Flowers for Algernon: Student Edition

By Daniel Keyes

Winner of both the Hugo and Nebula Awards, this powerful, classic science fiction story is 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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title pagetitle page

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

[Silvana Savoini · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Beautiful reading, heart warming. Eye-opener on matters of the soul, the mind, the human experience, our use of knowledge and resources, and the morals of science. Totally recommended

[Sofija Eitutytė · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

One of the best books I've read. I'm devastated, but I loved every second of it.

[blintnatc · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

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[Susan Holley Edmonds · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Amazing book. Amazing. It kept me turning pages until the end.

[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 · 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.

[kaethe_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The English teachers at my very small school for 5th-7th grades, were in the happy position to assign whatever reading they wanted, as long as it was available in a mass market edition. This was assigned to some higher grade, but it was around, so I read it. Yes, children, back in the last quarter of the 20th century, new titles were so rare I voluntarily read known textbooks.

After all this time I recall that there was a scientist, and Charlie, and a love interest who may have been Charley's teacher, and a lab mouse, Algernon. Oh, the heartbreaking tragedy of it all.

Forty-five or so years on, working in medical research for most of the past 30 years, I am afraid to reexamine too closely the book or even my memory of it, lest I suffer apoplexy. It could be that Keyes didn't worry about being strictly accurate about medical research of the time, or he might have faithfully depicted the standards of the time in which he wrote: the Tuckeegee "experiment" continued into the 70s after all. Regardless, I am well trained enough to shudder in retrospective horror at the ethical lapses suggested by my recollection.

Thank you to all the people serving on institutional review boards, and please keep up the good work.

Borrowed copy

[sharonmariabidwell · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

t’s easy to see why this is a classic. The story is as poignant today as when written, making even the least bigoted reader look at the issues of those with mental or physical ailments anew. The way people question Charlie’s worth by his level of intelligence is as important today as it’s ever been. Maybe more so, because now we truly should know better. I wasn’t sure I was going to enjoy this book, but am pleased to say I ended up loving it. An amazing novel, one that touches the heart and is well worth shedding a few tears for at the end.

[amarillothearmadillo · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Truly a life-changing book.

[sandman61961 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Algernon is a mouse…but this isn’t really his story. It is Charlie Gordon’s.

I had heard of Flowers for Algernon. I had no idea of the characters or the plot. I did know that it was a Nebula Award winning novel and that meant science fiction. The book was bought for my birthday as a surprise; it was essentially a ‘lucky dip’ from Topping Bookshop in Bath.

Daniel Keyes’ book has one of those premises which is both simple-it’s amazing that nobody thought of it before-and yet so profound you could write entire theses about it from many different perspectives.

Charlie is a man with an IQ of 68 working as a cleaner in a New York bakery. He has a pleasant nature and is ‘simple’, he likes to make people laugh. Unfortunately he is often unaware that the laughter is aimed at him because of the mockery of those around him.

Charlie wants, above anything else, to be smart. He attends classes taught by Alice Kinnian where he has struggled to learn to read and write.
Two scientists at Beacon university, Dr. Strauss and Professor Nemur are developing an experimental procedure to increase people’s intelligence, Alice suggests Charlie might be their first human subject due to his overwhelming desire to learn.

The technique has already been tried on a mouse named Algernon, and has been successful.

Following the procedure, like Algernon, Charlie’s intelligence begins to increase. As Charlie wrestles with his rising brain power, he soon starts to realise that being “smart” is not all he hoped it would be.

A side effect of the improvements is the increasing recall of memories from an abusive childhood. He also becomes aware of how others around him treat him, and what’s more, finds himself confronted with feelings for Alice he’s not emotionally prepared to deal with. His intellectual growth has outstripped the rate of his emotional growth. To a degree he has become two people: the exceptional and the emotionally immature in the same mind. Charlie has insight into this but is unable to reconcile these. These two personalities lead to internal conflict and profound anxiety attacks.

Eventually, as Charlie’s intellect approaches genius status he begins to realise a far more terrible truth…Algernon begins to demonstrate signs of regression. In his genius state Charlie works out that his increase in intelligence is only temporary and that eventually both he, and Algernon are doomed to regress back to where they came from.

