Sailor Song

by Ken Kesey

Set in the near future in the fishing village of Kuinak, Alaska, a remnant outpost of the American frontier not yet completely overcome by environmental havoc and mad-dog development, Sailor Song is a wild, rollicking novel, a dark and cosmic romp.

The town and its denizens —colorful refugees from the Lower Forty-Eight and Descendants of Early Aboriginal People- are seduced and besieged by a Hollywood crew, come to film the classic children's book The Sea Lion. The ensuing turf war escalates into a struggle for the soul of the town as the novel spins and swirls toward a harrowing climax.

Kesey has given us a unique and powerful novel about America, and this epic tale of the north is a vibrant moral fable for our time.

Genres: Fiction, Novels, Classics, Literature, American, Science Fiction, Literary Fiction

533 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1992

About the author

Ken Kesey was American writer, who gained world fame with his novel One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1962, filmed 1975). In the 1960s, Kesey became a counterculture hero and a guru of psychedelic drugs with Timothy Leary. Kesey has been called the Pied Piper, who changed the beat generation into the hippie movement.

Ken Kesey was born in La Junta, CO, and brought up in Eugene, OR. He spent his early years hunting, fishing, swimming; he learned to box and wrestle, and he was a star football player. He studied at the University of Oregon, where he acted in college plays. On graduating he won a scholarship to Stanford University. Kesey soon dropped out, joined the counterculture movement, and began experimenting with drugs. In 1956 he married his school sweetheart, Faye Haxby.

Kesey attended a creative writing course taught by the novelist Wallace Stegner. His first work was an unpublished novel, ZOO, about the beatniks of the North Beach community in San Francisco. Tom Wolfe described in his book The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test (1968) Kesey and his friends, called the Merry Pranksters, as they traveled the country and used various hallucinogens. Their bus, called Furthur, was painted in Day-Glo colors. In California Kesey's friends served LSD-laced Kool-Aid to members of their parties.

At a Veterans' Administration hospital in Menlo Park, California, Kesey was paid as a volunteer experimental subject, taking mind-altering drugs and reporting their effects. These experiences as a part-time aide at a psychiatric hospital, LSD sessions - and a vision of an Indian sweeping there the floor - formed the background for One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest, set in a mental hospital. While writing the work, and continuing in the footsteps of such writers as Thomas De Quincy (Confessions of an English Opium Eater, 1821), Aldous Huxley (The Doors of Perception, 1954), and William S. Burroughs (Naked Lunch, 1959), Kesey took peyote. The story is narrated by Chief Bromden. Into his world enters the petty criminal and prankster Randall Patrick McMurphy with his efforts to change the bureaucratic system of the institution, ruled by Nurse Ratched.

The film adaptation of the book gained a huge success. When the film won five Academy Awards, Kesey was barely mentioned during the award ceremonies, and he made known his unhappiness with the film. He did not like Jack Nicholson, or the script, and sued the producers.

Kesey's next novel, Sometimes a Great Notion (1964), appeared two years later and was also made into a film, this time directed by Paul Newman. The story was set in a logging community and centered on two brothers and their bitter rivalry in the family. After the work, Kesey gave up publishing novels. He formed a band of "Merry Pranksters", set up a commune in La Honda, California, bought an old school bus, and toured America and Mexico with his friends, among them Neal Cassady, Kerouac's travel companion. Dressed in a jester's outfit, Kesey was the chief prankster.

In 1965 Kesey was arrested for possession of marijuana. He fled to Mexico, where he faked an unconvincing suicide and then returned to the United States, serving a five-month prison sentence at the San Mateo County Jail. After this tumultuous period he bought farm in Pleasant Hill, Oregon, settled down with his wife to raise their four children, and taught a graduate writing seminar at the University of Oregon. In the early 1970s Kesey returned to writing and published Kesey's Garage Sale (1973). His later works include the children's book Little Tricker the Squirrel Meets Big Double the Bear(1990) and Sailor Song (1992), a futuristic tale about an Alaskan fishing village and Hollywood film crew. Last Go Around (1994), Kesey's last book, was an account of a famous Oregon rodeo written in the form of pulp fiction. In 2001, Kesey died of complications after surgery for liver cance

Reviews

[Brad Mcfadden · Rating 5 out of 5]

I first read this book during unfortunate personal circumstances circa 1993. It immediately resonated with the 25 year old rebel that I considered myself to be at the time. Over the years I've read this book about once every five years, and am currently on my 4th copy after giving it to a number of folks with the understanding that they were to pass it along. A lot of the reviews here want to make comparisons to "cuckoo" and "notion". For the life of me I can't understand why... Sailor Song is an animal of it's own species. Fantastic characters, great "story within a story" and wonderful locations work together to form what continues to be one of my all-time favorite bits of societal reflection.

