Which 1962 novel by Ken Kesey was challenged for its sexual content and language?

The 1962 novel by Ken Kesey challenged for its sexual content and language is One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.

Kesey’s novel is set largely in a psychiatric hospital and is narrated by Chief Bromden, a patient who pretends to be deaf and mute. The arrival of Randle Patrick McMurphy, a rebellious gambler transferred from a prison farm, disrupts the authoritarian ward routine enforced by Nurse Ratched. Their conflict explores institutional power, conformity, masculinity, sanity, and individual freedom.

The novel was published in 1962 after Kesey drew on his experiences working on a psychiatric ward and participating in government-funded experiments involving psychoactive drugs. Its frank treatment of sex, violence, profanity, and coercive psychiatric treatment led to challenges and removals in some schools and libraries.

The title is a nursery-rhyme phrase, and the story is frequently confused with the acclaimed 1975 film starring Jack Nicholson. The film adapts the novel but changes important details, especially the narrative perspective: the book is filtered through Chief Bromden’s unreliable voice, while the movie presents events more directly.