Flowers for Algernon

By Daniel Keyes

 Winner of both the Hugo and Nebula Awards, the powerful, classic story about a man who receives an operation that turns him into a genius...and introduces him to heartache.
 
Charlie Gordon is about to embark upon an unprecedented journey. Born with an unusually low IQ, he has been chosen as the perfect subject for an experimental surgery that researchers hope will increase his intelligence-a procedure that has already been highly successful when tested on a lab mouse named Algernon.

As the treatment takes effect, Charlie's intelligence expands until it surpasses that of the doctors who engineered his metamorphosis. The experiment appears to be a scientific breakthrough of paramount importance, until Algernon suddenly deteriorates. Will the same happen to Charlie?

 

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Release date: Dec 1, 2007
• ISBN: 9780547539638

Daniel Keyes

Daniel Keyes (1927 - 2014) was born in Brooklyn, New York, and received his B.A. and M.A. degrees from Brooklyn College. He was the author of eight books, including the classic Flowers for Algernon, first published in 1966, which would go on to sell more than five million copies and inspire the Oscar-winning film Charly. He also worked as a merchant seaman, a fiction editor, a high school teacher, and as a university professor at Ohio University, where he was honored at Professor Emeritus in 2000. He won the Hugo and Nebula awards for his work and was chosen as an Author Emeritus by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America in 2000.

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Contents

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Cover

Title Page

Contents

Copyright

Dedication

Epigraph

Flowers for Algernon

About the Author

Connect on Social Media

Copyright © 1966, 1959 by Daniel Keyes

Copyright renewed 1994, 1987 by Daniel Keyes

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. For information, address HarperCollins Publishers, 195 Broadway, New York, NY 10007.

marinerbooks.com

The Library of Congress has cataloged the print edition as follows:

Keyes, Daniel.

Flowers for Algernon/Daniel Keyes.—1st harvest ed.

p. cm.

A Harvest Book.

1. People with mental disabilities—Fiction. 2. Brain—Surgery—Fiction. 3. Gifted persons—Fiction. I. Title.

PS3561.E769F56 2004

813'.54—dc22 2004005049

ISBN 978-0-15-603008-3 (mass market)

eISBN 978-0-547-53963-8

v5.0921

For my mother

And in memory of my father

Anyone who has common sense will remember that the bewilderments of the eyes are of two kinds, and arise from two causes, either from coming out of the light or from going into the light, which is true of the mind’s eye, quite as much as of the bodily eye; and he who remembers this when he sees anyone whose vision is perplexed and weak, will not be too ready to laugh; he will first ask whether that soul of man has come out of the brighter life, and is unable to see because unaccustomed to the dark, or having turned from darkness to the day is dazzled by excess of light. And he will count the one happy in his condition and state of being, and he will pity the other; or, if he have a mind to laugh at the soul which comes from below into the light, there will be more reason in this than in the laugh which greets him who returns from above out of the light into the den.

—Plato, The Republic

progris riport 1 martch 3

Dr Strauss says I shoud rite down what I think and remembir and evrey thing that happins to me from now on. I dont no why but he says its importint so they will see if they can use me. I hope they use me becaus Miss Kinnian says mabye they can make me smart. I want to be smart. My name is Charlie Gordon I werk in Donners bakery where Mr Donner gives me 11 dollers a week and bred or cake if I want. I am 32 yeres old and next munth is my brithday. I tolld dr Strauss and perfesser Nemur I cant rite good but he says it dont matter he says I shud rite just like I talk and like I rite compushishens in Miss Kinnians class at the beekmin collidge center for retarted adults where I go to lern 3 times a week on my time off. Dr. Strauss says to rite a lot evrything I think and evrything that happins to me but I cant think anymor because I have nothing to rite so I will close for today . . . yrs truly Charlie Gordon.

progris riport 2—martch 4

I had a test today. I think I faled it and I think mabye now they wont use me. What happind is I went to Prof Nemurs office on my lunch time like they said and his secertery took me to a place that said psych dept on the door with a long hall and alot of littel rooms with onley a desk and chares. And a nice man was in one of the rooms and he had some wite cards with ink spilld all over them. He sed sit down Charlie and make yourself cunfortible and rilax. He had a wite coat like a docter but I dont think he was no docter because he dint tell me to opin my mouth and say ah. All he had was those wite cards. His name is Burt. I fergot his last name because I dont remembir so good.

I dint know what he was gonna do and I was holding on tite to the chair like sometimes when I go to a dentist onley Burt aint no dentist neither but he kept telling me to rilax and that gets me skared because it always means its gonna hert.

So Burt sed Charlie what do you see on this card. I saw the spilld ink and I was very skared even tho I got my rabits foot in my pockit because when I was a kid I always faled tests in school and I spilld ink to.