Get over the ending folks. That magnetic polar swapping stuff is all the rage these days! Not to mention that watching and waiting for the sea to give up her dead (or living for that matter) is as archetypical as it gets.

Thank you Ken for leaving us with this enduring and thoroughly enjoyable work.

[Лерика · Rating 4 out of 5]

Если вы ещё не слышали, то Кизи мой любимый писатель, а Порою блажь великая - моя любимая книга. И больше всего я люблю его филигранную игру языком и отношение к читателю - кидать в самую гущу событий, мыслей, в водоворот сюжетов, ничего не объясняя.

Кизи не считает читателя глупее себя, он не опускается до банальных объяснений или развешивания ружей. Когда ты заходишь, все уже давно висит, сам разбирайся что там для чего.

Ты на равных с автором и вместе с ним распутываешь клубок его безумных идей. И это я люблю больше всего, каждый его роман - это работа для мозгов и эмпатии.

Так и Песнь моряка - каких сил мне стоило разобраться в хитросплетениях отношений в маленьком американском городке (как и в других романах Кизи) на большой воде (и тут бинго), где все замешано на мести и крови (не гнездо кукушки, но однозначно Порою блажь).

Когда вчитываешься, уже не отделаться от запаха рыбы, озонового аромата прореженного воздуха, соли с моря и вечной нотки горящей мусорки. Хочется оказаться в этом городке, где каждый ходит с пушкой, все друг друга и про друг друга знают, где можно подвезти соседа и узнать все новости, или оставить машину у дома и обнаружить, что друг взял ее, как и твою яхту - и это ок.

Этот городок - убежище для уставших и отвергнутых. И в него возвращается блудный сын с шикарнейшей яхтой и планами снимать голливудский блокбастер про алеутов по сказочной мифологии этих мест. Что тоже оказывается не совсем правдой.

Живое этих мест срочно заколачивается пластмассой и фанерой, люди наряжаются в костюмы аутентичной массовки, и все настоящее срочным образом закрашивается в ожидании больших денег.

Но остались ещё герои, которые против победы пластмассового мира, они плывут, летят, фигачат всех огромными кулаками и пытаются раскрыть страшные заговоры.

Заучит почти как шпионский роман. И это так! В этой книге столько всего! Столько событий, столько эмоций и откровений, что хочется поставить его на полку «нонфик по психологии в разных жизненных ситуациях».

Есть вопросы к финалу, да. Его сложно назвать законченным и полностью удовлетворяющим. Но это финал от автора, и we should respect it. Мне, конечно, хочется обсудить, что же там произошло. Я щитаю, пришельцы 😂

Если не осилили Блажь, это ее версия на минималках. Но к Кизи всегда стоит подходить с открытым сердцем и любопытством, что ещё приготовил для нас старый «проказник» )

[Jackson · Rating 2 out of 5]

"One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" and "Sometimes a Great Notion" are two of the greatest novels I've read. Like those two, Kesey's "Sailor Song" is full of memorable characters and a wonderful, imaginative plot that keeps the reader intrigued. Lots of social commentary mixed in, too, which holds up two decades after the book was written.

Problem is, with a massive book like this, the reader would expect a great payoff. Kesey keeps the reader in suspense, presenting a number of possible outcomes, yet in the end throws the entire plot out the window. This one is a huge disappointment. I feel like Kesey backed himself into a corner with this one and simply couldn't figure out how to properly end it.

The execution is classic Kesey. Reading this book is a pleasure, and it's enjoyable to be pulled into the Alaskan village he's created. But tread carefully -- by picking this book up, you are setting yourself up for disappointment. If you've not read "Cuckoo's Nest" or "Notion," start there -- they are essential reads. I wish I could say the same for this one.

[Joey · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book seemed much longer than it really was. Other than the run in with Greener and the last two chapters not much interesting happened. Any comparison with McMurphy and Sallas can only be found with two people on opposite ends of the spectrum. Many reviews I read made them sound like the same person. No colorful personalities in this town either. Just a cast of trite characters in a rundown muddy hovel of a town. But still not a bad book. I loved how the last two chapters ran everyone's stories together with nothing more than a paragraph break each time. Before I read this I went out and bought "Sea Lion" so I could be familiar with the premise of this book not knowing that the "Sea Lion" is printed in it's entirety in "Sailor Song".

[Христо Блажев · Rating 4 out of 5]

Песента на моряка се носи сред последната непокътната пустош: http://knigolandia.info/book-review/p...

