Flowers for Algernon
Ratings1,029
Average rating4.3
I'm never going to read anything my mom recommends again, I choose happiness instead.
This book is only just about every top list of science fiction I've come across, and with good reason. Charlie journey thoughout the book is presented in a memorable way that sticks with you for how personal it is by making this story Charlies journal.
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sniff. should not have finished this before class. i will try to stop crying now
I found it really easy to connect with Charlie in the beginning. This is so well written the internal dialog of Charlie changes perfectly through the book to present the changes he is experiencing. I did not feel I really enjoyed the book... but it was interesting.
I loved this book. Just thought that I'd write that down here. In case, I forget.
A mentally disabled man never stops searching for knowledge and an experiment may just be his answer. This book is very emotional. The text in this book is thoughtfully crafted and really pulls you into the character and his progress through his quest for intelligence.
Is it better to be dumb and happy or smart and sad.
Could be given to anyone no matter age gender race Yada Yada and they would be moved by the basic and interesting story this novel paints.
this book was something me and my friends read, sort of a book club we have haha.
this is a haunting read, you can tell how isolated charlie is even when he doesn’t realise it. the emotional shift from hope to tragedy is subtle but devastating. it lingers once you finish reading.
This exists as one of those seminal works of fiction which I don't think you can give a rating to -- the concept and how it's explored (1st person diary entries) puts it in the same weird category as something like 12 Monkeys. Maybe it's a fantastic film, but we simply accept it at face value for the storytelling it provides.
This book was one magnificent journey! Daniel Keyes has created a masterpiece with Flowers for Algernon. The basic story is about a mentally challenged guy undergoing some sort of surgery that is intended to make him into a genius. What follows is a remarkable metamorphosis of the protagonist, his life and the people in his life.
It highlights how our society often times gives too much importance to intelligence and how it affects the less fortunate, in that sense. The book also explores the idea of healing from past and childhood traumas.
It is a moral lesson into humanity. The thing this book taught me was how intelligence without human affection and kindness is worthless.
The story is heartbreaking and makes you feel all the emotions the protagonist undergoes. A must read! Especially in current times where the world is on the brink of an AI revolution. This book should act as a reminder of what eventually makes us a good human being.
Vraiment rien d’intéressant dans ce livre. Trop long. Woaw il devient plus intéressant il comprend les théories quantiques néo-booléennes, si original. Je sais pas je vois vraiment pas ce qu’il y a à en tirer.
What an amazing book! I feel like a fool for waiting so long to read it. It really touched me, I could barely put it down.
honestly what a journey, was totally heartbroken thinking about what might lie ahead after every page turn
I think I want to write here because I also do not want to forget about a mouse named Algernon and a boy who got smart
Okay so first of all, this book is an incredible piece of writing. The gradual upscaling of the prose and character work as Charlie gets more intelligent is so well done. I read the book in less than a day and was captivated the entire time.
Secondly, this book makes everyone cry it seems and I was two minutes from the end and didn't really understand why, it's definitely melancholy and has lots of sadness baked into the DNA of the premise and observations, but it wasn't making me emotional. However the last several paragraphs of this book are incredibly moving, sorrow in the deepest sense.
I would recommend this book to pretty much anybody, incredibly good book.
A heartbreaking but beautiful story, easily one of my favourite recent reads. I felt the way it was conveyed was brilliant, it draws you into the story and has you rooting for the character all the way, definitely something I would want to re-read.
I always include major spoilers (hidden), to help with my memory issues. Read them at your peril!
Heartbreaking, profound, short story about a man of very low intelligence, who agrees to an operation to triple his IQ, and the difficult consequences of that decision. With cleverness, there also comes a painful awareness of others, their true opinions and failings. His previous contentment is gone as he realises that his “friends” were not laughing with him, but at him. Eventually he is comprehensively rejected. He becomes so intelligent that the scientists who are studying him are uncomfortable around him. As was feared all along , he loses his intelligence as fast as he gained it, even as he struggles to cling on long enough to leave something of value behind him. The ending is really sad. I have never been moved to tears by a short story before.
This book is so sad! I love it, but it is so sad. The worst part is the ending. I think Charlie was better off before he became smart. And at the expense of getting smart, he throws his happiness, his humanity, and his life away.