Reviews with content warning for Medical content - Flowers for Algernon

Reviews tagging 'Medical content'

Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes

30 reviews

wizardingwisteria's review against another edition

dark medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

OUCH. This is my second time reading it in full and it still punched me in the gut. I knew what was going to happen but it was still so impactful and emotional

Being from the 1950's some of the language is outdated

Content Warnings

tungstenmouse's review against another edition

Go to review page

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

kather_doc's review against another edition

Go to review page

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

Content Warnings

tallnecked_pancakeface's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional reflective sad medium-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

4.0

Content Warnings

mirandyli's review

Go to review page

dark reflective sad fast-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

4.0

I can see how this book was considered ahead of its time when it was written. There are still many themes that resonate today, even though the language is antiquated.

Content Warnings

emileesbooks's review against another edition

Go to review page

sad medium-paced

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

3.0

Content Warnings

rooothy69's review against another edition

Go to review page

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.

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