Daniel Keyes

Charlie Gordon, IQ 68, is a floor sweeper and the gentle butt of everyone’s jokes – until an experiment in the enhancement of human intelligence turns him into a genius.

But then Algernon, the mouse whose triumphal experimental transformation preceded his, fades and dies, and Charlie has to face the possibility that his salvation was only temporary.

Winner of the 1960 Hugo Award for Best Short Story, and subsequently expanded into a Hugo-nominated novel, Flowers for Algernon earned Daniel Keyes the honour of SFWA Author Emeritus in 2000 for his contribution to Science Fiction and Fantasy.

Flowers for Algernon

Oscar-winning film Charly starring Cliff Robertson and Claire Bloom-a mentally challenged man receives an operation that turns him into a genius...and introduces him to heartache.

Aina

The more intelligent you become the more problems you’ll have

larissa campos 

Apresento a vocês como uma hipótese: inteligência sem a habilidade de dar ou receber afeto leva a um colapso mental e moral, para neurose, e possivelmente até para psicose. E digo que a mente absorvida e envolvida em si mesma como um fim autocentrado, a ponto de excluir relações humanas, só pode levar à violência e à dor.

O que quero dizer é que Charlie Gordon existe no passado, e o passado é real. Você não pode construir um novo edifício em uma área até destruir o que existia antes, e o antigo Charlie não pode ser destruído. Ele existe.

Jillian Roberts

I wanted to get up and show everyone what a fool he was, to shout at him: 

I’m a human being, a person—with parents and memories and a history—and I was before you ever wheeled me into that operating  room! 

Michelle Yang

“I passed your floor on the way up, and now I’m passing it on the way down, and I don’t think I’ll be taking this elevator again.”

“There are a lot of people who will give money or materials, but very few who will give time and affection. That’s what I mean.”

Although we know the end of the maze holds death…I see now that the path I choose through that maze makes me what I am. I am not only a thing, but also a way of being—one of many ways—and knowing the paths I have followed and the ones left to take will help me understand what I am becoming.

“I can’t decide for you, Charlie. The answer can’t be found in books—or be solved by bringing it to other people. Not unless you want to remain a child all your life. You’ve got to find the answer inside you—feel the right thing to do. Charlie, you’ve got to learn to trust yourself.”

Alec Karlen

“I’m going to goose her if she wiggles her fanny at me again.”

Charlie Gordon, a floor sweeper born with an unusually low IQ, has been chosen as the perfect subject for an experimental surgery that doctors hope will increase his intelligence - a procedure that has been highly successful when tested on a lab mouse named Algernon. All Charlie wants is to be smart and have friends, but the treatment turns him into a genius.

Then Algernon begins to fade. What will become of Charlie?

Amalie Elisabeth

Aske Dørge

"Please, if you get a chance, put some flowers on Algernon's grave in the backyard."

Charlie Gordon, I hope you are contented with your life now. This is such a great book! So satisfying that I get to see and understand when he is having a transition. 

No more words. It's just one of the best books for me!

Kath

"Please, if you get a chance, put some flowers on Algernon's grave in the backyard."

The last PS got me. What the...

Charlie Gordon, I hope you are contented with your life now. This is such a great book! So satisfying that I get to see and understand when he is having a transition. 

No more words. It's just one of the best books for me!

What a deeply moving story that sounds impressively contemporary, in spite of being conceived nearly 70 years ago. I did not expect it to impact me as much as it did but it is incredibly effective in its examination of its themes, such as the treatment of people with mental illnesses and disabilities, personhood and authonomy; how an arbitrary perception of intelligence can affect the relationships of an individual with the world around them - friends, colleagues, lovers; even the battle between IQ and EQ (the term for which would be coined around the time of the publishing of the novel but not popularised until much later).

And in that, the heartbreak is unrelentness as the reader first sees how the people around Charlie treat him, and then sees him realise how he is being treated, and then sees him eventually regress in his mental ability.

On a more personal level, I found that the book spoke to me through one of my biggest fears. When I was a child, one of our neighbours had a son who had been exceptionally intelligent. But he had had an unfortunate accident - I was too little to remember the precise details - that had damaged his brain, regressing him severely. And while he still retained a not insignificant level of independence, this greatly limited his ability to navigate the world on his own. We moved away nearly 20 years ago but I often wonder what happened to him and his mother - I remember hearing from my grandma that she had not been well.

Somewhere between this and the fact that I have, as a child, often been complimented on my intelligence, I gained this deep-seated fear of a diminishing mental capability - be it through injury or just the natural aging process or anything else. And frankly, sometimes I fear that this may have already been set off by the recent pandemic. But I have also been thinking about what this fear says about myself and about the society we live in.

