'Her cheeks reddened and heat flooded his own face.' Really? Adults getting flustered about feminine hygiene product? 'All he needed was to see her feminine products. She searches for her keys in her purse and pulls out a tampon. Some things that messed up my suspense of disbelief: (possible spoilers) That doesn't really matter, as the new Director acts like a schoolgirl, so they're a perfect match. Her romantic/love interest is a 25 year old male agent who looks like a surfer, carries a revolver (?), and behaves like a sullen teenager. We have a 35 year old woman who is made Director of the Department of National Security (modeled, possibly, on Homeland Security), who transferred from the CIA to the DNS to whip the DNS into shape. From the beginning, I had the feeling that I was reading a romantic comedy rather than romantic suspense. I managed to struggle to the 50% point of this novel before I put it down. Kesey's ability to enter into the mind of a disturbed individual like Bromden is impressive and, while I enjoy the film immensely, I regard the book as one of the few masterpieces of storytelling.Ĭaveat: I'm a suspense fiction author and while there's a fair bit of romance in my books, I'm clearly not the intended audience for this book, so take from my review what you will. They become friends and Bromden gives an intimate account of how McMurphy tries to overcome the oppressive world Ratched has created, victimizing her patients, but the outcome is tragic. McMurphy aims to overthrow the strict rule and give the inmates back their life and dignity.Ĭhief Broom identifies the rebellious McMurphy with his own father, a huge strong Indian made weak and powerless by the oppression of white people. When Randall McMurphy enters the mental hospital to avoid going to prison, his internment in the wing under Ratched leads to a direct confrontation. He's not, but he is mentally disturbed, which colour his poetical descriptions of what happens in the mental hospital wing under the leadership of the strict Nurse Ratched. Chief Broom is a huge Indian who never says a word, so he's assumed to be deafmute. The story, set in a mental hospital, is told by Chief Bromden, or Chief Broom as he's called by the staff. From an author's perspective, this is one of the finest books with an unreliable narrator I've ever come across.

Blinding Justice by Kristi Cramer