Логично е мнозина да търсят паралел с “Полет над кукувиче гнездо”, но едва ли ще го открият, макар че свободолюбието е водеща тема и в двете книги. Цели три десетилетия делят двете заглавия, като “Песента на моряка” е последният голям самостоятелен роман на Киси, който той разполага в недалечното бъдеще – а от гледна точка на годината му на издаване – 1992 г., това е точно нашето съвремие. Светът там е преживял екологични кризи, които са го променили – но Куинак, Аляска, се е опазило недокоснато от тези драми. Далечно и сурово място, то е населявано от скици, които не обичат особено цивилизацията, имат си своите начини за решаване на проблемите и като цяло искат само никой да не ги занимава с глупости. Само дето светът точно се е сетил за тях – скоро там акостира свръхлуксозната яхта на най-известния режисьор на планетата, който е избрал мястото именно заради неговата природна чистота. Иска да снима филм по прочута детска книга, а за тази цел му е нужно жителите на градчето да съдействат – душите им вече имат цена. А на борда на яхтата се завръща човек, който има пряка връзка с Куинак и сметки за разчистване.

CIELA Books
http://knigolandia.info/book-review/p...

[Mary Slowik · Rating 2 out of 5]

Chances are you've only read One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest. Chances are you have no intention of reading this last Ken Kesey novel. I'm not about to change either of those probabilities.

This isn't even that long, at 529 pages hardcover, yet it feels bloated. It reminds one of the reason that clarity is such an important attribute for writing, to say nothing of the entertainment value. It ultimately reads kind of like a joke that only the joke-teller finds funny, and the more he laughs at it the less likely you are to join him in laughing. There's a bit too much isn't-this-clever? alliteration going on, especially in the names of the characters (Alice the Angry Aleut!) and while I admire some of Kesey's imagery and left-field metaphors, I really just wanted a stronger, shorter, clearer story.

I'm still glad I finally read it, however. It's been sitting in a pile in my room for ages.

[Marysya Rudska · Rating 1 out of 5]

Навіть не знаю, що сказати, давно я не читалась щось на стільки нудне.
Буває, знаєте, книжка не подобається, але продовжуєш читати, щоб скласти враження. А тут якось і вражень ніяких немає - сюжет без зав'язки, розв'язки і мутним кінцем, якісь дивні персонажі, незрозумілі діалоги. Карочє, я нічьо не зрозуміла і мені не сподобалось.

[Nick · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ken Kesey’s Sailor Song, set in the remote Alaskan town of Kuinak, written with an air of nostalgia and existential absurdity. It hsa Kesey’s characteristic blend of eccentric imagination and satirical humour but there is also an aching melancholy—a yearning for authenticity in an increasingly commodified world.

At its heart, Sailor Song explores humanity’s relationship with nature, community, and the ghosts of the past. The book is rich in allegory, evoking a post-apocalyptic ethos as it intertwines folklore, environmental decay and the lingering spectres of human folly. Kesey’s prose here is lush and dynamic, swinging between lyrical introspection and raucous dialogue. The characters are vivid and peculiar, their quirks amplified by Kuinak’s isolated, elemental backdrop—a place where the sea feels as much a character as the people inhabiting its shores.

The narrative is an energetic concoction of competing threads—ranging from the arrival of a Hollywood film crew that threatens to disrupt the town’s fragile balance to the protagonist’s journey of self-reckoning. Kesey employs a near-chaotic structure that occasionally mirrors the frenetic pace of modern life, teetering between coherence and bewilderment. While this can feel overwhelming, it also enhances the novel’s thematic core: the struggle to find meaning amidst chaos.

For readers who cherished the rebellious verve of One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, this later work may feel both familiar and alien. Kesey’s voice is undeniably present, but Sailor Song leans heavily into speculative fiction and surrealism, a departure from the grounded realism of his earlier masterpieces. This is a novel steeped in eccentricity and myth, where Kesey reflects not only on humanity’s foibles but also on his own legacy as a writer and cultural figure.

My experience of Sailor Song felt akin to standing at the edge of the world—a remote, windswept place where storytelling itself becomes a way to wrestle with both the absurd and the profound. While its sprawling nature might not appeal to all Kesey-fans, it rewards readers who are willing to embrace its unbridled energy and its moments of crystalline insight.

Kesey’s final novel is an ode to imperfection, a messy but unforgettable journey through the briny depths of human ambition, regret and redemption. Like the seas surrounding Kuinak, it is both turbulent and beautiful, offering treasures to those brave enough to dive beneath the surface.

[Knigoqdec · Rating 3 out of 5]

Аз ще посмея да причисля този роман към романите тип "Човек на име Уве" (като най-известно заглавие в този, тъй да се каже, жанр към момента).
"Песента на моряка" е по-скоро история за ежедневието на един град нейде из Аляска. Там живеят всякакви чудаци, потърсили подслон в дивото. Имат си пияници, имат си луди, имат си веселяци. Имат си приключенци, рибари, мечтатели... Един хубав ден някакви Звезди решават, че градчето е превъзходно за филмова снимачна площадка и... настъпва хаос.
Но това е по-скоро история тип "да поживеем малко в този чудат град". Или "и ние сме преживели много весели неща!". Една освободена, лека история, без кой знае какви сериозни послания. Прости неща като "светът ще свърши някой ден и трябва да сме готови да го приемем" и "случват се и лоши, и добри неща на тоя свят". Или пък "любовта и доброто ще дойдат при всички".
Бих казала, че това е книга, която човек... би могъл да вземе на плажа xD.

