Demon Box

by Ken Kesey

Book Overview

In this collection of short stories, Ken Kesey challenges public and private demons with a wrestler's brave and deceptive embrace, making it clear that the energy of madness must live on.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0670809128
• ISBN13: 9780670809127
• Release Date: August 1986
• Publisher: Viking Books
• Length: 384 Pages
• Weight: 1.65 lbs.

Customer Reviews

kesey from the sixties to the eighties

ken kesey is one of my favorite authors. sometimes a great notion is one the best novels i have ever read. after reading the electric kool aid acid test, demon box is a logical followup.this series of short stories has highs and lows. the very best is now we know how many holes it takes to fill the albert hall. written about the death of john lennon, kesey, through interactions with people immediately before, at the time of,and immediately after the murder, shows the transition of culture from the sixties to the eighties. the death of lennon is the end of the dream of the sixties. it alone is worth the purchase of the book.another great story is the tranny man over the border. its most interesting part deals with kesey's father.a story about his farm animals, abdul and ebenezer, is hilarious.this book gives the kesey fans a better understanding of the man, his family, and his friends.

Not very well known but very good

Demon Box is great for those who have read The Electric Kool Aid Acid Test, One Flew Over the Coo Coo's Nest, and Sometimes A Great Notion and still want to hear more about Kesey. In the book, Kesey, as Devlin Debree, decribes his life after the Prankster days and gives insight into the failure of the 60's counter-culture.

Collection of personal stories,fictional fairytales & visions

Ken Kesey has produced a very special collection of stories, a number of which are written in the 3rd party, using the character "Deboree" as Kesey's alias. Deboree shares through the pages, trips & memories with characters, who are immediately recognisable as Kesey's personal friends such as X,Y & Z, some still alive, some dead. The stories are of personal experiences and touch on Deboree's inner feelings & thoughts, which leaves the reader feeling quite privileged. The personal stories are interspersed with the most joyful of fairytales. The reader is catapulted into a land of make believe in "Big Double" and nothing bar your own imagination can stop the words dancing into your mind and creating a Technicolor widescreen movie of your own. The Demon Box is a gem and must have for any admirer of Kesey, the greatest Prankster of them all

Remarkably well written, and thoroughly interesting.

Because this book is one of Kesey's lesser-known works, I assumed that it would be of lower caliber than what I had previously read by him. However, I was pleasantly surprised to find that I was wrong. Kesey has not lost his flair for words. The story jumps around a bit, but it is quick-paced. It kept my attention, but what really got me hooked was the eloquent writing. Kesey has a great talent for detail, but he does not ramble on for pages about trivialities. His wit made me smile, and his honesty made me sigh. A great book if ever there were one.