tell his parents, which causes him to commit suicide.  She later blames McMurphy for his death, prompting him to strangle her, but he is stopped by two orderlies.  While she is away recovering, patients start to be separated from one another. When she returns, she is unable to speak due to the injuries sustained in the attack by McMurphy.  When McMurphy returns to the ward, he is a changed man, having undergone a lobotomy and left in a vegetative state.  Bromden gives him ‘mercy’ by placing a pillow over his face until his life is extinguished.  The insanity of insanities…inside the ward of a psychiatric hospital, where one really doesn’t know the actions of those who are in charge, and where patients create a bizarre subculture.  A riveting story, which we listened to on our 10-hour round trip to a wedding in New Hampshire.  Was that how the psych hospitals ran in the 1960s?  I look forward to watching the movie someday.  Such meticulous detailing by the author.  Great character development, emotion, and display of how power and patience are exercised by different people in the ward.

Why Nations Fail

Why Nations Fail

by Daron Acemoglu & James A. Robinson

Finished an important and great read by Daron Acemoglu and James Robinson titled Why Nations Fail.  After observing societies over a period of centuries, how do some of them succeed while others become steeped in poverty, illiteracy, and brutal warfare?  The authors approach the work in great detail – country by country, issue by issue, even using ancient maps to illustrate how the world was organized (by region) and how things have changed (or stayed the same).  Even when a country is rich in soil, natural resources, and human power, how does it fail?  The authors offer clear examples from historical rulers and other sources to explain how one country thrives and another fails.   Examples within the book for success/failure include: how Egypt brought down Mubarak; how institutions change through political conflict and shape the present; policies making countries poor; Stalin; the Glorious Revolution; and the age of Industrialization.   One of his points is: why aren’t countries more ‘inclusive’ in the development of their communities?  This is a very important read, especially given the state of the US government today.  As we all have heard over and over in our lifetimes, history repeats itself, so why aren’t we using past experiences to inform future success?  This reminded me of World History lessons.  I really enjoyed learning ‘why’ and thinking about what can I do as a citizen, through my vote, to ensure democracy is thriving in the US.  Great book with fifteen chapters that answer why nations fail today.  Read this one!

The Number

The Number

by Jonny Steinberg

Finished another RA Favorite Book, this one written by a journalist in South Africa who wanted to learn more about the prison system and how one managed the challenge of being identified by only a number.  The book The Number by Jonny Steinberg shares the inside secrets of the 26’s, 27’s and 28’s (as they are known) within those incarcerated in South Africa.  Steinberg follows the life of Magadien Wentzel, who, at one time, had a promising future as a student, but was arrested and put in jail after the riots on his college campus.  At that moment, he needed to make a decision: how shall he respond to the inmates who want to know his allegiance?  The journalist spends 18 months (a year while he is in jail and the six months immediately following his release) with Magadien, learning what happens between the three notorious groups: the 28’s – the more aggressive group; the 27’s – the in-between “peace keepers”; and the 26’s, who work toward bettering themselves.  Steinberg also interviewed others with whom Magadien engaged: inmates, wardens, family members, some of his intimate partners (former lovers), and his daughters.  The story was written in the early 2000s post-Apartheid where the issue of blacks vs. whites remained.  The details of the sex-slaves while in jail, the abuse, aggression, fighting, drugs, and other issues raised clearly showed how the government was not interested in rehabilitation, but simply holding people they declared dangerous to others in prison forever.  This exposé gives valuable insight into the culture within a country which has been ravaged by racial issues.  Sad read.

The Female Persuasion

The Female Persuasion

by Meg Wolitzer

Finished an interesting read called The Female Persuasion by Meg Wolitzer.  After not being able to go to her dream school (Yale) because her druggie parents didn’t complete the FAFSA forms, Greer Kadetsky, the main character, has to settle for Ryland College. She attends on a full-ride scholarship while her high-school boyfriend, Cory, attends Princeton.  The book begins with Greer attending a guest lecture talk by Faith Frank, a renowned feminist. Greer, pretty meek and mild, feels a great attraction to the words and beliefs of Ms. Frank. Greer meets Ms. Frank in the bathroom after her speech and is given her personal business card, which initiates a long-lasting connection.  Greer’s biggest influencer on campus is Zee Eisenstat, a lesbian activist, who helps her after she is sexually assaulted by a rich male student (who receives a light punishment).  Greer ends up working for Ms. Frank and her ongoing educational campaign surrounding injustice to women.  The story takes lots of turns and twists, but, in the end, Greer has to come to terms with her value set when confronted by an ethical situation involving Ms. Frank. While her professional life skyrockets over her lifetime, her personal relationship with Cory ends after his own family tragedy (his mother kills his brother by accidentally running him over).  Cory gives up his consulting job to stay at home and care for his mother.   Greer’s story is one that examines the changing role of women in society today.  It touches on aspects of sexuality, women in the workplace, ethics, and juggling success and motherhood.  It also incorporates some tried and true notions of romantic love, being true to yourself and holding others to the level you expect of yourself.  Not what I expected.  Fun read. 