Мрън-послепис: Последните няколко страници всъщност даже ми досадиха. Нещата станаха малко неестествени, отнесени. Въображаеми дори. Разваля се лекият ритъм на романа.
Липсата на ясно разграничаване между абзац, който разказва за един герой и друг абзац за съвсем друг герой, бяха малко изнервящи, честно... разстояние от едно редче щеше да свърши идеална работа...

[Ryan]

I never finished reading this, but I watched Kesey write it at the Dirty D in Astoria. When he held a book-singing at the Maritime Museum after completing the book, for the first, and only time,(for myself), I went to get an author's signature on a book. (I once went to a book-signing for a Star Wars book, as a gift for my cousin Pete, who loves Star Wars, and liked that particular author.)
I remember particularly the effort that Kesey put into personalizing each book. He didn't just have a pen, "Best Wishes, Ken," he had an assortment of magic markers in various colors, glue sticks, glitter and other sparkly things, and he would take a moment to talk to each person, and then create a unique signature in colored inks and sparkle. I was surprised; if he took that much time with each person who wanted a signed book, how long would it take for him to complete his book tour? Other questions aside, the effort he took impressed me, and a few years later, when I was living in Springfield, Oregon, not far from The Farm, I thought of him affectionately, as a neighbor, although I never actually saw him again that I remember.
I feel a little foolish that I never finished the book, and I don't think that I have that copy any longer. Too many moves in too few years.

[Andrew · Rating 2 out of 5]

The phrase I was searching for throughout "Sailor Song" was "wish fulfillment." It's difficult to read the protagonist, Ike Sallas, as anything but the man hero that Kesey constructed in McMurphy of "One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest," and really anything but a stand in for the agonized activist Kesey himself. I'm loathe to draw comparisons between authors and their subjects, but Ike Sallas is simply not a believable character, and if he's just a construct, well, then I guess that's the only option we've got.

There's going to be a lot of discussion of the ending of the book, a lot of angry confusion that at first gives you the sensation you're at the wrong end of a prank. But, in a strange way, the ending works in a novel about futility and failure. Sure, the book is merry enough along the way, with a wildly constructed future of Alaska featuring eternally burning garbage heaps, overweight Irishmen dancing with their own bellies, sudecitive/innocent "primitive beauties," high flying adventures against gargantuan mormons and pigs fighting bears. In fact, in many ways, the book works best simply as a prank or a joke - it's funny in the same ways that Benny Profane of "V" or Orin Incandenza of "Infinite Jest" are. But whereas both of those characters meandered through absurdity, they were always reigned within the confines of a novelistic purpose, even if not a personal one.

Which brings me back to failure. Ike Sallas was once a freedom fighter ala Cesar Chavez, and then calmed down some. We never really see any of this, except in peekaboo flashbacks and the odd grunt. But Ike's time is over. He's let his fire go out, and the eco-terrorists have lost. Temperatures soar across the globe, the wilderness is dying. Ike manages to rally once, firing off an impassioned speech against encroaching globalization on his Alaskan wilderness town, and he utterly fails, impressing no one and changing nothing. The point is, Ike's time is past. Kesey's time is past.

So when an event occurs in the last sixty pages of the book that renders all of Ike's struggles moot (some could say the ending is alluded to, but the novel has so many sidetracks and deadend turns it resembles the Alaskan coastline, so if we were to catch on to the impending events, it was either sloppy writing or an afterthought), it's almost understandable. The previous 460 pages were futile in the face of this catastrophe and accomplished nothing, just as Ike's efforts did nothing to stem the erosion of the environment, just as Kesey didn't stop oppressive elements in society.

To call this book a swan song would be going a bit far, I think. But Kesey was at least aware of the parallels he was creating between two tired warriors, embittered by their failures and doing their best to cling to their lovers and friends, their merry pranksters, waiting to overcome the ignorance of the masses in their wilderness shacks.

All in all, the book is a failure too. It entertains without saying anything, dangles characters and plot points like a hyperactive puppeteer more interested in his mental whispering than his audience. In a way you wonder if Kesey was trying to join his contemporary Pynchon in a postmodern examination of characters and themes, mixing pop songs and folk tales with emotional drama, ambassadors and bowling alleys, a sea of fishkids and a sea of lost refugees. And maybe, maybe he just realized he couldn't get there, and wanted us to remind us that this wasn't his fight anymore, and bowed out, wishing us a cackling 'good luck' on the future we made by ignoring his advice.

