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Flowers for Algernon
by Daniel Keyes
Product Group: Book
Publisher: Harvest Books (2005-05-01)
ISBN: 0156030306
EAN: 9780156030304
Dewy Decimal #: 813.54
Paperback: 324 pages
SKU: BX050-080128004
Condition: Used: Very Good
Comments: Clean and shiny. Very minor wear, near new. Spine uncreased, pgs crisp, clean, tight, unmarked. No remainder mark. Cover art is different, same ISBN. Just purchased new fm Amazon in 2006, read once.
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Editorial Reviews
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Amazon.com Review
Daniel Keyes wrote little SF but is highly regarded for one classic, Flowers for Algernon. As a 1959 novella it won a Hugo Award; the 1966 novel-length expansion won a Nebula. The Oscar-winning movie adaptation Charly (1968) also spawned a 1980 Broadway musical. Following his doctor's instructions, engaging simpleton Charlie Gordon tells his own story in semi-literate "progris riports." He dimly wants to better himself, but with an IQ of 68 can't even beat the laboratory mouse Algernon at maze-solving: I dint feel bad because I watched Algernon and I lernd how to finish the amaze even if it takes me along time. I dint know mice were so smart. Algernon is extra-clever thanks to an experimental brain operation so far tried only on animals. Charlie eagerly volunteers as the first human subject. After frustrating delays and agonies of concentration, the effects begin to show and the reports steadily improve: "Punctuation, is? fun!" But getting smarter brings cruel shocks, as Charlie realizes that his merry "friends" at the bakery where he sweeps the floor have all along been laughing at him, never with him. The IQ rise continues, taking him steadily past the human average to genius level and beyond, until he's as intellectually alone as the old, foolish Charlie ever was--and now painfully aware of it. Then, ominously, the smart mouse Algernon begins to deteriorate... Flowers for Algernon is a timeless tear-jerker with a terrific emotional impact. --David Langford
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Product Description
With more than five million copies sold, Flowers for Algernon is the beloved, classic story of a mentally disabled man whose experimental quest for intelligence mirrors that of Algernon, an extraordinary lab mouse. In poignant diary entries, Charlie tells how a brain operation increases his IQ and changes his life. As the experimental procedure takes effect, Charlie's intelligence expands until it surpasses that of the doctors who engineered his metamorphosis. The experiment seems to be a scientific breakthrough of paramount importance--until Algernon begins his sudden, unexpected deterioration. Will the same happen to Charlie?
An American classic that inspired the award-winning movie Charly.
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Customer Reviews
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Flowers for You by Johanna Ramm
Rating  (5)
Date: 2008-09-30
Charlie Gordon is a mentally retarded man. He doesn't realize how broad life can be. Working in Donner's Bakery is all Charlie knows. When Charlie is chosen as the first, along with a mouse named Algernon, to have an operation to increase hi IQ, his eyes open wider to see that life is as big as you make it. He learns all about the world and his scarring childhood.
Charlie soon learns that he is surrounded by narcissistic people, and even though it was Charlie who had made a breakthrough, those people were still going to take credit for his newfound purpose. So Charlie decides to go out on his own in New York City, housing Algernon. His IQ becomes high, but emotionally Charlie is trailing behind.
When his IQ reaches to a level that is above those who taught him, Charlie ends up isolating himself. While Charlie becomes one of the smartest men in New York, he still isn't wise enough to see life outside of his own little window. But what will become of Charlie when it's time to hand his body back to the original Charlie Gordon?
Charlie experiences all of growing up, getting out on your own, experimenting with your sexuality, finding out who you are, dealing with incompetence, and finding it in yourself. Charlie must learn who he is before his hourglass empties.
Flowers for Algernon is a fabulous book. One to five, I give this book a six. It is recommended for anyone and everyone over the age of 12, because there are some explicit scenes. This book taught me what it's like to be an outcast, and in a quick changing environment. Also, I learned that who you are, is who you are. You can't change that, so don't even try. Daniel Keys is phenomenal at describing each scene. You'll think you're sitting in the laboratory or on Charlie's couch the entire time! Flowers for Algernon is good for both educational reading, and it's great for pleasure.
