SOURCE: Searles, George J. “As the Flag Unravels.” New Leader 75, no. 11 (7 September 1992): 20-1.

In the following review, Searles assesses the literary achievement of Sailor Song within the context of Kesey's career.

It has been quite a while since One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest (1962) and Sometimes a Great Notion (1964) established Ken Kesey as an important American writer. Nevertheless, his long-awaited third novel [Sailor Song] proves he is still deserving of his reputation.

Set in the early 21st century, this big, teeming book takes as its locus the fictitious Alaskan fishing village of Kuinak, somewhere north of Skagway. A tougher and dirtier version of Northern Exposure's Cicely, the engagingly rundown little community provides a safe if grub-by haven for its rowdy inhabitants: a mix of “Deaps” (Descendants of Early Aboriginal Peoples) and Lower-48 misfits. They include such colorful figures as hard-drinking Alice the Angry Aleut, former eco-terrorist Ike...