The novel's narration passes fluidly from third person to first person. Were Sometimes a Great Notion not a masterpiece in its own right, Tom Stechschulte’s performance would still make this book essential listening. This accounts for why the book feels simultaneously so fresh and trapped in amber. Nevertheless, it’s impossible to imagine such a full-throated working-class ballad appearing amid the ranks of today’s literary fiction. I hasten to add that the male lumberjacks at the heart of the novel are not any the less complex and believable for all their rough-hewn virility. There are passages that make Hemingway’s machismo look faint-hearted. While I’m taking pains not to spoil the pleasures of navigating any the novel’s many narrative tributaries, it’s worth noting that, though there are a few well-developed female characters, this story is steeped in testosterone. To encounter Kesey writing at the top of his game is to realize that many authors, including John Irving and especially Robert Stone, are merely dutiful imitators. If that weren’t enough to sustain the reader’s interest, the central narrative is interlaced with dozens of compelling and entertaining side plots. Kesey employs all the most effective innovations of modernist fiction to tell the tale of a dynastic struggle worthy of Shakespeare or the ancient Greeks. Here we have everything we could want in a novel. I can’t remember what virtual rabbit hole led me to this book, but coming upon it now feels like going on an afternoon hike, only to stumble upon the Taj Mahal in a clearing. In any case, at the distance of more than half a century, Sometimes a Great Notion stands as a heroic accomplishment. While Kesey’s notoriety ensured that the novel would not slide entirely into obscurity, readers seeking the literary equivalent of a bong hit would come away frustrated and daunted by this big, dense book.
The fact that author Ken Kesey went on to become the patron saint of psychedelia probably didn’t help the book’s reputation. Set amid the forests of the Pacific Northwest, tinged with country western music and populated with James Dean wannabes, Sometimes a Great Notion might have been perceived in its day as casting a backwards glance when many readers were only looking forward with apprehension or expectation. My two-bit theory posits that, given its arrival immediately following Kennedy’s assassination, it didn’t seem to address current conditions. It’s a mystery why this book never enjoyed the acclaim of, say, For Whom the Bell Tolls, Rabbit, Run, The Executioner’s Song or Bonfire of the Vanities. Adaptive_ocr true Addeddate 23:47:07 Betterpdf true Bookreader-defaults mode/1up Boxid IA1600818 Catalog_time 281 Country US Derive_submittime 20:53:20 Disccount 1 External-identifierĬountry Identifier lp_sometimes-a-great-notion-the-original-soun_henry-mancini-charley-pride Identifier-ark ark:/13960/t48q64b9c Lineage Technics SL1200MK5 Turntable + Audio-Technica AT95e cartridge > Radio Design Labs EZ-PH1 phono preamp > Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 Ocr tesseract 5.0.0-1-g862e Ocr_detected_lang en Ocr_detected_lang_conf 0.9994 Ocr_detected_script Latin Ocr_detected_script_conf 1.0000 Ocr_module_version 0.0.14 Ocr_parameters -l eng Original-ppi 1200 Pages 4 Pdf_module_version 0.0.17 Ppi 600 Ripping_date 20210216234201 Ripping_operator Ripping_scanner archivelp-rip-cebu10 Ripping_software_version ArchiveCD Version 2.2.53lp Ripping_time 2322 Scandate 20210203071823 Scanner archivelp-cat-cebu01 Scanningcenter cebu Software_version ArchiveCD Version 2.2.Sometimes a Great Novel Pops up out of Nowhere
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