Keyes seemed to imply that with knowledge and intelligence comes misery (and he mentions Plato’s Cave a couple of times) at the same time as he has his main character desperate to become intelligent.

Charlie went through his childhood afraid at times, but always with a warm smile on his face, laughing along when his friends laughed at him. I found the glorification of intelligence at the core of this book to be at odds with what the author also seemed to be saying, which is that terrible things only become terrible if we’re smart enough to understand that they are so. Instead, I cringed at how insufferable Intelligent Charlie was. The promise many reviews made that it would touch me deeply resonated with me on some level, and I expected some emotional devastation that never came. This book should have become a favourite of mine, seeing as its subject matter (social inequalities, the human brain etc) is one that I am very interested in. He has nothing but affection for mentally disabled people, whom he sees as small children, people, worthy of our respect. Some of the words he uses are so politically incorrect today (for example, moron or retarded) but we have to remember that Flowers for Algernon was written in 1966: indeed, despite the language that he uses, he means no offense. Keyes created an original story about a subject that is today as relevant as ever: knowledge, intelligence and the status they have in society. He starts making connections and remembering significant events in his life, which in turn changes his attitude towards the world.

He starts noticing things about the people in his life that he had neither noticed or comprehended before. As Charlie becomes smarter, his language changes, and with it the way he perceives himself and his surroundings. The story is told from Charlie’s perspective, through his accounts of everyday life, as they become more and more complicated, more and more grammatically correct. Sure enough, through Charlie’s written reports, we witness his transformation from a likeable, mentally handicapped person to someone whose intelligence surpasses even that of the people who designed the experiment. Then, one day, he’s given the chance to participate in an experiment, an operation that’s only been performed on a mouse before -the titular Algernon-, which, if all goes well, will turn him into a genius. Growing up, all Charlie had ever wanted was to become smart and have friends. So, naturally, I expected a lot from it.įlowers for Algernon is the story of Charlie Gordon, a 30-odd year old man with the mental capacity of a little child. People discussing the book on online forums talked about how it had affected them profoundly. I picked up this book after seeing it on several Top-100 lists of Science Fiction books.

Flowers for algernon 1966