One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest is set in an Oregon asylum, and serves as a study of the institutional process and the human mind. It is about an An inmate of a mental institution tries to find the freedom and independence denied him in the outside world. The novel was written in 1959 by Kesey, although it wasn't published until 1962. The novel was such a success that it was later adapted into a 1975 film, which won five Academy Awards. Although the novel was controversial when it was released due to the fact that it contained much sexual content, it later became known as a classic American novel.