Reviews with content warning for Abandonment - Flowers for Algernon

Reviews tagging 'Abandonment'

Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes

66 reviews

adamjeffson's review against another edition

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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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rooothy69's review against another edition

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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.

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.

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katzilla99's review against another edition

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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? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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ky001113's review against another edition

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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

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lahars_little_library's review against another edition

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Outdated perspectives on disability. Using the word r-----, saying most people with low IQ have low motivation, doctors acting like intelligence=worth. I know from the setup of this book that some of these views will be challenged, but I was NOT in the mood to read it.

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sandyrabanana's review against another edition

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reflective sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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leahb88's review against another edition

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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? It's complicated

4.25

I was really engaged with this story and read it all in one day. The structure of the book as progress reports and use of spelling/punctuation/language was really well done. I enjoy a good unreliable narrator and I like how we know

things have been left out of the reports. As Charlie became less trustful of the researchers, what did he keep to himself?

I love how the author created the unbalance between emotional and intellectual growth. This book definitely made me think about what we value in people and what truly matters for a full life.

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