Reviews tagging 'Confinement'

Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes

14 reviews

teabrewer's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• 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

4.0

This book is really interesting. Writing each chapter as "Progress Report" allowed the story much more immersive and at times I felt like I was reading a real report. The progression of the writing style of the main character was so natural and seamless I sometimes forgot it was intentional.The portrayal of women is a bit weird in a few lines but considering this is midcentury scifi written by a man, it's actually not that bad. I dare to say that, in some sections, it's even good. I loved the exploration of the psych and of the effects of being in each extreme of the intelligence spectrum. The use of algernoon as a foreshadow to Charlie enhanced the story a lot. It also helped to tell a part of the story that couldn't usually be told because of the nature of the first person narrative

, the death of the main character

.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism

Moderate: Bullying, Child abuse, and Abandonment

Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Confinement, Rape, Excrement, and Alcohol

bookmuva's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

This book broke my heart throughout, especially the ending. Definitely shed some tears but so worth the read!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Animal death, Bullying, Child abuse, and Mental illness

Moderate: Confinement and Forced institutionalization

emmagreenwood's review against another edition

challenging reflective sad medium-paced

• 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Excrement, Dementia, Grief, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, and Alcohol

lisesenb's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• 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? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Ableism, Animal death, Bullying, Child abuse, and Dementia

Minor: Confinement, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Excrement, Grief, and Alcohol

milly_gm01's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional inspiring reflective sad tense 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? It's complicated

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Animal death, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Medical content, and Abandonment

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Confinement, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Forced institutionalization, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Dementia

scifi_rat's review against another edition

reflective fast-paced

3.5

the reviews that talk about how sad charlie's journey made them and how this is generally a very sad and tragic book feel inherently ableist. if anything this book is about trauma and learning and coming to terms with the kind of pain that self awareness can bring.

some of the psychology and sociology feels dated in many ways but ultimately it does the job it sets out to do.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism

Moderate: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Forced institutionalization, Excrement, Medical content, Dementia, Abandonment, and Alcohol

Minor: Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Religious bigotry, Stalking, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

bookishfaye's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad medium-paced

• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

I think there are things about this book for its time that are important & in some ways foundational in literature depicting disability; however, man oh man does this NOT hold up well over time. From the violently ableist language used repeatedly, to the constant misogyny and overall written by a man vibes this book simply does not age well. 

I think as a response to Frankenstein/the Prometheus myth and with commentary about man playing god within science and also monstrosity, there are some interesting things at play within this book. There were moments where I felt very seen by Charlie, and at times very beautiful/important language towards disability as well, it’s just a very very hard read that has extreme ableism/misogyny culture from the late 1950’s marked all over it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Hate crime, Misogyny, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Medical trauma, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

kather_doc's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful reflective tense fast-paced

• 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Bullying, Excrement, and Abandonment

Moderate: Child abuse, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Dementia, Alcohol, and Classism

Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Forced institutionalization, and Medical content

luckyone's review against another edition

emotional reflective fast-paced

• 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

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Ableism, Animal death, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Forced institutionalization, Excrement, Medical trauma, Abandonment, and Classism

Minor: Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Infidelity, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Terminal illness, Forced institutionalization, Excrement, Dementia, Medical trauma, Gaslighting, Alcohol, and Classism

adamjeffson's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative reflective sad slow-paced

• 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Excrement, and Abandonment

Moderate: Dementia