Flowers for Algernon (Bantam Classic) [Taschenbuch]

If I were to describe the story in one word, that word would be "poignant". This book has aroused my emotions and stimulated my thoughts in the span of what, 2 days? Although it is not to the extent of making me cry (no book has done that to me before), I keep getting this funny tingling sensation at those especially emotional scenes. I have experienced this at least 7 times throughout the reading.

In my opinion, David Keyes did an extremely good job in employing the use of the first person view, journal style writing where the main character, Charlie, narrates the events to the reader. More than once have I marvelled at the way Keyes writes about the range of feelings and emotions that Charlie goes through. Keyes has portrayed them in an extremely realistic manner. I'm willing to bet that for Keyes to have achieved that, he must have thought about how he himself felt in certain situations and applied them to Charlie's character. Why? Because some of the feelings that Keyes describes are almost exactly the same as what I have experienced. That's what makes the story even more grippingly realistic. The darker side of human emotions such as anger, hatred, frustration and fear are shown more in the story. More than halfway through the story I was already feeling that the story was starting to become quite frightening because of its realism. It thoroughly explores the world of human emotions. To all psychology students, don't miss this one.

I think the most prominent theme being discussed throughout the story is that of intelligence. The story questions whether intelligence is really a good thing. Before the operation, we see Charlie Gordon the moron with an I.Q. of 70, the honest, trusting, good-natured and likeable Charlie Gordon. After the operation, we see the super-intelligent Charlie Gordon, highly knowledgeable in many fields, master of 20 languages, and yet arrogant and unable to connect with and relate to ordinary people. He begins to see, but not tolerate the inadequacies of the normal human being. Charlie's only salvation comes from the fact that he once experienced life with an I.Q. of 70. That is why at the end he finally realizes his mistake. He says, "Intelligence and education that hasn't been tempered by human affection isn't worth a damn." This is a contrast to the scientists, Professor Nemur especially, who has the benefit of education but is almost incapable of sensitivity and feeling emotionally. Somebody once told me that there is greed and ambition in this world because of education. That's something worth thinking about.

Hmm...now I've come to the last part: why the Flowers for Algernon is so beautiful. To me, the story is basically about the psychological journey about a man, a man who has lived at the two extremes of intelligence. Some people have commented that the story is a dark and depressing. I disagree. The final part of the story where Charlie is losing his intelligence and he has to face it is indeed heart-wrenching, as we see how he slowly becomes the old Charlie again, and how he has to painfully let go of certain things.

Yes, the story is full of ups and downs, and the downs are indeed more than the ups. In fact, isn't there only one "up" in the story? The part where Charlie finally realizes what intelligence really means, and the Charlie of the present finally learns to live with the Charlie of the past. In my opinion, that is the very pinnacle of the story. He discovers how to truly live life to the fullest, he learns about using intelligence not just for himself, but for the world, and he conquers his fear to experience the joy of love. However short-lived it may be, I feel that it overshadows all other parts of the story, even if he loses everything at the end. Good things cannot last forever, and perhaps that's what makes them even more beautiful. There is true beauty in Charlie's words when he says,

"Alice knows everything about me now, and accepts the fact that we can only be together for a short while...It's painful to think about that, but what we have, I suspect, is more than most people find in a lifetime."

His story is told entirely through Charlie's eyes and perceptions in the form of progress reports. The reader actually sees the change in Charlie take place, as his progress reports become more complex, well written, and filled with the angst of personal discovery and growth, as well as with his gradual awareness of his amazing and accelerated intellectual development.

The progress reports are a wonderful contrivance for facilitating the story, and the reader is one with Charlie on his voyage of self-discovery. What happens to Charlie in the long run is profoundly moving and thought provoking. It is no wonder that this author was the recipient of the Nebula Award, which is given by the Science Fiction Writers of America for having written the Best Novel of the Year. This is definitely a book well worth reading and having in one's personal collection. Bravo!