The book is told in first person through Charlie’s Progress reports. As the book begins with Charlie’s naively simple perspective; including misspellings and misconceptions, it takes a few pages to get your bearings.

The whole story has an element of tragedy akin to Frankenstein or the Invisible Man and many other stories of interference with nature. Good intentions going awry. It always ends in tears…

The book’s ending is simply tragic.

It’s a well written, well paced story with a lot to think about. It also has a sign of its times that dates it a little, but not so much as to be a detriment to the narrative or the themes.

An enjoyable, sometimes amusing, sometimes sad, and thought provoking read.

[craiggoodwin-154015 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A moving and thought-provoking novel that I enjoyed enormously.
This is a beautifully written first person narrative of Charlie's journey and the trials and tribulations along the way.
I had saved this book until I was really in the mood and it was worth the wait.

[radiojen · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This is a fantastic book! I first read it as a teenager. I've since recommended it to my daughter. If you've ever seen the movie "Charley," it's based on this book...about a mentally retarded man who becomes smart...and how it changes him and the people around him. Very well written.

[iansales_1 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Read: Flowers for Algernon, Daniel F Keyes

This seems to be one of those science fiction novels most people know about, even if they haven’t actually read it. Perhaps because it was adapted into a movie in 1968, Charly. But I suspect it’s more because its central premise is one that resonates - although it hasn’t been used all that often, I think (the only other example that comes to mind is Thomas M Disch’s Camp Concentration). The Algernon of the title is a mouse whose intelligence has been artificially boosted through surgery and drugs. The experimenters get permission to use the same technique on a human being, a man called Charlie Gordon who has an IQ below 70. The experiment is a success and Charlie develops into a genius. Unfortunately, as Charlie soon discovers himself, the effect is not permanent. The novel is told through Charlie’s journal entries, initially childish and misspelt and ungrammatical, but becoming analytical and introspective and dropping references to the genius level things Charlie is now capable of doing. The novel is an expansion of a short story, initially published in 1959, but didn’t itself appear until 1966. It is clearly set in the 1950s - lots of mentions of cafeterias, for example (thankfully no mention of hats) - and while it could at a stretch take place in the present day, at one point genius Charlie visits a home for the mentally impaired, where he also briefly lived before the experiment, and the home has thousands of patients, a number I found somewhat boggling. I admit the basics of the story are affecting, but its setting, and its sensibilities, reminded me far too much of JD Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye, a book I studied at school and hated. I can see why Flowers for Algernon has such a high profile - it’s one of a handful of US science fiction novels to have been taught in US schools - but it’s still an historical document and I suspect it’s better regarded as not a science fiction novel.

[weeturtle · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I've heard a few statements about how intelligence doesn't always go along with happiness. This book beautifully explains why.

It opens with a very choppy, phonetic narrative style that represents the early reports of a man (Charlie) about to undergo an experiment to increase his intelligence. The text alters as the experiment takes affect, and we see the changes happening in Charlie's perspective and character.

I'm not sure how much more I can really say without risking spoiling things. I read this book because my father suggested it to me and it's also on the "staff's choice" shelf at my local indie bookstore. It's not a long book, and well worth the read, but it is sad in ways. Fair warning.

[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.

[zare_3 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

It is said greatest punishment in life is to have and lose. And I tend to agree with it. Loss is something that makes life difficult to a degree and if we cannot handle it then life gets very dark place.

For me this book strikes at two targets:

(a) Situation in which one reaches full potential in a short time span, and then loses it in the same rapid way and drops down to the levels where person is no longer able to figure out what did it actually lose (to make the tragedy even greater). This is what happens to Charlie. While his flight upward is very fast so is coming to terms with himself very difficult. And when he finally finds his place in the world he becomes aware he is to fall down with a helluva thud. And worse thing is - he wont even remember what he achieved and where did he fall from. To some this loss of oneself might seem weird and if that is the case I can only say, all the power to you , you never got dead drunk. That feeling of puzzlement, what happened situation is the greatest horror there is. Imagine losing almost all information related to few hours when you were drinking. Now apply it to Charlie who is losing tortuously slow (so he is aware of it) actual pieces of himself - horror indeed. Everything Charlie could be gets lost as time passes by, without any chance of recovery.

