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Flowers for Algernon - Daniel Keyes
Flowers for Algernon
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Daniel Keyes wrote little SF but is highly regarded for one classic, Flowers for Algernon. As a 1959 novella it won a Hugo award; the 1966 novel-length expansion won a Nebula. The Oscar-winning movie adaptation Charly (1968) also spawned a 1980 Broadway musical.Following his doctor's... show more
Daniel Keyes wrote little SF but is highly regarded for one classic, Flowers for Algernon. As a 1959 novella it won a Hugo award; the 1966 novel-length expansion won a Nebula. The Oscar-winning movie adaptation Charly (1968) also spawned a 1980 Broadway musical.Following his doctor's instructions, engaging simpleton Charlie Gordon tells his own story in a semi-literate "progris riports". He dimly wants to better himself but with an IQ of 68 can't even beat the laboratory mouse Algernon at maze-solving: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.Algernon is extra-clever thanks to an experimental brain operation so far tried only on animals. Charlie eagerly volunteers as the first human subject. After frustrating delays and agonies of concentration, the effects begin to show and the reports steadily improve: "Punctuation, is fun!" But getting smarter brings cruel shocks, as Charlie realises that his merry "friends" at the bakery where he sweeps the floor have all along been laughing at him, never with him. The IQ rise continues, taking him steadily past the human average to genius level and beyond, until he's as intellectually alone as the old, foolish Charlie ever was--and now painfully aware of it. Then, ominously, the smart mouse Algernon begins to deteriorate ... A timeless tear-jerker with a terrific emotional impact, Flowers for Algernon is the 25th choice in the millennium SF Masterworks series. --David Langford
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ISBN: 9780330020947 (0330020943)
Publisher: Pan
Pages no: 238
Edition language: English
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Community Reviews
Musings/Träumereien/Devaneios
Musings/Träumereien/Devaneios rated it
4.0 Fall from Grace: "Flowers for Algernon" by Daniel Keyes
(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...
Hipster Ariel's Literary Grotto
Hipster Ariel's Literary Grotto rated it
4.0 I Don't Know If It Was Supposed To, But I Was Left Horrified
I'm a neurodiverse person and, while I have fantasized about understanding others with some scientific procedure, I've always said I wouldn't change my position for the world. This book solidifies it. Just as a heads up for anyone, I do use the "r" word in the following paragraph, and I cover a lot ...
My Book Blog
My Book Blog rated it
4.0 The Relation Between "Flowers for Algernon" and "All Summer in a Day"
Desire, it controls us in many ways. It has even led people to go to war with each other for wanting land a power. In “Flowers for Algernon” Charlie Gordon a 32 year old has a desire to become intelligent. He undergoes surgery to enhance his intelligence. In “All Summer in a Day” Margot’s classmate...
theguywhoreads
theguywhoreads rated it
4.0 A Classic Meant To Be Read By Everyone.
There are books that are recommended its a must read before we die. Flowers for Algernon is one of those books everyone should read. When I pick this up, I never thought it would change the way I view how people are in their own state through a perspective of intelligence. This truly change my way o...
Reading is my ESCAPE from Reality!
Reading is my ESCAPE from Reality! rated it
3.0 What if an operation could make you a genius?
Well, I finished. The book was fascinating. To see the changes in Charlie as he goes from being intellectually disabled with an IQ of around 70, to a genius. His different emotions and experiences are portrayed beautifully by the author. As a reader, we see the changes in the language Charlie uses i...
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