josiahpeterson17's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
"I don't know what's worse: to not know what you are and be happy, or to become what you've always wanted to be, and feel alone."
Graphic: Abandonment, Ableism, and Child abuse
Moderate: Sexual content
Minor: Suicidal thoughts
chromiumboron's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Bullying, Abandonment, Ableism, and Child abuse
m4rtt4's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- 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
3.75
Spoiler
it was scary how he became possessive and aggressive and expressed his male sexuality and masculinity through those means after "gaining intelligence"Graphic: Ableism, Bullying, and Child abuse
Moderate: Alcohol, Toxic friendship, Animal death, Domestic abuse, Forced institutionalization, Violence, Abandonment, Gaslighting, Medical content, Sexual content, and Suicidal thoughts
stargirlmolly's review against another edition
- 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
4.75
Moderate: Abandonment, Bullying, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Dementia, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Ableism, Medical trauma, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Animal death
Minor: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Excrement, and Grief
tungstenmouse's review against another edition
- 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
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.kather_doc's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Excrement, Abandonment, Ableism, and Bullying
Moderate: Classism, Alcohol, Sexual content, Confinement, Child abuse, Dementia, and Emotional abuse
Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Forced institutionalization, and Medical content
luckyone's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
Moderate: Excrement, Abandonment, Medical trauma, Misogyny, Bullying, Classism, Emotional abuse, Ableism, Forced institutionalization, Infidelity, Physical abuse, and Animal death
Minor: Alcohol, Classism, Confinement, Physical abuse, Medical trauma, Bullying, Child abuse, Dementia, Excrement, Mental illness, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Infidelity, and Terminal illness
alehsxsz's review against another edition
- 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
4.25
Flores pra Algernon é uma história que eu não tenho como descrever com outras palavras além de forte e extremamente sensível. O livro aborda diversos questionamento profundos como ética científica, como a sociedade trata pessoas marginalizadas, etc de uma forma super interessante. Nos momentos iniciais temos toda a mudança da escrita, a evolução da comunicação do personagem e acompanhamos a ascensão e queda de um Charlie produto da ciência, os questionamentos que surgem com seu aprendizado e a gradual mudança de percepção que ele tem a partir de si mesmo conforme passa a adquirir mais conhecimento e compreender seu passado e como as pessoas o tratam.
Apesar de um pouco densa em algumas partes, a narrativa é filosófica e interessante.
Graphic: Mental illness, Child abuse, Abandonment, and Forced institutionalization
adamjeffson's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Bullying, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Ableism, Abandonment, Child abuse, Confinement, Emotional abuse, and Excrement
Moderate: Dementia
rooothy69's review against another edition
- 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
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.
Graphic: Ableism, Medical content, Abandonment, and Bullying
Minor: Animal death and Animal cruelty