I tolld Burt I saw ink spilld on a wite card. Burt said yes and he smild and that maid me feel good. He kept terning all the cards and I tolld him somebody spilld ink on all of them red and black. I thot that was a easy test but when I got up to go Burt stoppd me and said now sit down Charlie we are not thru yet. Theres more we got to do with these cards. I dint understand about it but I remembir Dr Strauss said do anything the testor telld me even if it dont make no sense because thats testing.

I dont remembir so good what Burt said but I remembir he wantid me to say what was in the ink. I dint see nothing in the ink but Burt sed there was picturs there. I coudnt see no picturs. I reely tryed to see. I holded the card up close and then far away. Then I said if I had my eye glassis I coud probaly see better I usully only ware my eyeglassis in the movies or to watch TV but I sed maybe they will help me see the picturs in the ink. I put them on and I said now let me see the card agan I bet I find it now.

I tryed hard but I still coudnt find the picturs I only saw the ink. I tolld Burt mabey I need new glassis. He rote somthing down on a paper and I got skared of faling the test. So I tolld him it was a very nice pictur of ink with pritty points all around the eges but he shaked his head so that wasnt it neither. I asked him if other pepul saw things in the ink and he sed yes they imagen picturs in the inkblot. He tolld me the ink on the card was calld inkblot.

Burt is very nice and he talks slow like Miss Kinnian dose in her class where I go to lern reeding for slow adults. He explaned me it was a raw shok test. He sed pepul see things in the ink. I said show me where. He dint show me he just kept saying think imagen theres something on the card. I tolld him I imaggen a inkblot. He shaked his head so that wasnt rite eather. He said what does it remind you of pretend its something. I closd my eyes for a long time to pretend and then I said I pretend a bottel of ink spilld all over a wite card. And thats when the point on his pencel broke and then we got up and went out.

I dont think I passd the raw shok test.

3d progris riport

martch 5—Dr Strauss and prof Nemur say it dont matter about the ink on the cards. I tolld them I dint spill the ink on them and I coudnt see anything in the ink. They said maybe they will still use me. I tolld Dr Strauss that Miss Kinnian never gave me tests like that only riting and reeding. He said Miss Kinnian tolld him I was her bestist pupil in the Beekman School for retarted adults and I tryed the hardist becaus I reely wantd to lern I wantid it more even then pepul who are smarter even then me.

Dr Strauss askd me how come you went to the Beekman School all by yourself Charlie. How did you find out about it. I said I dont remembir.

Prof Nemur said but why did you want to lern to reed and spell in the frist place. I tolld him because all my life I wantid to be smart and not dumb and my mom always tolld me to try and lern just like Miss Kinnian tells me but its very hard to be smart and even when I lern something in Miss Kinnians class at the school I ferget alot.

Dr Strauss rote some things on a peice of paper and prof Nemur talkd to me very sereus. He said you know Charlie we are not shure how this experamint will werk on pepul because we onley tried it up to now on animils. I said thats what Miss Kinnian tolld me but I dont even care if it herts or anything because Im strong and I will werk hard.

I want to get smart if they will let me. They said they got to get permissen from my familie but my uncle Herman who use to take care of me is ded and I dont rimember about my familie. I dint see my mother or father or my littel sister Norma for a long long long time. Mabye their ded to. Dr. Strauss askd me where they use to live. I think in brooklin. He sed they will see if mabye they can find them.

I hope I dont have to rite to much of these progris riports because it takes along time and I get to sleep very late and Im tired at werk in the morning. Gimpy hollered at me because I droppd a tray full of rolles I was carrying over to the oven. They got derty and he had to wipe them off before he put them in to bake. Gimpy hollers at me all the time when I do something rong, but he reely likes me because hes my frend. Boy if I get smart wont he be serprised.

progris riport 4

mar 6—I had more crazy tests today in case they use me. That same place but a differnt littel testing room. The nice lady who give it to me tolld me the name and I askd her how do you spell it so I can put it down rite in my progis riport. THEMATIC APPERCEPTON TEST. I dont know the frist 2 werds but I know what test means. You got to pass it or you get bad marks.

This test lookd easy because I coud see the picturs. Only this time she dint want me to tell what I saw in the picturs. That mixd me up. I tolld her yesterday Burt said I shoud tell what I saw in the ink. She said that dont make a difrence because this test is something else. Now you got to make up storys about the pepul in the picturs.

I said how can I tell storys about pepul I dont know. She said make beleeve but I tolld her thats lies. I never tell lies any more because when I was a kid I made lies and I always got hit. I got a pictur in my walet of me and Norma with Uncle Herman who got me the job to be janiter at Donners bakery before he dyed.

I said I coud make storys about them because I livd with Uncle Herman along time but the lady dint want to hear about them. She said this test and the other one the raw shok was for getting persinality. I laffd. I tolld her how can you get that thing from cards that sombody spilld ink on and fotos of pepul you dont even no. She lookd angrey and took the picturs away. I dont care.