(b) Intellect is something that is treasured very much in our world. It is important but more important thing is human contact. What value is great intellectual force and ability if one sees all around him as strangers and starts treating them as objects? None. Human contact is what makes us humans and without this component life becomes only apathetic existence.

Both things strike even harder in last few years where old saying "homo homini lupus est" proved to be more rule than exception (like one would expect during conflicts). Level of hate and smugness present in people from the same area, and enforced by constant gaslighting, is incredible and causes division greater than it would be possible otherwise....ever...in history of the world. I have a feeling entire society is falling towards (under)ground level while losing even awareness of greatness it once stood on.

We follow Charlie from his rise from bottom to top of intellectual achievement only to find himself alone on that desolate peak because he just cannot establish human connections with anyone. He soon comes to terms that others are afraid of him (after all they knew him before the change, and feeling that some is intellectually below someone gives rise to fear and resentment). For the first time Charlie sees clearly how he was treated by people around him and this angers him. He was constantly ridiculed and this causes rage to seep out of him. But as time goes by he comes to conclusion that while kids jokes might have been very raw (as children's cruelty can often be) and people were often making jokes on his account, it was just the way people were coping with his condition and their inner fears when communicating with him - scenes with his mother and sister were truly heartbreaking. As he starts falling down and losing one bit of himself at the time he ends where he started, everything he achieved lost. All, except perhaps Charlie's ever optimistic view of the world that made his life bearable in the first place (thankfulness to be able even for a short span to live normal life, silver lining of sorts?)...... Tragedy.

Excellent book, not so much SF as a true human drama. Recommended.

Merged review:

It is said greatest punishment in life is to have and lose. And I tend to agree with it. Loss is something that makes life difficult to a degree and if we cannot handle it then life gets very dark place.

For me this book strikes at two targets:

(a) Situation in which one reaches full potential in a short time span, and then loses it in the same rapid way and drops down to the levels where person is no longer able to figure out what did it actually lose (to make the tragedy even greater). This is what happens to Charlie. While his flight upward is very fast so is coming to terms with himself very difficult. And when he finally finds his place in the world he becomes aware he is to fall down with a helluva thud. And worse thing is - he wont even remember what he achieved and where did he fall from. To some this loss of oneself might seem weird and if that is the case I can only say, all the power to you , you never got dead drunk. That feeling of puzzlement, what happened situation is the greatest horror there is. Imagine losing almost all information related to few hours when you were drinking. Now apply it to Charlie who is losing tortuously slow (so he is aware of it) actual pieces of himself - horror indeed. Everything Charlie could be gets lost as time passes by, without any chance of recovery.

(b) Intellect is something that is treasured very much in our world. It is important but more important thing is human contact. What value is great intellectual force and ability if one sees all around him as strangers and starts treating them as objects? None. Human contact is what makes us humans and without this component life becomes only apathetic existence.

Both things strike even harder in last few years where old saying "homo homini lupus est" proved to be more rule than exception (like one would expect during conflicts). Level of hate and smugness present in people from the same area, and enforced by constant gaslighting, is incredible and causes division greater than it would be possible otherwise....ever...in history of the world. I have a feeling entire society is falling towards (under)ground level while losing even awareness of greatness it once stood on.

We follow Charlie from his rise from bottom to top of intellectual achievement only to find himself alone on that desolate peak because he just cannot establish human connections with anyone. He soon comes to terms that others are afraid of him (after all they knew him before the change, and feeling that some is intellectually below someone gives rise to fear and resentment). For the first time Charlie sees clearly how he was treated by people around him and this angers him. He was constantly ridiculed and this causes rage to seep out of him. But as time goes by he comes to conclusion that while kids jokes might have been very raw (as children's cruelty can often be) and people were often making jokes on his account, it was just the way people were coping with his condition and their inner fears when communicating with him - scenes with his mother and sister were truly heartbreaking. As he starts falling down and losing one bit of himself at the time he ends where he started, everything he achieved lost. All, except perhaps Charlie's ever optimistic view of the world that made his life bearable in the first place (thankfulness to be able even for a short span to live normal life, silver lining of sorts?)...... Tragedy.