[Dimitra Kaneva · Rating 4 out of 5]

Изключително интересна и вълнуваща книга!
Любими цитати:
"Само в приказките на Шехерезада чудесата стават изведнъж. А в действителност трябва да мине време - както трябва да мине време, за да набъбне бисерът в мидата. Или за да се разлистят дърветата. Цялата работа е в това - да си държиш очите отворени. За да не мине чудото покрай теб, без да го забележиш."
"Когато живееш на дъното, неизменно научаваш едно: до уважаваш всички тези неведоми сили, които стоят по-високо от всякакви обществени стълбици и земни рангове. Онези от върха можеха да си позволят да не вземат насериозно капризите на природата, но тук, най-долу, знаеха, че с тях шега не бива. От тези стихии зависеше животът им."
"Но аз ви казвам, о, добри хора, че мъдростта е по-скъпа от всички земни богатства, макар че никой не цени мъдростта на бедния и никой не се вслушва в думите му... А думите на мъдреца струват повече от крясъците на оня, който си мисли, че е могъщ, защото царува над тълпа безумци!"
"Джини си беше малко отнесена може би, но знаеше, че няма магия без поезия и че поезията не може да бъде адаптирана, модернизирана... изобщо по някакъв начин усъвършенствана; че за нея няма общoприета норма, нито подбор; че тя включва всичко - и хубавото, и лошото, като пълноводна река, малко мътна може би, затова пък - истинска."
"Учебниците по история имат една много неприятна склонност - да бъдат зависими от партийните пристрастия и политическите интереси."

[Bill Wallace · Rating 4 out of 5]

Almost the end of the world at almost the north end of the world, SAILOR SONG is the last major work of the Head Prankster, left as a kind of dubious survival guide for all of us. I wish it had required a prophet in 1992 to see the future of the 2020s, but the outlook was already common, if inconvenient knowledge. 110 degrees in New York City is just the beginning here.

Way back in college, SOMETIMES A GREAT NOTION was my favorite novel, and ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO’S NEST was required reading in freshman English. I wish I liked SAILORS SONG as much as either of those books, but much of what it lacks in coherence is supplanted by the power of its best passages, places where Kesey stops fooling around and tells his story. While time has proven out the prophecy, it’s tarnished some of the attitudes, particularly that macho hippie view of women, and the narrative style – call it Pynchon lite – definitely reminds one the book is over 30 years old and written for ears time’s passage has rendered a little deaf.

Still, the core of the tale, the way Kesey uses his own young readers’ text as the core of a new myth, absurd and defiant, is pretty cool stuff. Pity we didn’t listen.

[David Highton · Rating 4 out of 5]

What an extraordinary book by an original writer.

[Jerry · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book has been the great white whale on my to-read pile for so long it almost feels like the passing of an era to have finally read it. I have not read any Ken Kesey before this, knowing him only through the One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest movie and his appearance in counterculture books such as The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test and Hell’s Angels.

This book is a weird semi-science fiction/fantasy story set in a near future that is probably about 2012 to 2014 or so. The United Nations has finally won the war on drugs—but among the casualties of their drug-destroying plant virus are wild-caught fish, quality alcohol (that’s a drug, too?), and possibly sex. The latter is mentioned as a casualty of the Event that, presumably, killed all of the opium, coca, and marijuana plants, but judging from events in this book it may have been an excuse for the birth rate decline obvious even in 1992 when this book was published.

Most of that is speculation based on chance remarks by the characters in the book. None of it is what the book is about and Kesey appears to take John Campbell’s advice about not explaining the science in science fiction. The strange twists that this alternate future took inform every aspect of the characters’ lives but it’s up to us to guess how and why.

Other aspects of this future are a little more amusing, appearing to be based on the future becoming even more like the eighties: Republican presidents, wrist calculators, and tape-based answering machines. There’s a new type of phone called “the celephone” that is not a portable personal device but another form of landline even though it may not be actually connected by wire. There tends to be one per location just like land lines.

More amusing is the“ignition card” that appears to work just like ignition keys in how it starts vehicles, even to the point that tearing out the ignition card slot allows for easy hot wiring of the vehicle.

The story takes place in Kuinak, Alaska, a fishing town off just about everyone’s radar until a famous director decides to turn a children’s story based on Alaskan aboriginal culture into a movie, using Kuinak for the location shooting.

Kesey takes small-town politics, fading counter-culture heroes, and burning revenge and builds an impressive Monte-Cristo-like tale to a thrilling crescendo… and then the literary equivalent of everyone was hit by a truck turns the story inside out.

