A review by efsimpkin
Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes

dark emotional sad slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • 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

3.0

I understand why this is lauded in the science fiction community and I appreciated some of the more mysterious aspects of the book. I also really think this was a lesson in how writing style can tell a story for you. However there were multiple parts of the book that sat uncomfortably with me - most of it including Charlie’s pursuit of women, and the author’s mostly misogynistic descriptions of the women - that mean I can’t rate this higher.

I was expecting to be crying my eyes out with how this was sold to me, but I feel just kind of… resigned.
I pity Charlie at the start and at the end but I hated him otherwise.
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