tungstenmouse's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Certain sentences haven’t aged well but this was excellent. I’m very sad but also very happy I read it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexism, Dementia, Racism, Child abuse, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Bullying, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Abandonment, Ableism, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Excrement, and Forced institutionalization
Moderate: Incest, Homophobia, Medical content, and Misogyny
It’s an older book so expect language and character attitudes that are not okay now.plbngrs's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Minor: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Sexism, and Child abuse
ak97x's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Animal death, Dysphoria, and Forced institutionalization
Moderate: Chronic illness and Sexual content
Minor: Animal cruelty
writingcaia's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
As Charlie became smarter I knew it would be hard to follow what was to come.
I’m not even sure I’m intelectual enough to understand everything the author meant with the story, but one thing I did learn, whether on the bottom or the up of intelligence (IQ) as you get farther away from the norm the more isolating it is.
With intellect you question everything, your emotions grow, but you also start to feel contempt for those with less smarts than you.
This is a very humane story, a sad story, a story about intelligence and how it affects the way you see yourself, others and the world around, and also how you form bonds of love.
I saw the twist at once, as it was the worse and more realistic outcome.
I liked it, at times a lot, especially the first half but as Charlie’s smarts grew it became harder and less interesting, at the end it was hard and sad, but still beautiful somehow.
Definitely an interesting story with a great insight into human nature and how it relates to our intellect.
I’m not even sure I’m intelectual enough to understand everything the author meant with the story, but one thing I did learn, whether on the bottom or the up of intelligence (IQ) as you get farther away from the norm the more isolating it is.
With intellect you question everything, your emotions grow, but you also start to feel contempt for those with less smarts than you.
This is a very humane story, a sad story, a story about intelligence and how it affects the way you see yourself, others and the world around, and also how you form bonds of love.
I saw the twist at once, as it was the worse and more realistic outcome.
I liked it, at times a lot, especially the first half but as Charlie’s smarts grew it became harder and less interesting, at the end it was hard and sad, but still beautiful somehow.
Definitely an interesting story with a great insight into human nature and how it relates to our intellect.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Animal death, Child abuse, Bullying, and Animal cruelty
Moderate: Sexual content
Minor: Suicidal thoughts
rooothy69's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Flowers for Algernon is one of the best books I've read in a while. I received this book through a blind-date-with-a-book and I couldn't be happier with what I got. When I first opened it, I had no idea what to expect, I didn't even realize it was a classic. But now, after finishing it and reflecting on it a bit, I truly loved this book. It's so introspective and takes you on a journey through the soul and about people and human nature.
The beginning is intentionally hard to read, and not hard as in the concepts, hard as in things are spelled wrong and there is no punctuation. This was intentional but I still feel like I should note it. I was glad that that style of writing did not last for too long, as it was taking me much longer to read and therefore it was a little slow to get into. I didn't really know where the author was going with the novel. The book is told through diary entries (or progress reports that are basically journals), so you really get a feel for the character, but not so much the world. Thankfully, I'm from New York City, so I understood all the geographical places mentioned. However, anyone not acquainted with the city might feel much more untethered.
But I suppose the setting wasn't too important to the novel, as it mainly focused on the mental setting rather than the physical. I love character change, and I love being able to identify the change. The writing style was most easily identifiable, as an indicator of change, but there were other things too. I liked that through the actual subtext you could see how the character, Charlie, was changing and especially how he saw the world evolved.
The part I loved most about the book was the introspective and reflective aspects, especially when it came to human nature. I suppose I'm just a sucker for all things existential or attempt to reveal things about the inherent kindness of people. I love that the book subverted all notions of the haunted genius.
There were so many beautiful lines and I wish I could write all of them down, but I won't. Also something to note before going into the book is that it was written in the late 1950s, when the use of the r word was scientifically preferred. But I feel like Keyes was actually way ahead of his time, especially when talking about people with all different mental abilities. Throughout the novel he implores us to recognize that even though Charlie is mentally slow, he is still a person. Keyes shows us the abuse that people who are intellectually disabled went through, but shows us how Charlie feels and reacts to it. Throughout the novel, Charlie's main motivation is that he wants to be seen as human. He wants to be "normal."
I have so much to say about this book, but overall, it was a book that truly made me feel things and some parts of it were written in such beautiful prose with such good messages I wish I could go back and reread it for the first time again.
