Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes is an incredibly fascinating if incredibly disturbing story. It tells the story of Charlie, a young man who is probably in his twenties and who has an extremely low IQ. However, he is given the opportunity to undergo an experimental procedure that should increase his IQ to at or above normal levels. A procedure that has been somewhat successful on a rat named Algernon. As the story progresses we see how Charlie grows in terms of intelligence but struggles to grow socially and emotionally to compensate. Charlie eventually starts to become smarter than the same scientists who developed the procedure in the first place even as he embarks on his own emotionally based relationships with fellow adults, something that ultimately leads to his considerable heartbreak as his emotional intelligence still lags behind. At the same time Charlie is also forced to face his own past as he starts remembering things and events that affected him emotionally as he grew up and in some ways are still affecting him now.
This book is incredibly fascinating because it depicts how someone might handle the effects of becoming drastically smarter in an extremely short time frame. At the same time it is disturbing due to the way it portrays people who are not as intelligent. I struggled some when reading this because the implications of the science it portrays are disturbing to me. The scientists who created the procedure used on Charlie honestly viewed people like him as almost being less than human due to the lack of intelligence. In fact this seems to be what led them to the idea for the research in the first place. I think the book was trying to make a point though because through Charlie we are able to see how that idea is incredibly wrong and how Charlie is just as human as the rest of us no matter which end of the IQ spectrum he is on at that point in time. The book handles this topic in a rather interesting way to help with that as the entire book is told from Charlie’s perspective. To be more specific it is actually told from his perspective after the fact, so to speak, in the form of a series of reports that he creates to explain his feelings and thoughts processes about what is going on as time progresses. We don’t actually see events as they happen and only see what he thinks about what happened after it has happened. This creates extra levels of distance from us and the events being described so we do need to take that into account when thinking about this book. Despite finding the story difficult it was incredibly easy to sympathize with Charlie and feel somewhat sorry for him and his situation. He was an intense and complicated person and his development over the course of the book was beyond intriguing. I can see why the book has mixed reviews and reactions as it really covers the gamut of topics and themes even if the main focus is on Charlie and his growing awareness of the world around him due to his growing intelligence. A great if difficult book and one that I am happy giving four out of five stars.
This book is probably rightly considered a modern classic though slightly on the science-fiction side of things. While it may be difficult to read I hope you will consider trying it anyway as it definitely deserves to be read and will definitely make you think about the way you perceive and interact with the people around you. However, as you may realize if it sounds like something that could be hazardous for you to read for your own mental health please be careful before considering trying it. I would mostly recommend this book for an adult audience due to the somewhat difficult themes and topics it includes. However, if the reader is properly prepared I see no reason why it could not be read by older teens and young adults if they are careful. It is a good book and one that should be considered by more readers. I hope you will consider trying it out and if you do feel free to share your thoughts about it in the comments.