Reviews

Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes

Only show reviews with written explanations

kimjreed's review against another edition

Go to review page

4.0

I've read this before and knew what was coming, but it still walloped me. Particularly the PPS.

jen_pribyl's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

emmiesmith's review against another edition

Go to review page

4.0

Best book I’ve read in a while. I’m obsessed with the duality of man which is probably why I liked this book.
The end kind of confused me in terms of what was going on in the narrators brain. Also much credit to Keyes for being able to write some parts of this book when Charlie’s intellect is much higher than normal human intelligence.

readhikerepeat's review against another edition

Go to review page

4.0

From The Book Wheel:

My husband’s not a reader. At all. But, for years he’s been bugging me to read this book, so I finally decided to take his advice and take the plunge. I can’t decide whether I want to smack him or hug him for making me read it. I want to hug him because it was so good, but I want to smack him because it left me in emotional turmoil and he wouldn’t wake up at 2:00 am to discuss my feelings about the book. And then, when I attempted to explain my feelings to him the next morning (with tears in my eyes), he laughed at me and proceeded to tell me that the reason he doesn’t like to read is because he read this book and it’s just so darned depressing. So like I said, I’m not sure which reaction is best. One thing that is in favor of hugging versus smacking him is that I am not averse to sad books and loved Flowers for Algernon.

Before jumping into a discussion about it, I’d like to preface my review with the fact that I hate diary books. I hate books that are written in the style of a child or with a lot of slang and those that are structured by diary entries rather than normal chapters. I couldn’t get into Room or The Help or Precious, but because my husband was so adamant that I read this book, I suffered through the style and ended up loving the book. Part of the reason is that, aside from the fantastic story, the writing style became easier to understand as the book progresses.

In case you’ve been living under a rock (as I had been), Flowers for Algernon is about a mentally impaired adult who undergoes an experimental surgery to make him a genius. As he learns more and more about the world, he surpasses his peers in all things intellectual but remains the same emotionally. But is this necessarily a good thing? That depends on who you ask and when you ask them. Before the surgery, Charlie Gordon was living blissfully unaware of many of the world’s injustices, including people’s treatment of him, but after the surgery his eyes were opened and everything he thought he knew about life changed. Much like Plato’s Allegory of the Cave, which is referenced in the book, the question remains whether it is better to live in the dark or be blinded by the light.

For the full review,