I gess I faled that test too.

Then I drawed some picturs for her but I dont drawer so good. Later the other testor Burt in the wite coat came back his name is Burt Selden and he took me to a diferent place on the same 4th floor in the Beekman University that said PSYCHOLOGY LABORATORY on the door. Burt said psychology means minds and laboratory meens a place where they make spearamints. I thot he ment like where they made the chooing gum but now I think its puzzels and games because thats what we did.

I coudnt werk the puzzels so good because it was all broke and the peices coudnt fit in the holes. One game was a paper with lines in all derections and lots of boxs. On one side it said START and on the other end it said FINISH. He tolld me that game was amazed and I shoud take the pencil and go from where it said START to where it said FINISH withowt crossing over any of the lines.

I dint understand the amazed and we used up a lot of papers. Then Burt said look Ill show you something lets go to the sperimental lab mabye youll get the idea. We went up to the 5th floor to another room with lots of cages and animils they had monkys and some mouses. It had a funny smel like old garbidge. And there was other pepul in wite coats playing with the animils so I thot it was like a pet store but their wasnt no customers. Burt took a wite mouse out of the cage and showd him to me. Burt said thats Algernon and he can do this amazed very good. I tolld him you show me how he does that.

Well do you know he put Algernon in a box like a big tabel with alot of twists and terns like all kinds of walls and a START and a FINISH like the paper had. Only their was a skreen over the big tabel. And Burt took out his clock and lifted up a slidding door and said lets go Algernon and the mouse sniffd 2 or 3 times and startid to run. First he ran down one long row and then when he saw he coudnt go no more he came back where he startid from and he just stood there a minit wiggeling his wiskers. Then he went off in the other derection and startid to run again.

It was just like he was doing the same thing Burt wanted me to do with the lines on the paper. I was laffing because I thot it was going to be a hard thing for a mouse to do. But then Algernon kept going all the way threw that thing all the rite ways till he came out where it said FINISH and he made a squeek. Burt says that means he was happy because he did the thing rite.

Boy I said thats a smart mouse. Burt said woud you like to race against Algernon. I said sure and he said he had a differnt kind of amaze made of wood with rows skratched in it and an electrik stick like a pencil. And he coud fix up Algernons amaze to be the same like that one so we could both be doing the same kind.

He moved all the bords around on Algernons tabel because they come apart and he could put them together in differnt ways. And then he put the skreen back on top so Algernon woudnt jump over any rows to get to the finish. Then he gave me the electrik stick and showd me how to put it in between the rows and Im not suppose to lift it off the bord just follow the little skratches until the pencil cant move any more or I get a little shock.

He took out his clock and he was trying to hide it. So I tryed not to look at him and that made me very nervus.

When he said go I tryed to go but I dint know where to go. I didnt know the way to take. Then I herd Algernon squeeking from the box on the tabel and his feet skratching like he was runing alredy. I startid to go but I went in the rong way and got stuck and a littel shock in my fingers so I went back to the START but evertime I went a differnt way I got stuck and a shock. It didnt hert or anything just made me jump a littel and Burt said it was to show me I did the wrong thing. I was haffway on the bord when I herd Algernon squeek like he was happy again and that means he won the race.

And the other ten times we did it over Algernon won evry time because I coudnt find the right rows to get to where it says FINISH. I dint feel bad because I watched Algernon and I lernd how to finish the amaze even if it takes me along time.

I dint know mice were so smart.

progris riport 5 mar 6

They found my sister Norma who lives with my mother in Brooklin and she gave permissen for the operashun. So their going to use me. Im so exited I can hardley rite it down. But then Prof Nemur and Dr Strauss had a argament about it frist. I was sitting in Prof Nemurs office when Dr Strauss and Burt Selden came in. Prof Nemur was worryed about using me but Dr Strauss tolld him I looked like the best one they testid so far. Burt tolld him Miss Kinnian rekemmended me the best from all the people who she was teaching at the center for retarted adults. Where I go.

Dr Strauss said I had something that was very good. He said I had a good motor-vation. I never even knowed I had that. I felt good when he said not everbody with an eye-Q of 68 had that thing like I had it. I dont know what it is or where I got it but he said Algernon had it too. Algernons motor-vation is the chees they put in his box. But it cant be only that because I dint have no chees this week.

Prof Nemur was worryd about my eye-Q getting too high from mine that was too low and I woud get sick from it. And Dr Strauss tolld Prof Nemur somthing I dint understand so wile they was talking I rote down some of the words in my notebook for keeping my progris riports.

