Flowers for Algernon

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  Flowers for Algernon is the sci-fi classic story of Charlie, a mentally challenged man with an extremely low IQ but an extremely high motivation to get smart. This is Charlie's diary detailing his extraordinary story after he is chosen for an experimental procedure to turn him into a genius. It's a poignant, touching account of the problems with the pursuit of knowledge and the disadvantages of messing with who you essentially are.

  It's a set text for a lot of schools but I was never made... (show more)

  Flowers for Algernon is the sci-fi classic story of Charlie, a mentally challenged man with an extremely low IQ but an extremely high motivation to get smart. This is Charlie's diary detailing his extraordinary story after he is chosen for an experimental procedure to turn him into a genius. It's a poignant, touching account of the problems with the pursuit of knowledge and the disadvantages of messing with who you essentially are.

  It's a set text for a lot of schools but I was never made to read it and if you're like me, I really recommend it. It's a book everyone should read at some point during their lives.

  Seriously, just read it! It'll do you good. (show less)

   

   

  by Amy Marks on Jul 23, 2008 at 07:56AM

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  Fascinating story and a good read, though it lacks in a few fields. I never expected this to be catalogued as Science Fiction and would rather say it's a psychological novel. Flowers for Algernon has a lot of easy to interpret motives and some beautiful pictures, but they are sometimes to cleanly drawn to be a real masterpiece. What I mean is that the diary style makes it a bit less poetic or visual then a usual novel and more 'technical', leading to the afterthought that it has a lot of good... (show more)

  Fascinating story and a good read, though it lacks in a few fields. I never expected this to be catalogued as Science Fiction and would rather say it's a psychological novel. Flowers for Algernon has a lot of easy to interpret motives and some beautiful pictures, but they are sometimes to cleanly drawn to be a real masterpiece. What I mean is that the diary style makes it a bit less poetic or visual then a usual novel and more 'technical', leading to the afterthought that it has a lot of good ideas but sometimes reads more like an especially well written report. Also, the structure of the novel is so clever that you see it coming, which made it feel more like a well crafted story than something real. Nevertheless it raises interesting questions and is touching in parts. In fact the last 20 or so pages were very powerful in the context of the unfolding story. (show less)

   

   

  by Facebook User on Nov 23, 2009 at 10:48PM

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