Sometimes a Great Notion (novel)
Encyclopedia
Sometimes a Great Notion is Ken Kesey
Ken Kesey
Kenneth Elton "Ken" Kesey was an American author, best known for his novel One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest , and as a counter-cultural figure who considered himself a link between the Beat Generation of the 1950s and the hippies of the 1960s. "I was too young to be a beatnik, and too old to be a...

's second novel, published in 1964. While One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (novel)
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest is a novel written by Ken Kesey. Set in an Oregon asylum, the narrative serves as a study of the institutional process and the human mind, as well as a critique of Behaviorism and a celebration of humanistic principles. Written in 1959, the novel was adapted into a...

(1962) was arguably the more famous of the two novels, many critics consider Sometimes a Great Notion Kesey's magnum opus
Masterpiece
Masterpiece in modern usage refers to a creation that has been given much critical praise, especially one that is considered the greatest work of a person's career or to a work of outstanding creativity, skill or workmanship....

. The story involves an Oregon family of loggers who cut and procure trees for a local mill in opposition to striking, unionized workers.

Plot

The story centers on the Stamper family, a hard-headed logging
Lumberjack
A lumberjack is a worker in the logging industry who performs the initial harvesting and transport of trees for ultimate processing into forest products. The term usually refers to a bygone era when hand tools were used in harvesting trees principally from virgin forest...

 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. The Stamper family, however, owns and operates a company without unions and decides to not only continue work, but to supply the regionally owned mill with all the lumber the laborers would have supplied had the strike not occurred.

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 begins to realize her true place in the Stamper household.

The family house itself manifests the physical stubbornness of the Stamper family; as the nearby river widens slowly and causes erosion, all the other houses on the river have either been consumed or wrecked by the waters or moved away from the current, except the Stamper house, which stands on a precarious 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.

Style

Sometimes a Great Notion is more rooted in realism than Kesey's previous work, the phenomenally successful One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (novel)
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest is a novel written by Ken Kesey. Set in an Oregon asylum, the narrative serves as a study of the institutional process and the human mind, as well as a critique of Behaviorism and a celebration of humanistic principles. Written in 1959, the novel was adapted into a...

, but is also more experimental. It has been compared to William Faulkner
William Faulkner
William Cuthbert Faulkner was an American writer from Oxford, Mississippi. Faulkner worked in a variety of media; he wrote novels, short stories, a play, poetry, essays and screenplays during his career...

's Absalom, Absalom!
Absalom, Absalom!
Absalom, Absalom! is a Southern Gothic novel by the American author William Faulkner, first published in 1936. It is a story about three families of the American South, taking place before, during, and after the Civil War, with the focus of the story on the life of Thomas Sutpen.-Plot...

in both form and content.

The novel uses the technique of having multiple characters speak sequentially in the first person, 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 who reveal their motives in depth to the reader, but do not communicate well with each other.

Reception

Initial reviews of the book ran to both extremes, but its reputation has aged well. Charles Bowden
Charles Bowden
Charles Bowden is an American non-fiction author, journalist, and essayist based in Las Cruces, New Mexico. He is a former writer for the Tucson Citizen and often writes about the American Southwest...

 calls it "one of the few essential books written by an American in the last half century." 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". One book critic has described it as "what may well be the quintessential Northwest novel".

Title

Kesey took the title from the song “Goodnight, Irene
Goodnight, Irene
"Goodnight, Irene" or "Irene, Goodnight," is a 20th century American folk standard, written in 3/4 time, first recorded by American blues musician Huddie 'Lead Belly' Ledbetter in 1932....

”, popularized by Leadbelly
Leadbelly
Huddie William Ledbetter was an iconic American folk and blues musician, notable for his strong vocals, his virtuosity on the twelve-string guitar, and the songbook of folk standards he introduced....

.


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


Film adaptation

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, 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 his estranged grandfather. The film starred Paul Newman
Paul Newman
Paul Leonard Newman was an American actor, film director, entrepreneur, humanitarian, professional racing driver and auto racing enthusiast...

 and Henry Fonda
Henry Fonda
Henry Jaynes Fonda was an American film and stage actor.Fonda made his mark early as a Broadway actor. He also appeared in 1938 in plays performed in White Plains, New York, with Joan Tompkins...

 and was nominated for two Oscars.

Stage adaptation

A stage adaptation, written and directed by Aaron Posner, premiered in Portland, Oregon at Portland Center Stage
Portland Center Stage
Portland Center Stage is a theater company based in Portland, Oregon, United States. Theater productions are presented at the Gerding Theater at the Armory in Portland's Pearl District. PCS was founded in 1988 as the northern sibling of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in Ashland, Oregon...

 on April 4, 2008.

Popular culture references

  • The television series Battlestar Galactica
    Battlestar Galactica
    Battlestar Galactica is an American science fiction franchise created by Glen A. Larson. The franchise began with the Battlestar Galactica TV series in 1978, and was followed by a brief sequel TV series in 1980, a line of book adaptations, original novels, comic books, a board game, and video games...

    gave Season 4, Episode 13
    Sometimes a Great Notion (Battlestar Galactica)
    "Sometimes a Great Notion" is the thirteenth episode in the fourth season of the reimagined Battlestar Galactica. It aired on television on SCI FI and Space in the United States and Canada respectively on January 16, 2009 and on Sky One in the United Kingdom on January 20, 2009...

     the same title.
  • Kelly Reichardt
    Kelly Reichardt
    Kelly Reichardt is a screenwriter and film director working within American indie cinema. Her debut film River of Grass was released in 1994. It was nominated for three Independent Spirit Awards, as well as the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival. In 1999, she completed her sophomore...

    's film Wendy and Lucy
    Wendy and Lucy
    Wendy and Lucy is a 2008 American drama film directed by Kelly Reichardt. Reichardt and Jon Raymond adapted the screenplay from his short story "Train Choir". The film stars Michelle Williams and Will Patton...

    (2008) includes a shot of a man reading the novel at a diner, with the title featured prominently.
  • The novel is seen in a pile of books in the beginning of the film Finding Forester (2000).
  • The Bruce Willis
    Bruce Willis
    Walter Bruce Willis , better known as Bruce Willis, is an American actor, producer, and musician. His career began in television in the 1980s and has continued both in television and film since, including comedic, dramatic, and action roles...

     character in Armageddon (1998) is named Harry Stamper.
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