Daniel Keyes - Flowers for Algernon Books

Pros: perceptive, passionate writing; gripping story; fleshed-out characters
Cons: why did it have to end like that?

Not simply a classic sci-fi thriller from 1966, Daniel Keye’s 274-page novel, Flowers For Algernon, remains a psychologically insightful study that provokes us with the question of how much value we place on our I.Q.s (Intelligence Quotient). If...

Pros: A warm, sensitive story which will teach adolescents kindness and compassion
Cons: A few brief scenes have led to challenges to ban this book from libraries!

Pros: intriguing, encourages empathy
Cons: depressing

Such is the lesson that Charly Gordon learns when an experimental procedure turns him from a man with an I.Q. low enough to make Forrest Gump look like a genius is comparison into a brilliant scientist in a matter of months. In the beginning, all Charly...

Pros: Heartstring-tugging story · insight into Charlie’s mind · detailed characterization · issues raised
Cons: ...

reding riport 1 septimber 15
Mrs. Jon sez I shud rite evrything I think becos Ill be reding Flores for Algernon by Danil Kiss over the nekst too wiks. I toled her I dont rite no gud but she sed I shud rite like I spik its no problum.
...

Pros: Rich, emotive, powerful story which touches the readers heart.
Cons: Probably could have benefitted from being a longer work.

This book is simply wonderfully written. It moved me deeply. Flowers for Algernon won a Nebula Award as a short story, and was later expanded into a full length novel by the author. I never read the short, but I have just finished the novel in ...

Pros: must read novel
Cons: noneeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

Do you have a family member or someone you know who is mentally retarded? In this story Charlie Gordon is a 37 year old adult with a mind of a child. His intelligence changes from an experimental operation. This operation opened his eyes to ...

Pros: Warms your soul like hot chocolate in the winter.
Cons: none

Flowers for Algernon

From a child's like mind to genius , is it possible?
In Daniel Keyes’, Flowers for Algernon, Charlie Gordon, a mentally challenged man, triples his I.Q. from a medical operation. I think it...

Pros: extremely well-stylized tale, both emotionally and intellectually
Cons: Epinions lists it as Flowers OF Algernon, but actually it's FOR Algernon

Wow. You can just imagine how pleasantly surprised I was to find, buried deep inside a cardboard box in my garage, my old copy of Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes. I first came into contact with this wonderful, poignant story back in junior high (I...

Pros: Too many to list, but the premise is totally fresh!
Cons: I loan it out and it never returns. Very expensive to keep replacing--even in paperback!

"You'll never really be happy," a friend told me once. "You're far too intelligent to be happy."

I am still trying to decide if that was a compliment or what, but being an avid fan of Flowers for Algernon by...

Pros: touching, moving, inspirational, compelling
Cons: none...

The Price of Being Smart

Charlie Gordon, age 32, was born retarded. He was what many called "exceptional" and a mistake. He had no past and sadly, no future except a permanent job in Donner's bakery. Though despite his...

Pros: A truly powerful novel. Skillfully written and brilliantly executed its a technical masterpiece!
Cons: i lik to eat peenutes!

Do you ever get sick? I mean really sick?

I do.

I get sick of the lame-brained, half-witted, illiterate punks that seem to dominate Epinions.com - a website that I normally love to be a part of. However, it is...

Pros: A quick read with a powerful message and a great story.
Cons: Sometimes I wanted a bit more information.

From the main character's very first journal entry the reader cannot help but care for this gentle and earnest man, Charlie. For many of the young-adult target audience, this is their first exposure to the mentally-challenged; it can make them less...

Pros: intellectually stimulating classic
Cons: no happy ending here

Flowers for Algernon is in my eighth grade literature book. Every year I look forward to teaching this unit as it provides many opportunities to discuss important social issues with my students. In particular, I enjoy debating the idea of doctors as...

Pros: EVERYTHING
Cons: none

This is one of the most captivating books i have read in a long time. I love the way the book is written. It is told in first person, in the form of a journal. That way we are able to see the way he progresses after the surgery and then regresses...

Pros: Great book, thought-provoking
Cons: Heartbreakingly sad!

"Flowers For Algernon" was ahead of its time as far as the ethical questions that it raises. To this day it disturbs me, and creates a dilemma in my own mind and heart. Believing as I do that God created us as we are for a reason, I find it...