Daniel Keyes (1927–2014)

This book is incredible, and truly deserves all the accolades it has received.

What i love about this book is that while the writing itself is simple and easy going, allowing the reader to just fall into the story without distraction, the story itself is incredible in its depth and scope.

I would definitely throw this book in with 'Black Swan Green' into the teenage education syllabus.

Essentially a man with an IQ of 70 is given an operation and turned into a genius after the incredible success show more of performing the same procedure on a white mouse named Algernon.   But where an isolated laboratory mouse appears a total success, a human being with a very challenging past that the new found intelligence has to come to terms with while navigating his way into a new life that he is completely unprepared for in every way, is a totally different story altogether.

For the first 15 years of my life i lived with a very damaged heart and was extremely ill and disabled, only to have my heart fixed at 15 and then left to come to terms with all that had happened to me.   Needless to say, it didn't go very well.   And reading this book about a child who was extremely mentally disabled who suddenly gets fixed brought a lot of those old feelings from my own experiences back.   At one point i almost gave up reading it, it became so upsetting.   But the book is so well written and i just had to keep going to find out what happens to Charlie.   I'm glad i did.

There is so much truth in this book about the way people are and how they treat those they perceive as lesser than, and also those they perceive as more than.   Add to all that, there are also many parallels between Charlie's story and the changes between drug addiction and sobriety.   Which, again, i know from experience.   There is, quite simply, a great deal for everyone to learn from this book.

And there's also so much in this book that leaves me looking forward to reading it again in the future -- after its percolated through my conciousness for a while -- as i really don't think one reading can ever do it the justice it deserves.

And that ending... show less

Flowers for Algernon really opened my eyes to a lot of things we take for granted. Written like Charlie Gordon’s journal, it’s his journey from being mentally disabled, to a genius, and back.
Firstly, the way it’s written felt very real and raw. The spelling errors and sense of confusion in the start, to the academic and clear writing when his IQ starts going up felt super realistic and I could really picture what was in Charlie’s head.
And then his experiences - beginning with the show more abuse that people with disabilities face in their households and outside is quite heartbreaking, especially Charlie remembering these in flashbacks. My heart felt for him. And for all the people living these nightmares without a good support system. There’s also him battling emotions like jealousy from around him, anger, hatred, and LOVE- which is all so complicated and confusing to deal with all of a sudden. I really was hooked. Made me think about how it all feels to us.
The ending left me heartbroken, I was moved. Amazing book

Merged review:

Flowers for Algernon really opened my eyes to a lot of things we take for granted. Written like Charlie Gordon’s journal, it’s his journey from being mentally disabled, to a genius, and back.
Firstly, the way it’s written felt very real and raw. The spelling errors and sense of confusion in the start, to the academic and clear writing when his IQ starts going up felt super realistic and I could really picture what was in Charlie’s head.
And then his experiences - beginning with the abuse that people with disabilities face in their households and outside is quite heartbreaking, especially Charlie remembering these in flashbacks. My heart felt for him. And for all the people living these nightmares without a good support system. There’s also him battling emotions like jealousy from around him, anger, hatred, and LOVE- which is all so complicated and confusing to deal with all of a sudden. I really was hooked. Made me think about how it all feels to us.
The ending left me heartbroken, I was moved. Amazing book show less

Charlie is a developmentally disabled janitor until a medical breakthrough gives him superhuman intelligence. Suddenly, Charlie understands far more, and in fact is far smarter than the people who formerly patronized him. He quickly learns that as much as he enjoys his new intelligence, it sets him apart from the other humans; he has become far more complex, but much less happy.

And then Charlie's intelligence begins to disintegrate.
Reading his rapid fall back into his former mindset, all show more the while aware of what he lost, is truly terrifying, and it haunts me to this day. In fact, assigning a rating feels impossible, because the impact this story had on me overshadows any taste or analysis. I can't be reasonable about [b:Flowers for Algernon|18373|Flowers for Algernon|Daniel Keyes|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1327870353s/18373.jpg|3337594], which is at least partly proof of this story's power. show less

This moving tale of a man with a very low IQ who undergoes an experimental procedure that dramatically increases his intellect is one of the best of the SF Masterworks series that I've read so far. The narrative is quietly gripping, as we follow Charlie's intellectual and emotional growth, and then - wrenchingly - his ultimately inevitable reversion. It ponders the social constructions of disability and intelligence, thankfully mostly eschewing sentimentality, and insists at all times on the show more personhood of the protagonist, regardless of which stage in his development he's at. Interestingly, it was more frank about sexuality than I would have expected (given it was written in the late 50s to mid 60s), and it had numerous female characters with distinct personalities and agency - another plus for me. Recommended. show less