Like the many high-profile events associated with the name of the “merry prankster” Ken Kesey, his first book, Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1962), made a lot of noise in the literary life of America. Kesey was recognized as a talented writer, and the novel became one of the main works for beatniks and hippies. Over the Cuckoo's Nest is a raw and devastatingly honest depiction of the boundaries between sanity and madness. “If anyone wants to feel the pulse of our time, let Kesey read. And if everything goes well and the order of things does not change, it will be read in the next century,” wrote the Los Angeles Times. Indeed, today the book continues to live and does not lose its crazy popularity. Based on the novel, a film was made (dir. Milos Forman, 1975), which conquered the whole world and received five Oscars. And also many performances were staged in different countries, including Russia.