What a deeply moving story that sounds impressively contemporary, in spite of being conceived nearly 70 years ago. I did not expect it to impact me as much as it did but it is incredibly effective in its examination of its themes, such as the treatment of people with mental illnesses and disabilities, personhood and authonomy; how an arbitrary perception of intelligence can affect the relationships of an individual with the world around them - friends, colleagues, lovers; even the battle between IQ and EQ (the term for which would be coined around the time of the publishing of the novel but not popularised until much later).

 

And in that, the heartbreak is unrelentness as the reader first sees how the people around Charlie treat him, and then sees him realise how he is being treated, and then sees him eventually regress in his mental ability.

On a more personal level, I found that the book spoke to me through one of my biggest fears. When I was a child, one of our neighbours had a son who had been exceptionally intelligent. But he had had an unfortunate accident - I was too little to remember the precise details - that had damaged his brain, regressing him severely. And while he still retained a not insignificant level of independence, this greatly limited his ability to navigate the world on his own. We moved away nearly 20 years ago but I often wonder what happened to him and his mother - I remember hearing from my grandma that she had not been well.

Somewhere between this and the fact that I have, as a child, often been complimented on my intelligence, I gained this deep-seated fear of a diminishing mental capability - be it through injury or just the natural aging process or anything else. And frankly, sometimes I fear that this may have already been set off by the recent pandemic. But I have also been thinking about what this fear says about myself and about the society we live in.

Such a sad and heartbreaking story. I had so many insights and thoughts while reading this masterpiece that somehow when I finished, I found myself without words to describe the experience and clinching to the narrative, missing him throughout the day when I didn't had his company anymore. Charlie was one of the most complex and interesting characters I have ever known.

i read this while i was going through some of the worst chronic pain of my life that granted me the incredible ability of having ✨lapses of memory✨ and an ✨inability to focus well✨ and tragically related to this book. at the peak of my life too, flowers for algernon is a must read and a saddening tale about the human condition. bring tissues

claire sim qiu yan

This was genius, because i hated it, but i loved how i hated it. 

TommyBoi

I remember disliking this book in high school, and feeling very upset by it in a way that made me afraid to read it again for a very long time.

I'm glad I re-read it, but this book still breaks my heart, and it is once again the kind of book I probably couldn't read again for a long time.

Emma Lechner

I remember disliking this book in high school, and feeling very upset by it in a way that made me afraid to read it again for a very long time.

I'm glad I re-read it, but this book still breaks my heart, and it is once again the kind of book I probably couldn't read again for a long time.

Matheus Villa

★★★★★

Conforme a história avançava para o final meu emocional avançava para a depressão, foi quase assim... É um livro inicialmente muito interessante e que se desenvolve bem, senti muitas coisas em relação ao Charlie e me peguei me colocando no lugar dele várias vezes. Motivo de não ter dado favorito? Nem eu sei.

riss

tori 👻

This was absolutely heartbreaking and beautiful.

Ankit Panchal

It's such a beautifully written book. Keyes' choice of first person narrative through progress reports allows the reader to see his progression/regression in the most personal and touching way. It's so difficult not to get choked up reading that book.

Recommended to everyone!!

Lovro Oreskovic

I am really wondering how I did not come across this book earlier. It has a really interesting concept. 
The main protagonist is Charlie who is not really that intelligent. There is a new experimental operation which aims at increasing a persons IQ. 
Charlie is the first human being on whom the operation is tried on. To save you from the spoilers I will not continue telling the story, but the book is a really interesting look into what makes us who we are and the part of society we take. 
What is really interesting are the way the book is written. It is Charlies diary, where he writes what he sees and understands about the world. Daniel Keyes uses some non standard ways to convey the transformation Charlie is going through. During the course of the book we can see Charlies grammar, spelling and vocabulary change and it is fascinating how much can that metadata convey about a person. 

All in all, it is a interesting book, go and read it!

my heart is demolished and i will never be the same

Maya

my heart is demolished and i will never be the same



Charlie Gordon, un chico con discapacidad mental, cuenta en su diario, con palabras similares a las de un niño que empieza a escribir, las dificultades con las que se encuentra en el día a día. De pronto, unos científicos ven la posibilidad de operarle para lograr que sea un persona como las demás. También lo hicieron con Algernon, un ratoncillo de laboratorio, y la cosa funcionó. Pero, tiempo después, el ratoncillo empieza a experimentar cambios de conducta, hasta caer en un claro retroceso y morir. Charlie, que lo observa cada día, sabe lo que eso significa.