He said Harold thats Prof Nemurs frist name I know Charlie is not what you had in mind as the frist of your new breed of intelek** coudnt get the word *** superman. But most people of his low ment** are host** and uncoop** they are usally dull and apathet** and hard to reach. Charlie has a good natcher and hes intristed and eeger to pleese.

Then prof Nemur said remembir he will be the first human beeing ever to have his intelijence increesd by sergery. Dr Strauss said thats exakly what I ment. Where will we find another retarted adult with this tremendus motor-vation to lern. Look how well he has lerned to reed and rite for his low mentel age. A tremen** achev**

I dint get all the werds and they were talking to fast but it sounded like Dr Strauss and Burt was on my side and Prof Nemur wasnt.

Burt kept saying Alice Kinnian feels he has an overwhelm** desir to lern. He aktually beggd to be used. And thats true because I wantid to be smart. Dr Strauss got up and walkd around and said I say we use Charlie. And Burt noded. Prof Nemur skratchd his head and rubbd his nose with his thum and said mabye your rite. We will use Charlie. But weve got to make him understand that a lot of things can go wrong with the experamint.

When he said that I got so happy and exited I jumpd up and shaked his hand for being so good to me. I think he got skared when I did that.

He said Charlie we werked on this for a long time but only on animils like Algernon. We are sure thers no fisical danger for you but there are other things we cant tell until we try it. I want you to understand this mite fale and then nothing woud happen at all. Or it mite even sucseed temperary and leeve you werse off then you are now. Do you understand what that meens. If that happins we will have to send you bak to the Warren state home to live.

I said I dint care because I aint afraid of nothing. Im very strong and I always do good and beside I got my luky rabits foot and I never breakd a mirrir in my life. I droppd some dishis once but that dont count for bad luk.

Then Dr Strauss said Charlie even if this fales your making a grate contribyushun to sience. This experimint has been successful on lots of animils but its never bin tride on a humen beeing. You will be the first.

I told him thanks doc you wont be sorry for giving me my 2nd chanse like Miss Kinnian says. And I meen it like I tolld them. After the operashun Im gonna try to be smart. Im gonna try awful hard.

progris riport 6th Mar 8

Im skared. Lots of pepul who werk at the collidge and the pepul at the medicil school came to wish me luk. Burt the tester brot me some flowers he said they were from the pepul at the psych departmint. He wished me luk. I hope I have luk. I got my rabits foot and my luky penny and my horshoe. Dr Strauss said dont be so superstishus Charlie. This is sience. I dont no what sience is but they all keep saying it so mabye its something that helps you have good luk. Anyway Im keeping my rabits foot in one hand and my luky penny in the other hand with the hole in it. The penny I meen. I wish I coud take the horshoe with me to but its hevy so Ill just leeve it in my jaket.

Joe Carp from the bakery brot me a chokilat cake from Mr Donner and the folks at the bakery and they hope I get better soon. At the bakery they think Im sick becaus thats what Prof Nemur said I shoud tell them and nothing about an operashun for getting smart. Thats a secrit until after in case it dont werk or something goes wrong.

Then Miss Kinnian came to see me and she brout me some magizenes to reed, and she lookd kind of nervus and skared. She fixd up the flowres on my tabel and put evrything nice and neet not messd up like I made it. And she fixd the pilow under my hed. She likes me alot becaus I try very hard to lern evrything not like some of the pepul at the adult center who dont reely care. She wants me to get smart. I know.

Then Prof Nemur said I cant have any more visiters becaus I got to rest. I askd Prof Nemur if I coud beet Algernon in the race after the operashun and he sayd mabye. If the operashun werks good Ill show that mouse I can be as smart as he is even smarter. Then Ill be abel to reed better and spell the werds good and know lots of things and be like other pepul. Boy that woud serprise everyone. If the operashun werks and I get smart mabye Ill be abel to find my mom and dad and sister and show them. Boy woud they be serprised to see me smart just like them and my sister.

Prof Nemur says if it werks good and its perminent they will make other pepul like me smart also. Mabye pepul all over the werld. And he said that meens Im doing somthing grate for sience and Ill be famus and my name will go down in the books. I dont care so much about beeing famus. I just want to be smart like other pepul so I can have lots of frends who like me.

They dint give me anything to eat today. I dont know what eating got to do with geting smart and Im hungry. Prof Nemur took away my choklate cake. That Prof Nemur is a growch. Dr. Strauss says I can have it back after the operashun. You cant eat before a operashun. Not even cheese.

PROGRESS REPORT 7 MARCH 11

The operashun dint hert. Dr. Strauss did it while I was sleeping. I dont know how because I dint see but there was bandiges on my eyes and my head for 3 days so I couldnt make no PROGRESS REPORT till today. The skinny nerse who wached me riting says I spelld progress rong and she tolld me how to spell it and REPORT to and MARCH. I got to remembir that. I have a very bad memary for speling. Anyway they took off the bandiges from my eyes

Reviews for Flowers for Algernon

[Corey Linstrom · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Blue pill, followed by red followed by another blue pill kind of book. Loved it.
important one

[danish · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I just finished reading this beautiful book, and I'm overwhelmed with so many emotions. I am so so grateful to have seen the world through Charlie's eyes.

