One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

A compulsive gambler checks opts for a mental hospital as an alternative to prison. Once there he tries to stir things up. He befriends the doctor, starts regular card games and takes a number of other bets. One of his big bets is that he can "break" the "big nurse" who has an iron hold on the ward. He pretty much succeeds. However, he looses his touch after he realizes that she controls his ability to leave. (Many of the other patients are there of their own free will.) He eventually organizes a fishing trip with the inmates, and gets some girls to come in with them before he planned his escape. Unfortunately, he got too drunk, eventually got in a fight, and had to undergo electro-shock therapy and a lobotomy before he was put out of his misery.

The story is told in the first person, from the point of view of a large Native American Indian who most people thought was deaf because he never talked. (Due to his perceived deafness, he was able to eavesdrop on many conversations others would not be permitted to listen.) His narration is a strong point of the novel. It allows it to drift back to some of his reminisces (about the injustice his father suffered as their land was taken) and thoughts, before returning to the main action of the story. Thus we get some fairly objective "first hand" commentary of the action as it takes place.

The book provides a somewhat tame view of the mental hospital. The residents have their mental issues and do some crazy things. However, things are not done purely for comedy's sake. The characters come across as real people who may do some funny things, but are simply trying to live their lives.