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For all the haters out there
Rating (5)
Date: 2008-08-21
I read this book as required reading the the 8th grade and I never did stop loving it. My classmates loved it too but to be fair, a lot of them wouldn't reread it.
So when I came to Amazon, I was overjoyed that Flowers for Algernon received so many 5 stars. But at the same time, I was incensed that there were actually people who hated it. I know everyone's entitled to their opinions so I decided not to judge them till I understood why they hated the book.
Apparently, the biggest beef they had with the story was that it "didn't have enough action." WHAT THE HECK. This book is not meant to be an adventure story where the suddenly smart protagonist is going to become a superhero and beat up villans. It shows the raw emotions of Charlie and how the people around him are like. It shows the ordinary, mundane, every day life of a normal man, depsite his unusual circumstances. People, even if something big happened in your life, you'd eventually get used to or over it and spend your days doing the same things. That's what the story's like.
And another thing - the sexual confusion is natural. After becoming more intelligent, the protagonist is of course going to experience the emotions he didn't during puberty.
Also, many of the reviews seemed to be written by kids who just resented the fact that they had been required to read it. Who'd rather play video games or read "great" literature such as Breaking Dawn (which has way more sexual content, to no one's surprise).
There, rant over.
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the second worst book ever
Rating  (1)
Date: 2008-06-03
2 out of 26 customers found this reveiw helpful
For the longest time I believed this was the worst book ever. After reading A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, I now realize it is the second worst book ever written. In both stories, nothing happens that is worth mentioning. It's just that kind of book that is critically acclaimed for how well it is written. However, the story is poor. I wrote better stories when I was in first grade.
Basically, things happen in chronological order as they would in real life. However, they are not connected. It's true that in real life not everything is connected. However, if I wanted to experience real life, I wouldn't read it, I would live it. The point of a book should be to tell an interesting story. That is not what this book does.
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For book clubs or teens
Rating  (4)
Date: 2008-03-19
It was a provocative and well written book. Both my teens also read and enjoyed it. I cringed at the look into how society treats mentally challenged individuals. The main characters have to make incredibly difficult and thought provoking choices. I cried at the end. It is short but has enough meat to be a great book club choice.
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Are scientific advancements always good?
Rating (4)
Date: 2008-02-29
3 out of 3 customers found this reveiw helpful
"Norma Screamed at her: "Mother! Put down that knife!" Seeing Rose standing there with the knife brought back a picture of that night when she had Matt take me away. She was reliving that now. I couldn't speak or move. The nausea swept over me now, the choking tension, the buzzing in my ears, my stomach knotting and stretching as if it wanted to tear itself out of my body. She had a knife, Alice had a knife, and my father had a knife and Dr. Strauss had a knife..."
The book Flowers for Algernon a science fiction novel by Daniel Keys is very intriguing, it begun with the surgery of 32 year old Charlie Gordan. Charlie lives in the suburbs of New York in the 1960's and is mentally challenged adult. With an IQ of 68 the surgery is meant to increase his intelligence by and almost triple his IQ. Once Charlie and his doctors notice a change in Algernon the lab rat who first had the operation they wonder if the same complications could turn up in Charlie. Will Charlie's IQ continue to sky rocket or will everything go very wrong? Could this hurt his relationship with the women he loves? Read FLOWERS FOR ALGERNON to find out!
I think that this story was so meaningful because of the strongly implied theme. That theme was that scientific advancement was not always positive. Scientist should realize that advancements are not always the best for human-kind and they don't have the right to change fate. Personally I strongly enjoyed this novel because it states a belief that I value. Science advancement I was delighted by this novel and think that anyone looking for an interesting book that changes the way you think about yourself, others and the world, then this would be a great book for you.
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