Flowers for Algernon

Rating:
Summary: A Simple Wish
Review: Flowers For Algernon is a very emotional book. I am not a real emotional person, but I liked this book about a mentally handicapped man trying to become smarter. It uses a unique format, journal-like, making it from his point of view. A cool thing is, him being dumb, he misspells the words.
I liked this book because it was fun to see the man's progress. It was interesting to see how people reacted to him; it really changes your point of view of those people! The book is nice because it shows his emotions from his own view.
There are a few down sides to this book. One is in the middle of the book. He begins writing down the actual dialogue, which confuses you, `cause most journals don't have written dialogue. Also, all the misspelled words get confusing, but it makes sense having them. The final downside is the lack of description. This book would be better if it had more, but since it's a journal from a mental guy's point of view, I understand.
All in all, I would recommend reading this book. It's only 218 pages, so it's a quick read, though the font's small. It gives a good view of a mentally handicapped person's life, because it's from his point of view. I give this book 4 stars and believe anyone who wants to know about that, should read this!


Rating:
Summary: Flowers for Algernon
Review: Imagine that you are retarded. Retarded, but still cognizant of that fact. You don't want to be retarded. You yearn to be smart. You try to be smart. You go to a school for special people, people like yourself. But you don't get any smarter. One day a man gives you the chance to change your life. You accept and he performs an operation. Poof! Your IQ skyrockets and you learn everything you can. You're finally smart. But there's a catch. Your mind has developed, but not your maturity level. You still act like a child. This is the story of "Flowers For Algernon", the compelling novel of a startling human experiment.

"Flowers For Algernon" is an excellent novel, with its share of love, science, friendship, and a bit of adventure. The 1966 book has become a timeless classic, and with good reason. Upon reading the novel, it's hard to believe "Flowers For Algernon" was written almost 40 years ago. For a 39-year-old story, it seems very real and relevant. The scientific breakthrough at the heart of the story seems no different from the many scientific breakthroughs being made today.

A good book allows readers to know the characters inside and out. "Flowers For Algernon" is no exception. During the course of the book, you get to know the characters. You feel for them. You're sad when they are unhappy. You're thrilled when they are happy. Instead of two-dimensional cardboard cutouts, the loveable characters seem like three-dimensional people.
"Flowers For Algernon" takes place mainly in a small town outside a big city. By being vague about the specific location and name of the city, the author makes it seem as if it could be anywhere. This adds to the book's realism. The book is written in the form of a journal kept by the main character, Charlie. This allows the reader to see how Charlie writes (i.e. spelling, grammar, mechanics) as he goes from retardation to genius and back again.

"Flowers For Algernon" is a deep, heavy book that takes a while to get through. It has its fair share of sad and touching moments. Be prepared to be unable to put the book down. The book was so well-received after its publication, it was made into a movie. The main character, played by Cliff Robertson, won an Academy Award for best actor. All in all, "Flowers For Algernon" is a truly interesting book that will continue to be read for many years to come.


Rating:
Summary: On my list of favorites
Review: "Flowers for Algernon" is one of my favorite books. I am in 10th grade, and I first heard of this book in 8th grade when I read the excerpt version of the book. Later I purchased the book, thinking it would be much the same as the excerpt, but was very pleasantly surprised to find many issues and plot developments that were not included in the excerpt. The book is about Charlie Gordon, a mentally retarded adult who undergoes an operation that triples his IQ, and what happens to him and his life and those surrounding him as this process is carried out. Definitely a tearjerker, but also very believable, though the plot itself is as yet unlikely as far as I know! I think what makes it believable are the emotions that Charlie goes through as he becomes a genius - rejection and fear among them - emotions that all of us have dealt with at some point in our lives. I also enjoyed the writing style of this book - it starts out with spelling, grammar, and usage errors to show Charlie's innocent way of thinking and his moderate retardation, and progresses into extremely advanced language and ideas as his IQ triples. There have been two movies based on this book, but as is usually the case, I have to say the book is far far better and more complex. I can hardly say a bad thing about "Flowers for Algernon"; it is simply the ideal book for all those who think on a higher level.

Rating:
Summary: Heart-wrenchingly perfect
Review: "Flowers for Algernon" tells the tale of Charly Gordon, a man with an IQ of 68 who works at a research laboratory. The laboratory is working on surgical methods to enhance cognitive abilities and, when the surgery works on Algernon, a mouse in the laboratory whom Charly has befriended, Charly volunteers to become the first human to undergo the surgery. The post-surgery change is slow, but it becomes clear that the procedure worked. What also becomes clear, to Charly, is that his life had not been has good as he had thought it was. And, then, the story takes a heart-wrenching turn, that I will not divulge as a spoiler.

Daniel Keyes did not write much science fiction, and this is the only novel of his I've read, but it's brilliant. The portrayal of Charly's gradually-growing understanding of the world, with the resulting triumphs and heart-breaks, was gripping. The writing was flawless, especially as much of it was in the form of Charly's journal, with it's varying degrees of sophistication. This is not a novel for the light-hearted though, as it is genuine tragedy, done perfectly.

