Flowers for Algernon (Daniel Keyes)

[ase]

Flowers for Algernon (Daniel Keyes): "But I know now there's one thing you've all overlooked: intelligence and education that hasn't been tempered with human affection isn't worth a damn." - Charlie Gordon

Classic story of the man whose impaired intelligence was boosted somewhere past genius for less than a year. It's hard to discuss this because it is a Classic and hard to consider independent of that. The idea that the novel is Charlie's journal/progress reports is really well implemented, showing through grammar and punctuation Charlie's rapid rise and fall in intelligence; the prose is workmanlike, not sparkling, beautiful like freeway bridges. The book was written in the 1960's, but the attitudes displayed by several characters toward the mentally retarded are depressingly contemporary.

Comments

[kinetikatrue]

I remember that I read and loved this back in early middle school and was then disappointed when it only showed up as an excerpt in my Literature textbook a year or so later. Really, only reading an excerpt doesn't nearly do it justice. And this just hits so many buttons with me, as the value and expression of intelligence are some of my particular issues.

Should dig out my copy and read it again.

[ase.livejournal.com]

Wasn't Flowers for Algernon expanded from a short story? Or am I thinking of any number of SF novels? It's not that long (she says, thinking of Cryptonomicon, HP5 and the Wheel of Time series), and it's a fairly plot and idea driven novel. I think it would suffer without the full establishment, denouncement, conclusion arc. Reading just an excerpt seems inadequate, unless it's a sneaky way to encourage students to read the entire thing on their own time.

And this just hits so many buttons with me, as the value and expression of intelligence are some of my particular issues.

I don't suppose you've ever read Cyteen, by C. J. Cherryh, have you? Intelligence is one of the novel's driving themes.

[kinetikatrue]

Yes, it was, originally. The short story was published in 1959 and won a Hugo. Then, in 1966, the expanded story was published as a novel and proceeded to win a Nebula. Sheesh.

So, yes, it does belong to that peculiar tradition of SF novels that started life as short stories. What's more, it's part of the select group of those that are as good or even better in their longer form.

Anyway, it might have been just the short story rather than an excerpt, but I remember being annoyed about the length of it, or rather lack thereof . . . and I've started reading Cyteen but not finished it, as the last time I tried I was just not in a good place to deal with the particular mindset of the book. So I will likely read it eventually - I just need to be in the right place for it. Yeah.

[mareklamo.livejournal.com]

Love Flowers for Algernon, but don't re-read it a lot because it makes me cry. The original short story (novella?) is also good. What do you mean when you say it is hard to consider the book independent of its "Classic" status?

[ase.livejournal.com]

What do you mean when you say it is hard to consider the book independent of its "Classic" status?

Since it's a classic, it's tempting to revert to high school english manners: 1.) automatically assuming it'll be hopelessly dry, with each sentence Freighted With Meaning I'm expected to ferret out, and 2.) assuming that because it's a classic, and well respected by other people, I have to twist myself into a pretzel to find something nice to say about it, even if I hate it. Or 3.) something disparaging if I like it, because liking a classic would mean I'm turning into a dried up old adult.

The exceptions to all this are Catcher in the Rye and Lord of the Flies. Catcher is just annoying and I disagree with Flies' premise. Those two inspired me break Rule Two to pieces as a teen. It was a refreshing experience.

Since I'm no longer in high school, it's now perfectly acceptable for me to say, "I liked it, and I need to buy a copy" without wondering if I'm turning into a prune, or to say, "I threw it against the wall three pages in" without doing equal harm to my grades. The book's just - "just", hah - a book. Sometimes it's hard to remember that, though, and sometimes I still plow through something because It's A Classic, and I'm trying get out of the "SF ghetto", rather than reading purely for my own pleasure.