[M. Shane Britton · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Hands down, the best bang for the buck on any app of this kind. A vast library of eBooks, audiobooks, podcasts, etc., from best-selling authors, scholars and academics alike. Highly recommended to any book lovers who want an unbeatable deal on content.

[Rosdiana Sidi Davis · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Sad story but it is the best book I've read this year. Recommended ??????????

[Shafiqah Othman · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I did not know what to expect when I started reading this book. It did not take long for me to enter a world where the boundaries of human potential and vulnerability blur. I was unprepared for the profound emotional rollercoaster it would invoked. As I journeyed with Charlie, witnessing his ascent and descent, I felt a mirror being held up to the complexities of our own humanity. I recognised fragments of myself in his joys, his pains, his triumphs, and his tragedies. Not to mention that the subtle shifts in his writing style sent shivers down my spine and a persistent ache in my heart.

Even though it’s quite the short read (I finished it within a day), this book is dense with emotions that it will leave onto its readers. Even now, as I attempt to write down the impact it's had on me, words elude me. There's a heaviness, an indescribable ache in my chest.

[jonbrammer-788089 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Although the story itself is intriguing - what happens to a mentally disabled person who is suddenly given a genius IQ? - the execution is lacking. At no point in this story did Charlie Gordon's plight seem realistic, nor did the stilted dialogue or wishful-thinking relationships with women. What does work about the novel is its depiction of the cruelty experienced by mentally retarded children and adults.

[jean_sexton-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I cannot think about this book without tears in my eyes. Some of that was losing Mom to dementia. Some of it is because this is an excellent book. So bear with me on this. There are lots of emotions tied up with this review.I had read the original 1959 short story years ago. The Hugo-winning story had much of the same impact then, but since it was more compact, perhaps it didn't let me see the rapid decrease in Charlie. The novel, released in 1966, was tied for the Nebula Award in 1967. Now that I have read it, I see why.The book is painful to read. What is friendship, and how do we treat those who are our friends? What is intelligence without compassion? How do we view people who are less fortunate than ourselves? How does envy impact us? How does past abuse affect us? So many questions that the reader is left to ponder. So now, I am mentally putting flowers on Mom's grave. If you haven't read this classic, you must.

[angelalam-300700 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I always had sympathy for Algernon, not knowing someday I would have a son who is a lot like him.

[fionaanne · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A really intresting concept, that a young man with severe retardation can be medically made into a genius. As always, science overreaches itself, although there is no moralizing about the dangers of tampering with nature or god's work. Plenty of good fodder about identity and different kinds of intelligence and the right of retardates (as the book calls them in its marvelously archaic way) to be treated like real people. Plot starts to drag in the middle but otherwise a marvelous read.

[foof2you · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Charlie Gordon a man with a low IQ will have an operation that will make him the smartest man in the world, and then the troubles begin.

[dara85 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Charley, a mentally handicapped young man is given an experimental surgery to improve his intelligence by a recommendation of his teacher. At the same time a mouse, Algernon is given the same surgery. To gage his mental ability, he “races” the mouse in a maze. Before his operation the mouse almost always wins. After the surgery Charley becomes a genius. He realizes how he was taunted and made fun of by other people before his surgery. Charley and his teacher become more involved. After a while, Algernon goes back to the way he was originally and Charley realizes it will happen to him too. This book is what I would classify as a modern classic. This story has been made into a movie twice.