Excellent book, not so much SF as a true human drama. Recommended.

[icallithunger · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Other than a few problems with the way this book it's written, I really enjoyed it and will recommend it in the future.

Charlie is an interesting protagonist that seems, at times, close to being one of numerous archetypes seen elsewhere (the bubbly comedic relief, the self-tortured artist, the antisocial genius) and yet manages to never fall into one of those categories, he's layered and that makes him seem real.

[Sekhmet · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Charlie Gordon is a man with an intellectual disability who undergoes an experiment to increase his intelligence. Flowers for Algernon is a novel with a touching story and a powerful message that invites reflection on where intelligence begins and ends, and where happiness begins and ends. (Translated from Spanish)

[Cesar61 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

What can be said or reviewed about this beautiful story, which brings tears to your eyes, that hasn't already been said in the excellent reviews reflected on Alibrate?

Whenever I finish reading a good book, I say the same thing—it's one of the best I've read—and in this latest one, I would be at a loss for words; I would fall short. Let's just say, if more than 5 stars were possible, I would give them without hesitation.

Charlie Gordon captivates you; with mental deficiencies, he volunteers for an operation to become normal, no, to become smarter according to the scientists. But sometimes life, becoming smarter through the experiment, doesn’t make you any happier, and Charlie notices this in a short time.

Reviewing more would be too much of a spoiler.

An overwhelmingly emotional work.

P.S. Book recommended by my friend @mamencv, with whom I had the chance to share the reading. (Translated from Spanish)

[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.

[soniabi · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

LOGBOOK: 04/13/2024
How our IQ influences our perception and conception of the world.

The argument is simple: a man with intellectual disabilities is subjected to an experiment to make him intelligent. And the experiment initially works.

There are many reviews of this book praising all its wonders, and although I found it an interesting read, I will not reiterate its virtues, so I will talk about something else.

One perspective that arises from the book is the following: before the operation, Charlie has many "friends" and is happy, but when he becomes intelligent, he feels more alone. Personally, the idea of being happy in ignorance does not appeal to me at all; I may be a masochist, but I prefer to suffer in knowledge.

I consider the type of chosen family to be an unnecessary dramatization. There may be naturalized parents in the world like Charlie's, but the reality of "normal" parents is already quite dramatic. Their main task is to care for their children and educate them so that when they are gone, their children can survive. When a child suffers from an incurable and debilitating illness, it is a nightmare, not only because of the illness itself but also because of the uncertainty of what will happen in the future, who will take care of them. I believe that would have been more interesting. (Translated from Spanish)

[Pike Bishop · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Flowers for Algernon (1966). Almost half a century ago, I read this title in the credits of a film adaptation (Charly - 1968), and it stuck with me. A few days ago, I saw the title of the novel translated into Spanish again, read some comments, and began my reading.

An epistolary novel in which the protagonist, who is a mentally disabled man chosen for an experimental brain operation that will endow him with intelligence, writes as progress reports that go from March 3 to November 21 of an unnamed and indefinite year. During this time frame, a poor 32-year-old man named Charlie Gordon progresses from mental disability with an IQ of 70 to an IQ of 185 that allows him to speak and write in 20 languages, only to later regress and return to his original state.

Throughout, Charlie Gordon experiences sex, love, hate, social climbing, disloyalty, uncertainty about the future, discrimination for being different, extreme violence, and the hate and disloyalty of parents and friends, especially from his mother, for being different, for being a disabled person.

As Charlie writes his reports, his evolution is noticeable: from prose riddled with errors to complex, intimate prose that recounts every blow received, of which there were many.

Keyes employs a refined narrative technique that shifts from the first person to changes in narrator without the reader feeling it, narrating certain situations in the third person with an omniscient narrator, which allows for the depersonalization of the narrative and gives it objectivity.

The story is harsh because mental disability is a critical situation that affects not only the patient but also their surroundings: the reactions range from overwhelming love to equally overwhelming contempt or hatred.