It does not come as a complete surprise. There are hints of the fantasy underlying the reality almost from the beginning. But they are very small hints and seem incongruous at the time.

It’s a fascinating ending, but that doesn’t change that it leaves another fascinating story—the first ninety percent of the book—unfinished and in retrospect irrelevant. Even while enjoying the reading, that was and remains disappointing.

[Brian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow, I really liked this book for like 7/8's of the way through. Kesey paints a wonderful picture of a small, coastal Alaskan fishing village full of colorful characters that come into "good fortune" brought on by big business, hollywood types. There was just the right amount of salty sea anecdotes, heroes dressed in middle class garb, villains with suspicious motives, vigilante religiosity, paranoid drug pushers, and reformed drunks all working the various angles of dealing with the draw of money/tourism to small town communities that made for an enjoyable read for most of the novel. The ending really blew this book for me, and left me frustrated with the author. The novel seemed to be building toward revealing itself to be either a great tale of misfortune of the life of small fishing towns in the age of big business or a triumph of the spirit of a small town against its' own greed lead by heroic characters that we had grown to love. Instead, the ending twist left me as a reader frustrated by the ending swirl of detail that the author leaves the reader with. A wonderful novel for most of the read, but a bitter disappointment of an ending...this being my first Kesey novel, I am interested to read others, but probably only 1 more if this disappointing ending bit is repeated.

[Maria Garalova · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Алис винаги държеше прозорците да са чисти. Ненавиждаше облепени с хартия стъкла. "Ако искате да не ви духа през зимата, купете си специални стъкла", съветваше тя наемателите. "Но прозорците са, за да се гледа през тях! Не облепяте с хартия стъклата на очилата си, за да ви е по-топло през зимата, нали?"" Кен Киси

Човек се нуждае от свобода и прозорец към морето. Дали облепването на стъклата не е своеобразно ослепяване на душата?! И дали хората не са се отдалечили толкова много от себе си, че са обречени да потънат в прегръдката на морето?!

"Песента на моряка" от Кен Киси е превъзходен роман за забравените човешки ценности и за безсмислието на отмъщението, което поражда жажда за ново отмъщение. Единственият достоен противник на живота е самият живот, а хората са просто част от пейзажа. Красива история за обикновените човешки радости и несгоди. Всеки един герой в книгата е плътен жив и съвършено индивидуален.
И все пак "Полет над кукувиче гнездо" ще остане бленуваният хоризонт, който "Песента на моряка" никога няма да достигне.

[Nick B · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was the best book choice I made in 2017. I fell in love with and could relate to almost every beautifully developed character. I became a better reader and a more inspired writer by engaging with this piece of literature. At times I felt like I was there, in Kuinak, with the mangy dogs, the Deaps, and the sketchy movie directors. I felt like I could smell the garbage fire and hear the feral pigs.

I was going to lend my copy to a friend but decided against it, as I will be reading this again as soon as I finish my current novel.

[Francesco · Rating 4 out of 5]

Started reading in 1993, when I got it off a bookshop shelf in Taranto, in the South of Italy, where I was then serving part of my conscription year in the navy, back then I was drawn in by the title, but it was too difficult ... glad I got to the end of this read, eventually
It’s interesting, not my genre but I am glad I dipped into it. Very colourful slang, much of it not intelligible, by me at least. A bloke’s book if I ever saw one, so not sharing all the enthusiasm and ideas behind the plot. The dystopian setting is imaginative and alluring.

[Katerina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Историята не се оказа точно мой тип, но начина по който Кен Киси пише, за мен е задълбочаващ. Това не е книга за бързо четене. Чете се бавно и с наслада. Думите извират като от дълбок кладенец далеч на север. Героите са описани отлично, а края е един водовъртеж от преживявания и картини. Наслада за читателите, за които е по-важно качеството от количеството. Мисля си, че ще я прочета поне още веднъж в живота си.

[Christian Schwoerke · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this Pynchonesque novel from Kesey. While telling the same sort of bloviating tale of world-wide conspiracy and machination, Kesey, however, is able to make his characters three dimensional. I enjoyed the ride and saw in this last novel of his some of the same energy and swagger he'd shown in Sometimes a Great Notion.

[David Cohen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Though a bit more nautical than I was hoping, this book was an epic journey into the backatcha bandit and scruffy masculine heros. Reading this book before Sarah Palin was announced to be McCain's Vice President definitely damaged my view of her. This book gave me exactly the Alaska I wanted.

[Jaime · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was amazing. It didn't make sense always but didn't have to. Reminded me of a post-apocalyptic Watchmen, but way better. Need to read more by Kesey.