Flores para Algernon

Ana Luiza

** spoiler alert **
           Meu coração está quebrado. Essa leitura me deu uma dor que não sentia há muito tempo. Acompanhar a jornada de Charlie machuca, não só pela tristeza que é vê-lo decaindo depois do experimento, mas ver como as pessoas ao redor dele o tratam, tanto antes como depois. Saber que esse é o cotidiano de milhões de pessoas no mundo é dolorido. Ainda não se fala muito de como o capacitismo é perigoso e doloso. Muitos acreditam que estão no direito de tratar deficientes dessa maneira por achar que eles não entenderão. Sei que algum dia devo ter feito algo semelhante também. O que mostra o quanto essa leitura é importante e deve ser obrigatória, deve ser usada como um caminho para a desconstrução. Muitas são as causas e as bandeiras que se levantam hoje em dia para as mais diversas minorias, mas devemos nos lembrar de lutar por aqueles que não conseguem também.

"Ripensandoci, ora, posso capire perchè mi è stato insegnato a tenermi lontano dalle donne. Ho fatto male ad esprimere i miei sentimenti per Alice. Non ho alcun diritto di pensare ad una donna in questo modo... non ancora.

Ma nel momento stesso in cui scrivo queste parole, qualcosa dentro di me grida che c'è di più. Sono una creatura umana. Ero una creatura umana prima di essere sottoposto al bisturi del chirurgo. E devo amare qualcuno."

gabriele

"Ripensandoci, ora, posso capire perchè mi è stato insegnato a tenermi lontano dalle donne. Ho fatto male ad esprimere i miei sentimenti per Alice. Non ho alcun diritto di pensare ad una donna in questo modo... non ancora.

Ma nel momento stesso in cui scrivo queste parole, qualcosa dentro di me grida che c'è di più. Sono una creatura umana. Ero una creatura umana prima di essere sottoposto al bisturi del chirurgo. E devo amare qualcuno."

sophie

Gracie Marsden

This is a beautiful book about the journey of learning. There are a lot of parallels with Plato's Allegory of the cave. I would highly recommend reading the Allegory prior to starting this book.

Sophie Wang

it’s reputation superseded itself so fell the book short to me. this was in part bc of design as the most emotionally compelling parts of the novel (where we knew things charlie didn’t yet understand) were transitory, but also because of inconsistencies and other parts that required suspension of disbelief (the bakery men defending charlie when he came back, the one dimensional researchers, lots of details about fay, other charlie watching, etc) which detracted from the overall message of love being what makes someone human. 

this might also because I read song of Achilles right after and had the two as direct comparisons for their similar heroes cycles and the romance v self dilemma, but it was overall still a very enjoyable read

Charlie Gordon is about to embark upon an unprecedented journey. Born with an unusually low IQ, he has been chosen as the perfect subject for an experimental surgery that researchers hope will increase his intelligence--a procedure that has already been highly successful when tested on a lab mouse named Algernon. 

As the treatment takes effect, Charlie's intelligence expands until it surpasses that of the doctors who engineered his metamorphosis. The experiment appears to be a scientific breakthrough of paramount importance, until Algernon suddenly deteriorates. Will the same happen to Charlie?
(back cover)

diya

I kept putting this off for years, merely because the general consensus was - its about a mouse and a dude, meh it can wait.

I couldn't have been more wrong. Often a time human beings put an irrational but sometimes justifiable weight on this thing called intellectuality. How smart is your kid, do they fit inside the box. A child gowing up, is expected to be smart, studious, enough so as to fit into the society. If not, it is out of "normality", you arent normal. Only when we grow up do we realise the true things that maketh a person, kindess, gratitude, affection, empathy - far superior than a grade. It was like seeing through, not lens, but multiple reflections. Who decides even the kind of person we become, do we even have a say in who we become; do we even know to question what makes us whole?