[pilgrimjess · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

"That's the thing about human life....There is no control group, no way to ever know how any of us would have turned out if any variables had been changed."Charlie Gordon is 32 year old man with an IQ of 68 who works as a cleaner at a New York bakery. He’s sweet natured and simple, he likes to make people laugh often unaware that many of the jokes are at his expense. He regularly attends an adult education class taught by the Alice Kinnian because he desperately desires to be 'smart'. When Alice is approached by two scientists, Dr. Strauss and Professor Nemur from Beekman University, looking for the first human subject to undergo experimental surgery to increase human intelligence, she readily recommends Charlie. The technique has already been successfully trialed on a mouse named Algernon and sure enough Charlie’s intelligence steadily begins to increase. However,as Charlie's brain power advances he soon realises that being “smart” is not all he hoped it would be. He soon begins to recall memories of an abusive childhood, becomes aware of how others treat him, and most confusingly finds himself confronted with feelings for Alice he’s not emotionally prepared for. Despite having the body of a man his emotional development is of that of a child.As Charlie begins to remember his childhood and we start to realise that much of his intensive desire to be clever, to please others, his fear of sex stems from there. In fact Charlie feels the need to constantly confront his own past and reveal more about where he came from.Over the course of the book Charlie realises that Straus and Nemur are just men themselves, and his reverence for them and learning gradually fades and he starts to feel contempt for them. Some of this contempt stems from the realisation that many academic studies are narrow and pointless, that its practitioners have an inflated opinion of their work but much of it springs from the realisation that he, like Algernon, is still essentially a laboratory animal.Ultimately as Charlie’s intellect attains genius level he realises a far more terrible truth, this increase in intelligence is only temporary and that both he, and Algernon are doomed to regress back to where they came from.The story is told using first person reports that Charlie makes for the University. Initially these are simple and replete with misspellings and grammatical errors but as Charlie's intellect improves so does his use of language meaning that his style and tone is constantly changing. This I found this initially confusing but soon became aware how clever tool it really was. Whilst Charlie’s dreams featuring his younger, still intellectually disabled self constantly reminds us just where he has come from, his truly horrible experiences at the hands of his mother and sister yet it is written with a sympathy and pathos which is nothing short of amazing. Likewise the author gives us just enough detail about Algernon so that we feel sympathy for him as well.That's not to say that I don't have a few minor gripes as well. Firstly I found the idea that a lack of intellect also means an almost total lack of memory rather patronising despite the fact that it undoubtedly adds to the overall structure of the story. Secondly I felt that some aspects felt a little dated. Firstly the over optimistic belief in the power of subliminal sleep teaching but also whilst the abuse and mistreatment that Charlie suffered sadly do still occur, the institutionalisation of learning disabled people is obviously far less common today but given that the book was first published in 1966 that is quite understandable as is the constant references to retards, a term thankfully no longer used. However, my main problem was with Alice. I was disappointed, both that Alice didn’t try to be a bit more active in helping Charlie, she often disappears for large sections of the book and when she reappears is far too passive. Somehow Alice feels poorly drawn in contrast to Charlie's neighbour and one time lover Faye. The story in without doubt dark yet there are also elements of triumph and humour even if we know that they are pyrrhic. There were some instances in which I thought Keyes perhaps overdid the darkness a little. The book’s ending is simply tragic, Charlie doesn't merely regress intellectually, but becomes a far less likeable person as well. However, I feel that this deserves to be regarded as a modern classic. Despite there being no aliens this is Sci-fi writing at its very best, perhaps an uncomfortable read with its highs and lows but one that I would heartily recommend."Thank God for books and music and things I can think about."

[andorion-259107 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

An extremely poignant look at intelligence, happiness and humanity. The skill of the author in showing the escalating and degrading levels of intelligence of the primary protagonist through his written reports really makes this book. The interpersonal relationships of the protagonist and how they changed throughout was an excellent exploration on how we form our likes and dislikes and how important empathy is in everyday relationships.

[ldvoorberg · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

An interesting look at what it means to be human, how important intellect is, but also how limited it can be. And then with science: how it is limited, biased, and narrow-minded. The professor could only see Charlie as "his" creation, not a human being with feelings both before and after the operation. Charlie's intellect was not enough for him to "join" regular society immediately: he had to develop emotionally, too, which took time, and then he was so intellectual he could not connect with anyone.

This book would pair very nicely with Frankenstein as a literary comparison.

[guide2_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Interesting concept, but drags on a bit and too much about dreams, which as usual I don't really like

[kanikoski · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Contains spoilers. How dumb is too dumb? How smart is too smart? At what level, either way, does intelligence or lack of intelligence become uncomfortable or even threatening to other people and to society? These are among the implicit questions asked in 'Flowers for Algernon', which is a fascinating diary-style sketch of a character who transitions between states of self-awareness and intelligence, going from being a social outsider on account of being mentally retarded, to being a social outsider on account of being a genius. The manner in which these transitions, to and fro, are caused by a medical intervention also raises the ethics of biologically altering a person's mind, especially when it leads to gaining an understanding of one's own mental frailty. There are also overtones of dementia, and the pain and fear inherent in watching oneself deteriorate. The diary format emphasises the awareness of change, and it also adds a linguistic dimension to the process, as the writing illustrates the advance and decline - explicitly stated at times - in terms of ability to spell, use of vocabulary, complexity of grammar, competence in foreign languages, and a whole lot more. The changes in linguistic expression that proceed from the changes in intelligence are the stuff of academic essays, for sure. For once, I feel the sometimes vague adjective 'thought-provoking' is suitably layered as a description of an artfully structured and intriguingly conceived novel.

[csaavedra_894108 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This book is extremely emotional and, while easy to read, it touches very profound themes that make it very dense: the search for the self, our complex bond to family, the unavoidable impact it has on our personality, the search for validation from others.