Rating:
Summary: Heart-wrenchingly perfect
Review: "Flowers for Algernon" tells the tale of Charly Gordon, a man with an IQ of 68 who works at a research laboratory. The laboratory is working on surgical methods to enhance cognitive abilities and, when the surgery works on Algernon, a mouse in the laboratory whom Charly has befriended, Charly volunteers to become the first human to undergo the surgery. The post-surgery change is slow, but it becomes clear that the procedure worked. What also becomes clear, to Charly, is that his life had not been has good as he had thought it was. And, then, the story takes a heart-wrenching turn, that I will not divulge as a spoiler.

Daniel Keyes did not write much science fiction, and this is the only novel of his I've read, but it's brilliant. The portrayal of Charly's gradually-growing understanding of the world, with the resulting triumphs and heart-breaks, was gripping. The writing was flawless, especially as much of it was in the form of Charly's journal, with it's varying degrees of sophistication. This is not a novel for the light-hearted though, as it is genuine tragedy, done perfectly.

Rating:
Summary: A penny about thought
Review: (I just want to preface this by saying i've only read the short story, not the actual novel, but i felt i had to get some opinions out there, so take it or leave it)

I found this story fascinating, since intellegence has always been something i've been trying to figure out. When i was 10 or 11, i was told that i have a very high IQ (not newhere near genius, but high nonetheless). Over the years i came to realise that intellegence is highly over-rated. Our society places way to much of an importance on intellegence, even so much that people think that if you are more intellgent, you are a better person.It is helpful, sure, but no more so than many other things, and it most certainly DOESNT make you a better person than anyone else. Also, there is terrible discrimination against stupid poeple. I have a good friend who is, and he faces much the same things Charly does, though mostly behind his back. Its terrible!

Anyways, thanks for reading my random rant. I hope this was helpful at all, and p-lease read this sotry/book, its awesome

Rating:
Summary: Incredible
Review: Absolutely an amazing book. Wow.
I am not moved to cry very often, especially not by books like this.
But this was so clear about the humanity of menatlly retarded people, so moving. It is a piece of expository prose, not a simple story.
It shows kindness, love, and how these exist in such a pure form in a person who can't read this review.

Rating:
Summary: If I Could Give It Six Stars, I Would!!
Review: Along with John Updikes's "Rabbit Run" this is one of the great novels I have ever read. Period. Through the eyes and heart of Charlie Gordon, we see the best and the worst of humanity, we see a person with little resources available to him struggle with enormous challenges.

Thanks to a scientific invention that leads to a startling new procedure, Charlie's IQ raises from about 70 to over 300. It was interesting how getting smarter did not make Charlie any happier. He was probably happier mopping floors at the bakery than when he was able to understand "higher echelons" of society. The message of this book is that the goodness of the human heart can be pure regardless of educational level or intelligence.

I found most interesting how Charlie attempted to understand his earlier life as he gained more reflective abilities and how he attempted to understand his family. Also interesting...how he
attempted to understand women. As a lower functioning person, he barely grasped sexual politics if at all. When he is forced to understand, he still doesn't because he sees the old Charlie in himself no matter how smart he gets. He sees the old Charlie glaring at him in the mirror.

Even as he starts losing his intelligence because of a procedure that was not perfect, he still has the great desire to retain as much as he can, and to keep reading books, a brilliant way to say through a novel, that learning leads to more learning in life and you can never completely get back to where you were before, but hopefully always moving forward.

This, for me, made me more sure of my unconditional positive regard for humanity, especially the potential for learning and love that we all have. Charlie taught me a lot and I know he will teach you a lot too!(...)

Rating:
Summary: Flowers for Algernon
Review: Buy this book! I recently finished Flowers for Algernon and I was blown away. It is a very strange but successful mix of science and human relations. Charlie is a mentally retarded man who works in a bakery and greets life with a positive attitude despite his restrictions. Having a chance to "better" himself and become smarter, Charlie takes place in a scientific experiment along with a mouse called Algernon (hence the title). As his knowledge becomes enhanced he also learns new adversities that creep up such as the realization of the cruelty of others. Soon after Charlie gains brain power, he falls in love and learns to deals with life on his own. Charlie's experience is told through a series of progress reports he was told to make by the head scientists.
This novel gave me a smack in the face about the reality that people are constantly prejudiced against for things beyond their control. Open this book and the interesting writing style the author uses just compells you to find out more. And you'll have to read the book, because I'm not giving away any more!

Rating:
Summary: Flowers For Algernon
Review: Flowers For Algernon is about a a guy that's mental retarded and turns smart in a couple of days. Dr.Strauss and Professor.Nemur are so sure that the surgery works because a succesfull test on a mouse name Algernon.Since there is two sad parts at the end Algernon dies, Charly turns back retarded, and charly goes back to the Warden home.