Shoe Dog

Shoe Dog: A Memoir by the Creator of Nike

by Phil Knight

I often marvel at people who can write their own life journey as a “look-back” experience.  Did they keep a journal?  Did they go back and interview all of those around them?  Was it as they remember it?  All of these thoughts went through my head as I was reading Phil Knight’s book Shoe Dog: A Memoir by the Creator of Nike. Knight chronicles his life from the time of college graduation (with his MBA) and his decisions as a former athlete (runner on the University of Oregon Ducks track team).  Knight, born and raised in a “WASP” home in the Portland area of Oregon, was a family man, dedicated to family and to a dream of creating a running shoe that would make Olympians win the gold. At the same time, he wanted to support the avid runner.  As time went on, he also dreamed of making sneakers all people would wear most of the time.  Knight’s story is motivating to any entrepreneur in that he shares the challenges: competition, going global, financial challenges, legal issues, family concerns, and how one can become infatuated with success at all costs, including losing connection to your children and wife.  As I reflected on the book, I wondered at his realization that his company was hurting the environment with toxins and a horrible carbon footprint, underpaid wages to non-union employees around the world, and taking advantage of female laborers…at what point could he sleep at night?  Of course he notes how the company ‘righted’ the wrong (in about 3 pages), but, at a 32.2 billion net worth, was the book cathartic?  Note he has given millions away to charities, including U of O with buildings named after his family, but does that make the other things go away? Didn’t anyone in the organization question taking advantage of cheap labor in Taiwan? Japan? Puerto Rico? China?  Sorry to seem so negative in my review – I did in fact enjoy reading the intricacies and tough decisions made by a middle class Stanford educated young man. But I also felt he didn’t do homage to those he may have stepped on or had forgotten along the way.  I know I lament often on the wrongs I may have done, hoping that today I will do better.  Also wish he offered a bit more depth on bad decisions that he made and things he thinks he would do differently.  Overall, worth a read.

Room

Room

by Emma Donoghue

Finished the frightening story of Jack’s and Ma’s captivity at the hands of Old Nick, a demented man who kidnapped Jack’s mother at age eighteen while she was attending college.  The book, Room, by Emma Donoghue, was inspired by another case similar to the one she tells.  The story is told from the perspective of the five-year-old youth who was born in the room. The boy is convinced by his mother to play ‘dead’ as she rolls him up in a carpet to be taken away by Old Nick, which he does.  The escape plan works. The youth escapes from the truck he was being carried in to be buried and a passer-by notices his fall from the truck and calls the police.  The last half of the book follows how Jack and Ma are brought to the hospital to begin the recovery process and his meeting his previously unknown grandparents.  The difficulties for re-integration are harder than one would imagine.  A tough read based on true stories, as hard to believe as it is.  When we lived in Syracuse, there was a very sick man holding a woman in captive underground in a similar way for years.  The question remains, how can people cause this much pain to others?  Well written, but the subject matter wasn’t a hit for me.

Tiny Beautiful Things

Tiny Beautiful Things: Advice on Love and Life from Dear Sugar

by Cheryl Strayed

Really enjoyed reading Cheryl Strayed’s book on advice called Tiny Beautiful Things: Advice on Love and Life from Dear Sugar.  Strayed is asked to respond to real life people and the problems they face.  From addiction, lost love, mental health, money, and abuse, Strayed offers a refreshing and non-clinical approach through the lens of someone who has her own struggles. She is all too familiar with having an abusive father, a mother with addictions, living in poverty and learns to be self-driven from the age of thirteen. While some may be taken aback by her aggressive and ‘no-nonsense’ take-care-of-yourself attitude, she comes from a place of care, honesty and true love for self and others.  An author by training, Strayed was asked by a friend to respond in column format and the book is a collection of submissions collected over the years.  She is blunt, she is witty, and she is honest.  I really enjoyed the book and was reminded to be honest, be caring and to never stray away from who you say you are as a person.  Refreshing is the word I keep coming back to.  I highly recommend it…truly!  A good read.