Definitely recommendable.

[smooody106 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This has stained my brain since reading it in junior high. Amazing story. One of the only books I read again and again.

[bons_11 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is not a listen to book. You must read this book to get the full affect. It makes one think with their heart.

[buffalogr · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This a novel about Charlie Gordon, a young man who is mentality and emotionally retarded. He undergoes an operation that temporarily increases his IQ and enhances his vision of the world. The book has three main themes:: happiness, true friendship and intelligence. I was impressed that the author enabled all three in a person --just like all of the rest of us.

[keiffer-11 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

"Everyone builds on other men's failures." This is my favorite quote from "Flowers for Algernon" by Daniel Keyes. This was a read again novel. I first read this book in 8th or 9th grade, but didn't appreciate it as much as I did now.

"Flowers for Algernon" by Daniel Keyes, is a novel about Charlie Gordon, a young man who is mentality and emotionally stunned. Then an experimental surgery with a lab mouse name Algernon, gives Charlie the hope to be more normal. Everything seems to go well after the surgery. Charlie and Algernon are suppressing the Scientists goals until one day when Charlie realizes that his new found intelligence is becoming more of a problem than before he had the surgery. "The more intelligent you become the more problems you'll have Charlie. Your intellectual growth is going to outstrip your emotional growth." The only problem with the operation was that the Scientists never measured the emotional growth in Algernon. Soon Charlie realizes that in order to be like everyone else, not only does he have to be intellectually, but also emotionally as well.

Algernon passes away, but before he does he shows Charlie what will happen to him. After a while (no real time frame given) Algernon starts to show a decline in his mental abilities. He begins to lash out, unable to figure out the maze and/or activities without getting frustrated and having a temper. Charlie has to the rest of living like everyone else before he begins his mental decline. Once the misplacing items, temper flare ups start, Charlie knows it's a matter of time until he goes back to how he was before the surgery.

Charlie shows Algernon that it doesn't take someone with high intelligent to treat anyone with love and respect. It is Charlie who sees that they are on display for everyone to see. It is after Algernon dies that Charlie takes upon his self to bury Algernon in a grave instead of being place in the lab's inferno. Even after Charlie loses his intelligence, he still remembers the one who helped him become like everyone else, even for a short while.

[infjsarah · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I enjoyed this a lot. It may be over 50 years old as a story but it still asks uncomfortable questions about our reaction to extremes of intelligence whether low or very high. And so sad - the last line just gets you.

[dele2451 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The school I attended wouldn't allow me to read this book way back when it was published so I decided to read it this year for Banned Books Week. Very glad I finally got to it. Possibly even more relevant today than it was back then and I'm sure I appreciate it more. Definitely a recommended read, but grab a tissue before you start.

[cathyskye · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I still seem to be going through a phase of reading the books some of my favorite films were based upon. It's always interesting to me to see what the filmmakers changed in order to tell their own versions of the story.I've watched two different film adaptations of this book: 1968's Charly, starring Cliff Robertson (who won an Academy Award for his performance in the title role), and 2000's Flowers for Algernon, starring Matthew Modine.Both films opted to make a kinder, gentler version of Daniel Keyes' book.The book is written as a series of progress reports, and they provide a vivid picture of Charlie's mental and emotional intelligence. The sections in which Charlie was mentally challenged were literally painful for me to read because my eyes simply did not want to translate so many misspelled words. This reaction did surprise me, and I was certainly glad when Charlie's reports began to improve post-surgery.I think the thing that surprised me the most in a comparison between the book and the movies was Charlie's anger. Post-surgery, Charlie realizes that all his good friends at the bakery, all those guys he had so many laughs with, were really making fun of him all along. Charlie's past has also been hiding some extremely painful episodes. And as his intelligence increases to genius level, he becomes very impatient with everyone around him because they can't keep up. Obviously, the filmmakers decided that much of this (understandable) anger could not be shown because it could jeopardize audience sympathy for the character.Since the book is written as a series of progress reports, the tone often seems very dispassionate, as if I were being kept at a distance. I'm not sure if I care for this or not. What I do know is that I'm glad I read Daniel Keyes' book. I feel as if I really know Charlie Gordon now, and even though I may have a sentimental preference for the movies, I like him just as much now as I did before. Daniel Keyes created a marvelous character study in which he proves that emotional intelligence is every bit as important as mental intelligence.

