- Mass Market Paperback: 224 pages
- Publisher: Bantam; Reissue edition (Mar 1 1984)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0553274503
- ISBN-13: 978-0553274509
- Product Dimensions: 17.3 x 10.4 x 1.8 cm
- Shipping Weight: 113 g
- Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (295 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #186,996 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Amazon
Daniel Keyes wrote little SF but is highly regarded for one classic, Flowers for Algernon. As a 1959 novella it won a Hugo Award; the 1966 novel-length expansion won a Nebula. The Oscar-winning movie adaptation Charly (1968) also spawned a 1980 Broadway musical.
Following his doctor's instructions, engaging simpleton Charlie Gordon tells his own story in semi-literate "progris riports." He dimly wants to better himself, but with an IQ of 68 can't even beat the laboratory mouse Algernon at maze-solving:
I dint feel bad because I watched Algernon and I lernd how to finish the amaze even if it takes me along time.I dint know mice were so smart.
Algernon is extra-clever thanks to an experimental brain operation so far tried only on animals. Charlie eagerly volunteers as the first human subject. After frustrating delays and agonies of concentration, the effects begin to show and the reports steadily improve: "Punctuation, is? fun!" But getting smarter brings cruel shocks, as Charlie realizes that his merry "friends" at the bakery where he sweeps the floor have all along been laughing at him, never with him. The IQ rise continues, taking him steadily past the human average to genius level and beyond, until he's as intellectually alone as the old, foolish Charlie ever was--and now painfully aware of it. Then, ominously, the smart mouse Algernon begins to deteriorate...
Flowers for Algernon is a timeless tear-jerker with a terrific emotional impact. --David Langford
Review
"A tale that is convincing, suspectful and touching..." -- The New York Times.
"Fascinating, agonizing... Superb." --Birmingham News.
"This novel should be on your 'must read' list." -- Palm Beach Post-Times.
"Strikingly original..." -- Publishers' Weekly.
"Absorbing... Immensely original... Going to be read for a long time to come." -- Library Journal.
"Fascinating, agonizing... Superb." --Birmingham News.
"This novel should be on your 'must read' list." -- Palm Beach Post-Times.
"Strikingly original..." -- Publishers' Weekly.
"Absorbing... Immensely original... Going to be read for a long time to come." -- Library Journal.
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Most helpful customer reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Brilliantly touching,
By A Customer
This review is from: Flowers for Algernon (Mass Market Paperback)
There are those who have attempted the topic before, to show the good or ill about artificially increasing a man's intelligence, and they have all fallen by the wayside, forgotten entries in the arena of literature, all because they forgot one factor: love.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
A touching, intelligent story,
By B L Miller (USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Flowers for Algernon (Paperback)
This award-winning novel by Daniel Keyes is nearly perfect in its execution, with perhaps the minor quibble of some dated slang that's a slight detraction. But that alone is not enough to prevent the book from receiving a well-deserved five stars. Keyes doesn't hit a false note in his story of the rise and fall of Charlie, a mentally retarded custodian at a bakery who briefly becomes a towering genius thanks to an experimental brain operation, only to loose it all as the effects turn out to be temporary. Worse, Charlie's deterioration is beyond even his advanced abilities to stop or reverse it; he has to bear the slow terror of sliding back down to his previous diminished mental capacity, with the hint that he- like Algernon, the lab mouse of the book title that was first to benefit from the operation- might die too. Although considered by some to be a "just" a sentimental story with a tearjerk ending, Charlie is a fully realized character from start to finish, one whose plight keeps you turning the pages, which is why this novel rates so highly. If you're a new fan of science fiction, or just want to sample what the genre has to offer, Flowers for Algernon should be high on your "must read" list. A newer novel with a similar theme is An Audience for Einstein, another book with an emotionally charged, touching ending.
4.0 out of 5 stars
read it in grade school,
By A Customer
This review is from: Flowers for Algernon (Mass Market Paperback)
This was one of the first books I remember reading and being totally consumed by until I finished reading it. This is one of my favourite books, hope you enjoy it as well. Compelling, interesting, heart breaking all in one book.Enjoy
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