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lauramor's review against another edition
5.0
I’ve been crying for the past half hour. That last line destroyed me.
kathymurphy's review against another edition
4.0
Such a great story told from the viewpoint of Charlie Gordon, a developmentally delayed man who participated in an experiment to see if his intelligence could be increased.
wanii26's review against another edition
challenging
informative
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
mangotangochick's review against another edition
5.0
I don't usually enjoy sci-fi, but this was such a touching book and I loved seeing Algernon uncover the past.
fromotterspace's review against another edition
5.0
I'll write a review for this. I just gotta...I just gotta get this thing outta my eye first.
kadyburns's review against another edition
4.0
Absolutely phenomenal. I can't believe I hadn't read it until now. Don't really want to give anything away and I went in blind myself and I am so glad I did.
Merged review:
Absolutely phenomenal. I can't believe I hadn't read it until now. Don't really want to give anything away and I went in blind myself and I am so glad I did.
Merged review:
Absolutely phenomenal. I can't believe I hadn't read it until now. Don't really want to give anything away and I went in blind myself and I am so glad I did.
alongapath's review against another edition
4.0
This was a fun romp into the almost sci-fi world. Charlie Gordon is a special-needs adult who desperately wants to be smart and has an opportunity to have a leading-edge brain surgery to increase his I.Q. The surgery has been successful in mice, especially in one named Algernon, and the changes in Charlie are similar and immediate.
Told through his Progress Reports, we see advances in Charlie's grammar and writing and he quickly surpasses the intelligence of the doctors and professors who are monitoring him. He absorbs knowledge, languages and complex theories at such an amazing rate that he is suddenly in a world of his own at the other end of the I.Q. scale. One area that seems untouched by the surgery is his understanding of human relationships and he fumbles along with feelings of love, lust and compassion.
He is appalled at how his medical team view him as a subject who had nothing before the intervention. He is able to remember childhood situations and conversations with amazing attention to detail and painfully realises that he has known more all along than anyone guessed. In the height of his brilliance, Charlie discovers a fatal flaw in his team's research and he begins to observe the quick deterioration of Algernon. Knowing what his own fate will bring, he madly tries to prepare for the new unknown as he slides back to his former self.
I was so surprised to see that this was written in 1966. It is timeless and powerful.
Told through his Progress Reports, we see advances in Charlie's grammar and writing and he quickly surpasses the intelligence of the doctors and professors who are monitoring him. He absorbs knowledge, languages and complex theories at such an amazing rate that he is suddenly in a world of his own at the other end of the I.Q. scale. One area that seems untouched by the surgery is his understanding of human relationships and he fumbles along with feelings of love, lust and compassion.
He is appalled at how his medical team view him as a subject who had nothing before the intervention. He is able to remember childhood situations and conversations with amazing attention to detail and painfully realises that he has known more all along than anyone guessed. In the height of his brilliance, Charlie discovers a fatal flaw in his team's research and he begins to observe the quick deterioration of Algernon. Knowing what his own fate will bring, he madly tries to prepare for the new unknown as he slides back to his former self.
I was so surprised to see that this was written in 1966. It is timeless and powerful.
annacarly13's review against another edition
4.0
Overall, I think this book is creatively written, helps you emphasize with Charlie, and tackles a topic that wasn’t being talked about enough before it was written. Considering when this was written, it’s extremely forward thinking.
HOWEVER I have a few grips
1. I have a nonverbal autistic uncle, and while that makes no expert on their experiences, because of that, I do have some flaws with how Charlie is represented.
2. The books also makes disability seem like a tragedy with how it ends and the process of getting to that ending.
3. Some of the ways Charlie was written pre-operation made him seem less capable than I’d argue many mentally disabled people are.
On the other hand, the author got a lot right too. It would be a five star book if a few tweaks were made to better represent the disabled community, and I still would recommend this book.
If you want to read a great scholarly book review that captures my main critiques well, check out this link: https://dsq-sds.org/index.php/dsq/article/view/1760/3182
HOWEVER I have a few grips
1. I have a nonverbal autistic uncle, and while that makes no expert on their experiences, because of that, I do have some flaws with how Charlie is represented.
2. The books also makes disability seem like a tragedy with how it ends and the process of getting to that ending.
3. Some of the ways Charlie was written pre-operation made him seem less capable than I’d argue many mentally disabled people are.
On the other hand, the author got a lot right too. It would be a five star book if a few tweaks were made to better represent the disabled community, and I still would recommend this book.
If you want to read a great scholarly book review that captures my main critiques well, check out this link: https://dsq-sds.org/index.php/dsq/article/view/1760/3182
holly937's review against another edition
4.0
The storyline and writing of this book were excellent. It was really easy to imagine how the characters must be feeling, and I felt for them at the end.
Merged review:
The storyline and writing of this book were excellent. It was really easy to imagine how the characters must be feeling, and I felt for them at the end.
Merged review:
The storyline and writing of this book were excellent. It was really easy to imagine how the characters must be feeling, and I felt for them at the end.