SOMETIMES A GREAT NOTION

[LARSSON at vax1.mankato.msus.edu]

I don't want to ignite any Great Kesey War here, but I'll add my endorsement
of SOMETIMES A GREAT NOTION over CUCKOO'S NEST.  Why is it taught less than
the latter?  Because:
1. Paul Newman made a crappy movie out of it, while Milos Forman made an
acceptable movie out of NEST.

2. It is much longer than NEST.

3. It is much more complex than NEST--and here's the heart of its quality.  Its
shifts of time and focus rival GR at times.  It's sexual politics--while
still problematic--are not as nasty as in NEST.  And it seems to acknowledge
Jean Renoir's revelation (from RULES OF THE GAME)--"Everyone has his reasons."

The opening scene--a bird's-eye view of the river valley with a catalog of 
native flora and fauna that springs out of the Great Whitman Tradition--is
worth the price alone, and better than anything in NEST.

(IMHO, of course.)

Don Larsson, Mankato State U (MN)