The beginning is intentionally hard to read, and not hard as in the concepts, hard as in things are spelled wrong and there is no punctuation. This was intentional but I still feel like I should note it. I was glad that that style of writing did not last for too long, as it was taking me much longer to read and therefore it was a little slow to get into. I didn't really know where the author was going with the novel. The book is told through diary entries (or progress reports that are basically journals), so you really get a feel for the character, but not so much the world. Thankfully, I'm from New York City, so I understood all the geographical places mentioned. However, anyone not acquainted with the city might feel much more untethered.
But I suppose the setting wasn't too important to the novel, as it mainly focused on the mental setting rather than the physical. I love character change, and I love being able to identify the change. The writing style was most easily identifiable, as an indicator of change, but there were other things too. I liked that through the actual subtext you could see how the character, Charlie, was changing and especially how he saw the world evolved.
The part I loved most about the book was the introspective and reflective aspects, especially when it came to human nature. I suppose I'm just a sucker for all things existential or attempt to reveal things about the inherent kindness of people. I love that the book subverted all notions of the haunted genius.
Spoiler
In fact, one of the most vital meanings that I took away from the text can be found in this one quote: "Intelligence is one of the greatest human gifts. But all too often a search for knowledge drives out the search for love." I think that part of that quote just shows that, yes being smart is important but love is paramount and should never be ignored or forgotten. I think that this story is so beautiful because it shows the audience the definition of what happens when someone gets too smart: they can't connect to people, but the book goes further than just leaving us with that dreary message. It shows us that our connections are what make us human. And I just find that so beautiful.There were so many beautiful lines and I wish I could write all of them down, but I won't. Also something to note before going into the book is that it was written in the late 1950s, when the use of the r word was scientifically preferred. But I feel like Keyes was actually way ahead of his time, especially when talking about people with all different mental abilities. Throughout the novel he implores us to recognize that even though Charlie is mentally slow, he is still a person. Keyes shows us the abuse that people who are intellectually disabled went through, but shows us how Charlie feels and reacts to it. Throughout the novel, Charlie's main motivation is that he wants to be seen as human. He wants to be "normal."
I have so much to say about this book, but overall, it was a book that truly made me feel things and some parts of it were written in such beautiful prose with such good messages I wish I could go back and reread it for the first time again.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Medical content, Abandonment, and Bullying
Minor: Animal death and Animal cruelty
jeremie's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism and Child abuse
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Forced institutionalization, Emotional abuse, Medical content, Suicidal thoughts, and Physical abuse
Minor: Dementia, Animal death, Animal cruelty, and Alcohol
ky001113's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Mental illness, Abandonment, Bullying, Panic attacks/disorders, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Sexual content, Alcohol, Cursing, Physical abuse, Alcoholism, and Dementia
Minor: Animal death, Murder, Suicidal thoughts, Forced institutionalization, Ableism, Animal cruelty, and Confinement
hiddeninfantasy's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Abandonment, Bullying, Child abuse, Drug use, Ableism, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Dementia, Medical content, Sexual content, Blood, Cursing, Animal death, Confinement, and Suicidal thoughts
mahry's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Blood, Abandonment, Alcoholism, Violence, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, and Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Animal cruelty
Minor: Incest
pandemonicbaby's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
There are a few things I'd like to point at regarding this book.
First of all, I do really like the concept. The story is intriguing: what if an intelectually disabled person had their intelligence enhanced by science? How would they turn out? How would the change their behaviour? Their interaction with the world around them? And most importantly, what would they find out about themselves in the process?
There are many questions this book brings about. I do think it did its job in answering them. It shows us the changes in the life of Charlie, after he goes through a scientific procedure to artifically augmentate his intellect, and how he reacted to them as he started to notice things that he hadn't before. My favourite part of the book is exactly that: the fact that - even though it was published in 1959 - it focuses on Charlie's trauma and him realizing the mistreatment that he used to suffer from people whom he thought were his friends; actions that, before the procedure, he didn't notice were ill-intentioned. It was a really innovative book that brought to light the struggles of the disabled community, - especially the *intelectually* disabled community - that often go overlooked. I feel like this could've been touched upon even more, but considering the time period, it was still enormously groundbreaking.
Anyhow, as Charlie notices during the development of the story, many people who seem to be good, intelligent and sophisticated do not hesitate in making fun of or using a disabled man for their own personal satisfactions. This is very important as it shows how anyone can contribute to ableism, even if they consider themselves to be a person of high moral standards.
However. I do feel that the writing itself lacked a bit of nuance - sometimes, it relied to much in tell, not show instead of the opposite. Some passages were very good at showing what Charlie was going through without outright saying it, but some lacked on that department and seemed to repeat an idea over and over, throwing it at the reader's face so that they'd get it.
