Sometimes a Great Notion

Sometimes a Great Notion is Ken Kesey's the second novel, published in 1964. While One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest published 2 years prior is more famous, many critics consider Sometimes a Great Notion Kesey's magnum opus.

The plot revolves around a family of gyppo loggers who cut trees for a local mill in opposition to unionized workers on strike in the fictional town of Wakanda, Oregon. While the patriarch of the family (Hank Stamper) is at odds with his small town of unionized workers his half brother, Lealand, returns from New York City with to work for the family and settle a decades long vendetta with his older brother. The resulting story is a American epic that dives peers deep into the history of American westward expansion and Patriarchy.

The novel bounces between different first person perspectives throughout giving the reader an intimate understanding of each character and their motivations. As a result we're provided with a story that's less about what happens and more about the price of human pride, isolation, and the weight of the past.

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