[Susan Emmet · Rating 4 out of 5]

Strap on your rubber tire coat, head for the boat, stow your blow up lifesuit, and Jeep on up to Kuinak, Alaska, home to the best motley crew of ne'er do wells, Underdogs, albino villains, crusty/busty women and angelic Real Deal Native Alaskans. Throw in some scoot, a lot of history and geography and scientific stuff and a roaring plea for decency and fairness and you've got a good part of Sailor Song.
Humor, outrageous outrage, timeliness, wonder-full characterization, and space age stuff make this a real good book to read even if you don't love it as much as Kesey's other work.
I miss Ken Kesey. I really do. I wish there were more of us with his spirit of rebellion in Trumplandia.

[Keith Boynton · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ken Kesey is one of the great riffers in the history of American letters. Unfortunately, this novel reveals itself in the end as nothing but one long riff, with many sub-riffs along the way – no plot, no point, no plan, nothing but high-wire literary acrobatics.

Well, okay, not *nothing*. Kesey has a gift for crafting memorable characters, and although his literary voice can be tough and sardonic, it can also be surprisingly empathetic. Sailor Song has moments of great pathos and beauty, along with moments of surreal invention and winning freewheeling humor. What it doesn't have is an ending. It's as if Kesey gave up on his own story and just hoped we wouldn't notice.

[Matt Mirkovic · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think the kool aid acid tests caught up to Kesey by the 90s. I had no idea what was happening by the end tbh - Ike just ends up floating lost at see on a raft on the Fourth of July, anticlimactic just like me fr. idc abt spoilers bc you gotta be special or sick in the head to finish 500+ pages of what can only be described as Keseynese

[Bigminipig · Rating 4 out of 5]

Жвава пісня та гротескний хоровод дивних яскравих персонажів. Майже 4,5 ★
Пів зірки зʼїв наймерзкіший анекдот у всесвіті.
🙈

[Volodymyr Stoyko · Rating 4 out of 5]

Люди виходять із себе, а в один чудовий день вже не можуть повернутися назад.

Перед поїздкою в Китай, куди я не мав бажання везти великих книжок через компактне розміщення речей у сумці. Тож перевагу надав аудіокнигам, а сам список складав виключно із рейтингів на сайтах, де ці книги можна завантажити. Одним з перших на телефон потрапив роман Кена Кізі "Пісня моряка". Після прослуханих 19 годин, важко сходу зрозуміти чому ця книга отримала високі рейтинги в озвучці, бо критичних відгуків на неї зовсім немало. Можливо, причина тому - здобутий кредит слави завдяки книзі "Пролітаючи над гніздом зозулі". Та все ж, ігноруючи загальну думку, спробую поділитися з вами своїми ідеями.

Це було ще до того, як аеросани витіснили собак на задні сидіння пікапів.

Головна проблема книги - відсутність будь-якої структури сюжету - мені зіграла за один із основних плюсів. Річ у тому, що практично всі 19 годин я прослу��ав у літаках, плануючи робочий та відпочинковий графіки. Колись я часто практикував вправи на множинну концентрацію, одночасно граючи на гітарі та читаючи новини вголос проговорюючи їх. Читання та планування водночас не викликають в мене якогось дискомфорту чи браку уваги до однієї зі справ. Та все ж, у перспективі сприймання тривалої зв'язаної історії - браку якості сприйняття не уникнути. Тому ці часто непов'язані історії про долі різних героїв "Пісня моряка" цілком добре далися в аудіоваріанті.

Звісно, немалу роль у цьому відіграли колоритні персонажі Кізі, серед яких ви не знайдете жодного, хто міг би похвалитися звичайною, нічим непримітною долею. Завдяки таланту Кізі занурювати читача в океан деталей змальованих картин, книга вміє викликати переживання за дуже короткий період подій у часі роману. На здачі багажу в Шанхаї я пропустив декількох людей у черзі аби не переривати прослуховування смішної історії. Історії, яка за інших обставин ніяк не вписалася сюди. Порятунок трьох дорослих чоловіків від священника та втеча на дрезині, в якої немає гальм - раніше я міг уявити такий хід подій лиш у фільмі "Похмілля у Вегасі". Тепер ще й у творах Кена Кізі.

Всі ці ейнштейнівські прибамбаси милі і цікаві, але якщо ви хочете гарантій, ставте на Ньютона.

Ще однією із безпрограшних переваг книги є місце подій - Квінак, Аляска. Для більшості читачів описи поселення рибалок періодично навіюють відчуття наближення романтичної пригоди. Тому автор через місцевих жителів повертає нас у реальність періодичним вживанням міцних матюків між репліками героїв. Не хочу видатися аж таким безкультурним, але в рамках даного твору нецензурна лексика звучить як на своєму місці. Бо таким є життя цих суворих мужиків, які щодня кидають виклик природі, навіть, заради поповнення колекції захоплюючих історій, що вони потім прикрашають усілякими вигадками за посиденьками в барах. Хіба не в цьому суть усього - емоції, якими так хочеться ділитися?