Some of the conflict also seemed to be solved very quickly when it seemed like it would need a longer time to be processed, but even though it was rushed it didn't present itself as much of a detriment to the overall enjoyment of the book.
My biggest issue with the book, however, is that many times it seems obviously written by a man (you know what I mean), and sometimes the author seemed to write some things just to make the main character seem "cooler" as his intelligence progressed which kind of broke the immersion a bit. This as in, sometimes it seemed like Charlie was written to be an ideal "Cool Smart Guy" that didn't really fit the overall character.
It really makes you think that the best we can do, as humans, is cherish the love that we have while we still have it.
TL;DR: Although for me, personally, it could've been executed better, the concept of the story itself *is* intriguing and I believe this was a step forward regarding the understanding of disability and ableism by the general population.
First of all, I do really like the concept. The story is intriguing: what if an intelectually disabled person had their intelligence enhanced by science? How would they turn out? How would the change their behaviour? Their interaction with the world around them? And most importantly, what would they find out about themselves in the process?
There are many questions this book brings about. I do think it did its job in answering them. It shows us the changes in the life of Charlie, after he goes through a scientific procedure to artifically augmentate his intellect, and how he reacted to them as he started to notice things that he hadn't before. My favourite part of the book is exactly that: the fact that - even though it was published in 1959 - it focuses on Charlie's trauma and him realizing the mistreatment that he used to suffer from people whom he thought were his friends; actions that, before the procedure, he didn't notice were ill-intentioned. It was a really innovative book that brought to light the struggles of the disabled community, - especially the *intelectually* disabled community - that often go overlooked. I feel like this could've been touched upon even more, but considering the time period, it was still enormously groundbreaking.
Anyhow, as Charlie notices during the development of the story, many people who seem to be good, intelligent and sophisticated do not hesitate in making fun of or using a disabled man for their own personal satisfactions. This is very important as it shows how anyone can contribute to ableism, even if they consider themselves to be a person of high moral standards.
However. I do feel that the writing itself lacked a bit of nuance - sometimes, it relied to much in tell, not show instead of the opposite. Some passages were very good at showing what Charlie was going through without outright saying it, but some lacked on that department and seemed to repeat an idea over and over, throwing it at the reader's face so that they'd get it.
Some of the conflict also seemed to be solved very quickly when it seemed like it would need a longer time to be processed, but even though it was rushed it didn't present itself as much of a detriment to the overall enjoyment of the book.
My biggest issue with the book, however, is that many times it seems obviously written by a man (you know what I mean), and sometimes the author seemed to write some things just to make the main character seem "cooler" as his intelligence progressed which kind of broke the immersion a bit. This as in, sometimes it seemed like Charlie was written to be an ideal "Cool Smart Guy" that didn't really fit the overall character.
Spoiler
Also, I was surprised to notice how long it took Charlie to realize he had been treating people with intelligence lower than his own as inferior, just like people had done to him before. I got irritated as I noticed he was being unreasonable with everyone else, even those who tried to help him, because he started to see that they couldn't get on their level. But it does make sense for him to act that way: first of all, his emotional growth didn't follow the same rhythm as his intellectional growth; and second, it seems only normal for someone who started to feel distanced once more from the people around him to have a hard time understanding others. It is a lonely journey diverging from the norm, either way. I don't blame Charlie for acting that way, he was confused with all the sudden changes in perception that were coming to him. One moment, you think the people around you are put upon untouchable pedestals, and in the next, they can't even catch uo to what you're saying.Spoiler
The ending really hooked me, I should say. The feeling of him slowly losing his memory and his abilities every day, bringing him closer to despair, really resonated with me. It reminds me of my experiences with lost loved ones who would struggle with their memory and grow more irritable and apathetic bevause of their condition. The ending is very sad, but real. It hurts, but it is inevitable.It really makes you think that the best we can do, as humans, is cherish the love that we have while we still have it.
TL;DR: Although for me, personally, it could've been executed better, the concept of the story itself *is* intriguing and I believe this was a step forward regarding the understanding of disability and ableism by the general population.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Ableism, Physical abuse, Forced institutionalization, Emotional abuse, Alcohol, Mental illness, Domestic abuse, Child abuse, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Pregnancy, Dementia, Excrement, Animal death, Animal cruelty, Violence, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
Minor: Incest, Stalking, Blood, Medical trauma, and Medical content