Picked this up at a local secondhand bookstore at random. A literary masterpiece full of emotional and philosophical depth. Will undoubtedly tug at your heart, but oddly enough, I didn’t cry while reading this, as many before me had. Maybe it’s because I have been facing somewhat of a similar situation in my own life, and I just wanted to find solace in the fact that I’m not alone in this treacherous journey. 

man, that was so sad. it gave me a newfound perspective on human intellect and how it changes people, the mentally disabled, and how privileged we are as educated people with fully functioning brains and wow this book. it was so enlightening and wise. damn. it just felt so genuine and human. that was so. good.

the realizations he had about humanity before and after his intelligence was honestly so eye-opening. such a good book.

mahek 

man, that was so sad. it gave me a newfound perspective on human intellect and how it changes people, the mentally disabled, and how privileged we are as educated people with fully functioning brains and wow this book. it was so enlightening and wise. damn. it just felt so genuine and human. that was so. good.

the realizations he had about humanity before and after his intelligence was honestly so eye-opening. such a good book.

keyes isn't smart enough to write a smart person and can't write a dumb person either - or a woman that isn't a stock character. interesting concept, horribly flat execution marred by a dated and myopic perspective

eris

Charlie Gordon is about to embark upon an unprecedented journey. Born with an unusually low IQ, he has been chosen as the perfect subject for an experimental surgery that researchers hope will increase his intelligence--a procedure that has already been highly successful when tested on a lab mouse named Algernon.

As the treatment takes effect, Charlies intelligence expands until it surpasses that of the doctors who engineered his metamorphosis. The experiment appears to be a scientific breakthrough of paramount importance until Algernon suddenly deteriorates. Will the same happen to Charlie?

--back cover

Hannah Yang

The librarian said that Flowers for Algernon makes you cry, and while I did not cry, I was on a roller coaster of emotions when reading it. 

  I don’t know what’s worse: to not know what you are and be happy, or to become what you’ve always wanted to be, and feel alone.

Flowers for Algernon is about Charlie Gordon, with an IQ of 68 ("retarded"). He has spent his whole life trying to become smart, and is about to undergo an operation that will multiply his intelligence. Charlie will be the first human to have his IQ increased dramatically.

Progress after the operation is quick, and soon he is more intelligent than the scientists and professors who "created" this new Charlie. But while he has gained the intelligence and memories he always yearned for, he has also lost things that the old Charlie Gordon had: happiness and love, and a good nature that made people like him. As Charlie regains his old memories and remembers his childhood, and as he learns to navigate this new world, he wonders if the operation was worth it after all. He feels trapped in the world of science - just a guinea pig in an experiment, not a person.

Then, Algernon, the mouse who also underwent the operation, begins to deteriorate. Realizing what may become of him, Charlie races against the clock to piece together the flaw in Professor Nemur's experiment. He is about to lose everything he had so rapidly gained, and I think the scariest part about it for him is that he knows it. He is sinking into quicksand and there is no way to stop the process, slow it down, or escape. How terrifying it must be to see everything slip away before your eyes. So he cuts everyone off (even more than he already did). By the end of the book, the old Charlie Gordon is back.

Flowers for Algernon is very well-written (yes, even the beginning and end) and I felt the subtle changes in Charlie's writing helped us to understand his progress and deterioration. I felt heartbroken when I saw he had stopped using punctuation and capitalization properly. The way it was written completely from Charlie's perspective, alternating between his present and past self, really makes the book.

So much happens, yet at the same time we're really just running in the same place. (Similar to how you can run 10 miles on a treadmill, but you've really only been running on the same machine). Charlie's journey is a mental one rather than a physical one, and that was really interesting to explore. The way his thinking goes from muddled to clear to muddled is gradual and well-done on Daniel Keyes' part.

I think the book raises some fascinating questions regarding thinking, intelligence, love, and what is most important in life. As an online school student, it also caused me to wonder about the importance of one's capacity to relate and be with other people. Is it possible that such deterioration is possible even without this miracle operation? (I should hope not.)

It's quite an emotional read, as I mentioned in the beginning. I can see how it could rip the hearts out of some people. I would most certainly recommend it, and I hope Charlie learns to reed and rite good agin someday. So pepul dont laff at him.

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

Reihan Maulana

I just finished reading and god it's depressing, its so sad. The story revolves around a man who desires to become smarter and undergoes an experimental procedure to achieve it. However, as the story progresses, we witness his intelligence deteriorating, and he regresses back to his former state of mental disability. It's really heartbreaking, really.. 

What impacted me the most was the character Alice. It's unimaginable to see someone go through such drastic transformations not once, but twice. Alice loved him in different ways throughout the story, and witnessing him become that "innocent boy" again must have been incredibly challenging for her.

While many people are moved by the last line of the book, where he asks for flowers to be placed on Algernon's grave, for me, it was the entire journey leading up to that moment that left the biggest impact. Especially when he said "Please ... please ... dont let me forget how to reed and rite...".

"Intelligence and education that hasn’t been tempered by human affection isn’t worth a damn." 
- Flowers for Algernon

Flowers for Algernon

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