One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest is one of the most electrifying, most admired novels of our time. Set in the bleak confines of a state mental hospital, it’s the story of a titanic battle of wills between two unforgetable characters.

On one side is Big Nurse, who rules her ward with iron discipline. On the other is Randle Patrick McMurphy, a lustful, brawling, life-loving new inmate who refuses to knuckle under to Big Nurse’s soul-destoying methods. In the end, McMurphy pays the ultimate price for his defiance—but not before his rebellious spirit has shown Chief Bromden the way to reclaim his own future.