Keyes was a psychologist and accurately narrates all the psychological drama and the quest for a space for individuals with mental disabilities.

The novel concludes with this tender phrase:

"P.S. please if you get a chance put some flowers on Algernon's grave in the back yard."

"P.S. please if you can put some flowers on Algernon's grave in the backyard."

Algernon, a laboratory mouse, was Charlie's companion on this journey, who also underwent a brain operation.

I refer to a comment from @marenpergamino about this novel that spurred me to read it. (Translated from Spanish)

[Pablo's · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

One of the best books I've read so far, if not the best. I have been moved and cried with some books, especially those with homosexual themes, but this one takes the cake. It grips the heart and doesn’t return it the same way.
The protagonist is Charlie, who has an intellectual disability and is happy in his little world, but he has a desire to be smarter in order to be more loved and accepted by others. He takes classes to learn to read and write to achieve his goal. Through his teacher, he gets involved in a scientific research study where they assure him that through an operation he will become more intelligent.
After the operation, and while in the lab alongside another guinea pig, they will see the advances of the operation.
But what will matter most are his own reactions as he realizes the treatment he received before and what he will receive after his intelligence surpasses that of others. And the transformations that occur within him.
A highly recommended book, and thanks to the author for writing this book, and to @marenpergamino for recommending it to me. It never fails. (Translated from Spanish)

[marenpergamino · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

It's been a long time since I cried so much over a book??? and let me tell you, I'm an easy crier...but this one dehydrated me?. While it's true that it resonates with me for personal reasons, the truth is I cried so much because "Flowers for Algernon" is one of the most accomplished books I've read in a long time?.

It perfectly conveys all the harm that the intolerance of a society can cause to someone who doesn't fit into the parameters of perfection.

The protagonist of this book is Charlie Gordon...a man with a severe mental disability who one day undergoes an experiment: they are going to surgically increase his intellect. The operation is a "success" and Charlie gets what he always wanted. Or maybe not?...
I will be honest...I'm trying to write a decent review. But it's very difficult for me to be rational when a book sensitizes me in this way?. I wish I could better describe the unease and infinite sadness I felt for Charlie when he began to discover the disdain and humiliations he had suffered all his life...the fear of being beaten if he didn't learn, the terror of mockery, of being alone, of not being loved...the book has thousands of other things, but what destroyed me was the visceral terror of punishment and the subsequent urgency that Charlie felt to please everyone so that they would love him ?.

In addition to this...the author tangentially touches on a topic that I truly detest: animal experimentation. Algernon is a little mouse that goes through the same operation as Charlie. And I know that this may not be the author's main objective, but the relationship between Charlie and Algernon throughout the book demonstrates what a "test subject" suffers. Whether it is a defenseless little creature or a mentally disabled person.

It exposes the apathy we men feel towards all those we consider "expendable" and shows us how in the name of progress, we take advantage of defenseless beings who never harmed anyone?. I hate with all my soul that horrible phrase that so many scientists use as a crutch: "the end justifies the means." Well, no. The damn end never justifies torturing vulnerable beings. And I don't care about discoveries, vaccines, or technical advancements. Because...do we really progress? I believe that every day we regress more. And that all those systematic killings of animals that have taken place and continue to take place in laboratories have not prevented us from being closer to extinction every day. And you know what? We deserve it. Humans are a detestable, arrogant species that should work much harder on our ethics and tolerance instead of playing God with all those who cannot defend themselves.

Buuuut, putting aside my emotional vomit, I want you to know that the book is a masterpiece that even at the narrative level manages to capture the protagonist's evolution: the more pages you turn, the better Charlie writes and the deeper his reflections become.
Intelligent and heartfelt, it is one of those stories that becomes...unforgettable. ??
P.S.: "Flowers for Algernon" was originally a short story that won a Hugo Award. It later became a novel that won the "Nebula." It has 2 adaptations and some parodies, like the one from The Simpsons (Homer becomes intelligent) or a cartoon my kids watched "Gravity Falls" (Mabel's pig, "Waddles," becomes a rational being). (Translated from Spanish)

[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.