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Flowers for Algernon
by Daniel Keyes
A classic novel read through the eyes of a mentally challenged character.
Flowers for Algernon is composed entirely of progress reports written by Charlie Gordon, the story’s protagonist. Thirty-two years old at the beginning of the novel, Charlie is mentally retarded and chosen by a team of scientists to undergo a corrective experimental surgery. He works at a bakery in New York City where he is teased and taunted by his coworkers daily, but he does not realize it. Instead, Charlie believes that they are his friends. Before the surgery takes place, he is instructed to complete a set of tests, including a maze-solving competition with a mouse. The mouse is named Algernon and he has already received the surgery that will be performed on Charlie.
After the operation is completed, Charlie is at first disappointed when he doesn’t see immediate improvement, but over time, he begins to improve. In addition to gaining intelligence, he also regains painful memories of his childhood. As he grows mentally, Charlie finds himself attracted to his teacher, Alice, who feels the same but refuses to alter their teacher-student relationship. His life continues to change in ways he did not anticipate as he regains intelligence. When he is taken to a scientific convention he is made to feel like a lab rat. He flees, and taking Algernon with him, back to New York he goes. There Charlie is able to start life over as a normal man, with no admission of his past. But when Algernon’s behavior becomes erratic and it is clear that his intelligence is slipping away, Charlie fears the same thing will happen to him.
Originally published as a novelette in a 1959 magazine, Flowers for Algernon was later expanded into a full-length novel and is often used in schools as required reading. Winner of a Hugo Award for best short fiction, and any student required to read it should feel lucky. It is an amazing story.
Title: Flowers for Algernon
Author: Daniel Keyes
Publisher: Bantam
ISBN: 0553274503
Review written by: Jennifer Kneisley
Reviewer's Rating:10
Reader's Rating: 0
Reader's Votes: 0
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