P.S. please if you get a chanse put some flowrs on Algernons grave in the bak yard.

Flowers for Algernon is a heart-aching story about a Charlie, a mentally-handicapped 32 year-old man who wants to be smart. He can read and write, and works hard to learn so that he can become smart so people will like him. He works are Donners bakery where Mr. Donner gives him 11 dollars a week plus all the food he wants. When approached with the opportunity of a lifetime - the chance to be made smart intelligent - he feels that his ship has come in. He takes the opportunity and is given a second chance at life, becoming smarter by the day.

His intelligence eventually surpasses that of the scientists that granted him the chance, and he starts to understand the world in a way no one else can. He is eventually ostracized due to his high intelligence, and he finds that he is now more lonely than he was before the operation. Sadly, when Alergnon, a lab mouse that had the same operation done to him, suddenly deteriorates, George is struck with the fact that the same could very well happen to him.

I didn’t know what to make of this book at the beginning. The writing was childish and hard to read, riddled with typos and horrible spelling. In many cases it reminded me of the recent LOLCats Internet meme. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, don’t worry about it, you don’t want to know. I was drawn in though, and the transition between sub-standard intelligence to brilliance happened so naturally that I didn’t even notice.

The novel then follows Charlie as his intellect explodes, and his emotional self tries to catch up. In many ways it reads like someone who’s growing up at an exceptional rate. Daniel Keyes does a fantastic job of getting across the pain and trails that Charlie has to go through. The only thing that really irritated me was the involvement of alcohol, and the weird side-effects that is left in its wake. I know that it was a required plot-device, but he could have just left the one incident.

Reading about Charlie’s eventual mental demise and knowing that he can do nothing to stop it is heart-breaking. You watch as he tries desperately to continue reading in hopes that he can retain some of his knowledge. You see how the woman he loves is pushed away for her own good, despite the obvious pain on both parts. Charlie starts to lash out at the world for reasons he doesn’t understand, because he has no other outlet. He becomes frustrated and angry at himself, and it only becomes worse as the deterioration continues.

The novel really makes you take a hard look at your own life and take stock of what you really have. We see a man who had so little given the entire world, only to watch as it is slowly taken away from him. It also points out that though mentally-handicapped people may not have the intelligence of the average person, that are still people that should be treated with love and respect. A lot of important questions and observations are made in this book, and considering it was written in 1959 (the original short story) I’m impressed with how many social norms were brought into question. It isn’t shocking to know that this book has been and is continually banned in places across the world. The truth can be a harsh light, and not everyone wants to look right at it.

I’m glad I had the chance to read this, and I’d read it again in a heartbeat. I’m 42 years past it’s original release date, but it’s still topical.

8.5/10