Flowers for Algernon Book Review

Author: Daniel Keyes

Flowers for Algernon is a classic novel that's won a Hugo Award and a Nebula Award. Also, if you haven't read it in school yet, you will soon. What is it that makes this book such a wicked read? The basic info is that Flowers for Algernon is written as a bunch of diary entries from a mentally disabled guy named Charlie Gordon. He really wants to be smart so he's signed up for a surgery to increase his intelligence and his diary entries change as he gets smarter.

Fab Facts About Flowers for Algernon

What makes Flowers for Algernon a really interesting book is how Charlie changes. Have you ever looked back at something you did a long time ago and thought about how stupid you were, because now you know better? That's the kind of change Charlie goes through and seeing it happen so fast can really make you think about stuff you do and how you might do it differently.

The Bottom Line

Flowers for Algernon is an intensely personal story about Charlie with a really sad ending. If you haven't read it yet it's worth picking up 'cuz it's an easy read that'll make you think.

Oh, and Algernon is Charlie's friend - a mouse at the lab where Charlie gets his surgery done. Algernon has had the same surgery so he's the smartest mouse on the planet.

Flowers of Algernon Rating:

Related Stories: