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Sometimes a Great Notion (novel) |
| Sometimes a Great Notion | |
 First edition cover |
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| Author | Ken Kesey |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre(s) | Novel |
| Publisher | Viking Press |
| Publication date | July 27, 1964 |
| Media type | Print (Hardback & Paperback) |
| Pages | 644 pp |
| ISBN | 0-14-303986-5 |
Sometimes a Great Notion is Ken Kesey's second novel, published in 1964. Although One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest is more famous, many critics consider Sometimes his magnum opus1. The story revolves around an Oregon logging family that continues to cut trees despite a union strike.
Contents |
The story centers on the Stamper family, a hard-headed logging clan in the fictional town of Wakonda, Oregon. The union loggers in the town of Wakonda go on strike in demand of the same pay for shorter hours, in response to the decreasing need for labor due to the introduction of the chainsaw. However, the Stamper family, which owns its own non-union family company, decides not only to keep working but also to supply the regional mill with all the lumber the town would have supplied had it not been on strike. This decision, and the surrounding details of the decision, are deeply explored in this multilayered historical background and relationship study -- especially in its examination of the following characters: Henry Stamper, the old and half-crazed patriarch whose motto "Never Give A Inch!" has defined the nature of the family and its dynamic with the town; Hank, the oldest son of Henry whose strong will and personality make him a leader but his subtle insecurities and desires threaten the stability of his family; Leland, the younger son of Henry and half brother of Hank, whose constant weaknesses and the nature of his intellect led him away from the family to the East Coast, but whose eccentric behavior and want for revenge against Hank lead him back to Oregon; and Viv, whose love for her husband Hank fades quickly when she realizes he no longer wanted or needed her. The family house itself manifests the physical stubbornness of the Stamper family; as the nearby river widens slowly, all the other houses on the river have either been consumed by the waters or moved away from the current, except the Stamper house, which stands on a precious peninsula struggling to maintain every inch of land with the help of an arsenal of boards, sand bags, cables, and other miscellaneous items brandished by Henry Stamper in his fight against the encroaching river.
Following the phenomenal success of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, it is both more rooted in realism than his previous work and at the same time more experimental. It has been compared to William Faulkner's Absalom, Absalom! in both form and content.
The novel uses the somewhat disorienting technique of having multiple characters speaking sequentially in the first voice, with no announcement that the first-person speaker has changed. A first reading can be confusing, but subsequent readings reveal that Kesey always provides a clue, quickly referring to the previously-presumed first character in the third person. This technique allows Kesey to weave an intricate braid of characters whose motives are understood in depth by the reader, but yet do not communicate well with each other.
Initial reviews of the book ran to both extremes2, but its reputation has aged well. Bowden calls it "one of the few essential books written by an American in the last half century."3 It is widely considered among the masterpieces of Western American literature. In 1997 a panel of Northwest writers voted it number one in a list of "12 Essential Northwest Works".[1] One book critic has described it as "what may well be the quintessential Northwest novel".4
Kesey took the title from the song “Goodnight, Irene”, popularized by Lead Belly.
Sometimes I live in the country
Sometimes I live in the town
Sometimes I get a great notion
To jump into the river an’ drown
The novel was adapted into a film of the same name. In Britain it is more commonly known by its original release title: Never Give A Inch,5 which refers to the motto painted in yellow machine-paint by the father, over a pious religious scene that was sent to his infant son by estranged relatives. The film starred Paul Newman and Henry Fonda and was nominated for two Oscars.
A stage adaptation, written and directed by Aaron Posner, premiered in Portland, Oregon at Portland Center Stage on April 4th, 2008.
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