Він мав талант вірно визначати переможців, але помилявся у номерах забігів.

Кен Кізі "Пісня моряка"

[Daniel Dimitrov · Rating 5 out of 5]

Последният, трети роман на Киси. Написал е всъщност една чудесна книга, която е готова за екранизация за Нетфликс още преди Нетфликс да съществува. Само можем да се надяваме някой ден някой да се осъзнае и да го заснеме. Но е и един особен роман. Не е велик като Кукувиче гнездо, липсва екзистенциалния замах на алегорията. Въпреки това звучи като роман, който Киси е писал с удоволствие и така се чете също. Чудновати герои, чудновати съдби, лековата фабула, студът на Аляска, морето. Единствено нещата се сгъстяват в края, но не искам да издавам нищо. Интересно е при какви обстоятелства е писал романа Киси, липсва информация за това. Издаден към края на живота на автора. Самият той, корабокрушенец от лудите 60 на миналия век, също като героят в книгата е загубил детето си в нелеп инцидент, живял простовато в ранчото си в средния запад. Искаше ми се да беше написал поне още двайсет романа и този да е просто брънка от цялото.

Не очаквах книгата да отвори с песен на Ленард Коен (Сузан), за чийто смисъл много съм се чудил през годините, но сега преведена на български и в контекста на книгата започва да звучи близко. Нито очаквах това да е една много праволинейна книга за едно градче в Аляска и образите и мелезите, които я населяват. Много американски роман, от този модерен американски барок (чувам далечното ехо на Вонегът, Бредбъри, Джон Ървинг и може би Филип Рот минус трагизма) полят доволно с южняшки рок ала Линард Скинард и Грейтфул Дед. И разбира се, книгата няма почти нищо общо с “Полед над кукувиче гнездо” (проклятието на Киси да напише един от най-великите романи на 20ти век още докато е на 27 и да блокира за следващите 30 години гмуркайки се в лудото детилетие на 60те и изплувайки чак през 1992ра с този роман). Иронията хумора тук заменят драматичния детерминизъм на “Полет”.

Но пък сякаш книгата има много общо със “The Electric Kool Aid Acid Test” или поне така ми се иска да мисля (задочния документален роман на Киси написан от Том Улф за триповете през времето, пространството и съзнанието на борда на автобуса натоварен с автора и приятелите му през 60те в Америка) — мелезите сякаш са същите, макар и контекстът да е различен.

И страхотен превод на български, трябва да се отбележи. Един от малкото пъти, в които все пак съм доволен, въпреки че не я чета в оригинал.

[Margaryta Kostyuk · Rating 4 out of 5]

Цю книгу мені принесла моя люба подруга, коли я попросила в неї почитати щось хороше російською. Побачивши ці 500+ сторінок, я спробувала було дорікнути, бо ж усі знали про мій 50 books challenge, а той факт, що я не вкладаюся в дедлайни, був на той момент досить очевидним, однак у відповідь почула безапеляційне "Ти. Просила. Хорошу. Вона. Хороша". Мусіла читати

Враховуючи відгуки, що до цього часу мені доводилось чути про творчість Кена Кізі, я очікувала й була готова до будь-яких літературних вибриків. Однак, як виявилось, у цього роману вельми проста побудова, така, як у школі вчать, - зав'язка, розвиток подій, кульмінація, розв'язка. Крім того, досить очевидний розподіл героїв: оце - хороші хлопці, а оце - погані, які саме збираються спаскудити життя хорошим. Але попри таку простоту, я б усе ж охарактеризувала її як "книгу, у якій усього повно". Бо там, поміж іншого, є:

- Богом забуте й забите містечко десь на Алясці - 1 шт.;
- головний герой (у всіх можливих сенсах цього слова) з епічним минулим і ніяким, принаймні на момент початку історії, теперішнім, а також "зовнішністю грецького бога", що я читаю як "зовнішністю Метью Макконахі" :) - 1 шт.;
- сильний і самодостатній (нарешті!) жіночий персонаж - 1 шт.;
- інші персонажі, такі нетипові й важливі, що більшість із них просто неможливо назвати другорядними - сила силенна;
- собаки - 2 шт. головних і зграя другорядних, відтак ще й пара згадок про "Пуріну" - привіт, колеги!
- риболовецько-моряцьких штучок - безліч;
- любовних ліній - щонайменше 1 шт.;
- постапокаліпсисів - 1,5 шт.

Сюжет динамічний і ненав'язливий, хоча подумати є про що, однак ви не будете змушені наприкінці сидіти над закритою книгою, втупивши погляд в далечінь і обмірковуючи брєнность битія. Часом, коли й класика, і постмодернізм вже стомлюють, такі книжки виявляються саме тим, чого бракувало.