Play Book Tag discussion

Flowers for Algernon, by Daniel Keyes, 1966, 5 stars
This is a fascinating and heartbreaking story. It’s a classic science fiction (or speculative fiction) book that I somehow missed when I was young. It’s about Charly, a mentally retarded (the term used at the time) man who is given an experimental treatment to increase his intelligence. We see how the surgery gradually starts to work, and how it affects various aspects of Charly’s life. I was particularly interested in how the changes affected his perceptions and relationships with co-workers in a bakery. As he gains the ability to understand and remember things that happened to him in his early life, he is forced to deal with emotional revelations. The effects are not expected to be permanent, and we also see how his life if affected when he starts to lose his new cognitive abilities. This was particularly moving to me because I experienced some of that loss after suffering a concussion. (Not to mention "senior moments".) The book was based on a short story that many people read in school. The book adds more mature themes, including some sexual content. I highly recommend this book for adults. Even if you read the story or book as a child, it is worthwhile reading now.

Loved this book. And the movie was pretty well done as well (if memory serves).