[ecataldi-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This book didn't make me cry (although it came close), but it was very sad, emotional, and raw. It won major science fiction awards, but to me it's more literary - it's so human! Charlie Gordon isn't very smart... he has a severely low IQ and as a product of his time, was often referred to as retarded. His story is told through a series of journal entries (or progress reports) about his life cleaning in a bakery, attending classes for the mentally challenged, and the prospect of an experimental surgery that will make him smart. He's 32 and all he want in life is to be well liked, he figures if he can get smart he will be able to achieve that and so much more. The scientists have already operated successfully on a mouse named Algernon, and they seem fairly confident that the same results will apply to Charlie. He happily allows them to operate on his brain and is initially frustrated because he doesn't perceive anything as happening, but slowly his mind starts expanding and his entries become more and more eloquent and hopeful, until one day ... they aren't hopeful and happy anymore. Groundbreaking and wonderfully believable. Charlie's journey from "dumb" to "smart" is a revelation and brilliantly told. I loved this book even though it made me an emotional wreck.

[xiaomarlo · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Excellent -- heartbreaking, thought-provoking. Easy to see why it's a classic.

[zoes_human · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

... and that's how I ended up crying in the park and reassuring the police that I was fine, only, it was a very good book.

[moniica_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Synopsis: Born with an exceptionally low IQ, Charlie Gordon is selected for a surgery only once before performed on a mouse, 'Algernon' to raise his IQ. Written in epistolary form (i.e. diary entries), the book starts out with Charlie when he is retarded and as readers we gain an insight into his life where he is (unbeknownst to him) bullied by his colleagues. After the experiment, the relationship he has with the people around him changes, despite them not knowing about the experiment. However, Algernon the mouse, starts to deteriorate. What will happen to Charlie? My Opinion: Wow - what a read! It is a rather emotional read given his abusive mum and the bullying he endures throughout his life. When his IQ surpasses that of the Doctors who are experimenting on him, Charlie revisits and reflects on his life when he was retarded, even visiting his mother who ostrasized him when he was young The three main themes I gathered from the book were: happiness, true friendship and intelligence. All three themes are played upon and developed throughout the book.This book will stay with me for a while.

[antao-3 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

(Original Review, 1980-09-17)Fall from grace? I didn't interpret the book/story at all like ICL.REDFORD@SCORE did. I don't think Keyes intended it to appeal to anti-scientific types either. Other than conveying a sense of what makes up the 'guts of intellect', the book is merely trying to get across the notions that intellectual achievement is useless without compassion and that some scientific methods applied to human subjects are immoral at best, which are obviously true. To take this as an indictment of all science is going far beyond what I feel Keyes intended; however, I'm afraid that many readers did take it this way. As far as the 'treatment of the human condition' is concerned, it is obvious that anything that SF produces which could be considered as warranting study in schools would have to treat the human psyche in some way. A complicated story about gadgets just doesn't fill the bill. I've come across remarkably few full-blown studies of human emotions in SF. More often than not, the author catapults himself into another world and spends the majority of the book creating new characters, more scenery and the like, with a liberal sprinkling of gadgets. Also, the standard SF device of 'creating wonder' doesn't fill the bill either. There's only so much wonder that one can stomach. The Algernon story struck me as one of the better psychological studies I've read, SF or otherwise. I agree that the endless re-hashing of a story into multiple media is pointless.Daniel Keyes was not a total outsider to SF, only almost. He did write some other things, I saw them mentioned last time I read "Flowers for Algernon". I think it was in "Space Mail" that I saw the mention of other works. There are a number of other authors who have been "forgotten" except for one work. Consider Walter Miller, Jr. and "Canticle for Leibowitz", Stanley G. Weinbaum and "A Martian Odyssey", or even Edgar Pangborn. These were not outsiders but I would bet that most people can't name more than one work by these people. Keyes wasn't an outsider, he just wasn't prolific. He may also have found other ways to occupy his time, he wouldn't be the first. The whole "Flowers for Algernon" thing is a depressing reminder of how closed SF is. Can anyone remember anything else that Daniel Keyes ever wrote? As far as I know he was a complete outsider and yet his one sf short story became a book, a play, a movie, and now a musical.The only one of us who went anywhere near that far was Arthur C. Clarke, and he was largely carried along by Stanley Kubrick. And what are easily the most widely taught SF books in high school and college? "1984" and "Brave New World". Why is this? Because they tell us something about the human condition, to use that favorite phrase of language teachers. In Charlie's fall from genius to idiot Keyes found a good modern way of telling the fall from grace, and so touched people who care nothing for science or the future. Does Ringworld have anything as universal? Or "Dune" with its melodramatic intrigue and bogus ecology? I would say that a story like Tom Godwin's "The Cold Equations" does, or LeGuin's "The Dispossessed". They'll be remembered when Asimov and Heinlein are as archaic as Verne.SF = Speculative Fiction.

[akblanchard_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The classic story about a "feeble-minded" man who temporarily becomes a genius only to lose his intellectual gains holds up well over fifty years after its initial publication. Charlie's narrative voice is so well developed that there were times when I forgot that this is not a true story and he isn't a real person. This novel deserves all of the accolades it has received. Highly recommended.