Flowers for Algernon

by Daniel Keyes

Flowers for Algernon is a book by Daniel Keyes. It is the story of a mentally disabled man whose experimental quest for intelligence mirrors that of Algernon, an extraordinary lab mouse. In diary entries, Charlie tells how a brain operation increases his IQ and changes his life. As the experimental procedure takes effect, Charlie's intelligence expands until it surpasses that of the doctors who engineered his metamorphosis. The experiment seems to be a scientific breakthrough of paramount importance until Algernon begins his sudden, unexpected deterioration. Will the same happen to Charlie?

Review by Emily May on Goodreads

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‘‘I am finding it hard to put into words the vast range of emotions I experienced while reading this tale of hope, perseverance, truth and humanity. When it comes to science fiction in general, I would hesitate before declaring myself a fan. The books I have enjoyed most from this genre tend to be the softer, more humanity-focused stories. Like this one. I'm a huge fan of science fiction that doesn't seem too far away; something that I could imagine being just around the corner - and that's how I felt about Flowers for Algernon. [...] Flowers for Algernon looks at so many different things: mental disabilities, human nature, intelligence and love. It made me feel sad, angry, frustrated and hopeful. It made me shake my head at people's abhorrent behaviour, and it made me incredibly thankful for so many things-- I know how cliche that sounds but it's true. Even though Charlie's intelligence grows to beyond that of a normal human, he is emotionally still very much a child and has to learn the things other people learned long ago. He doesn't understand what is happening when his body becomes sexually responsive to a woman and he often doesn't understand why people say one thing but mean something completely different. It's a very sad story and it made me think about so many things. The ending just about broke my heart.’’

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