Flowers For Algernon: The must-read literary science fiction masterpiece (S.F. MASTERWORKS) - Softcover

Keyes, Daniel

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1857989384 ISBN 13: 9781857989380

Publisher: Gollancz, 2002

Synopsis

The classic novel about a daring experiment in human intelligence Charlie Gordon, IQ 68, is a floor sweeper and the gentle butt of everyone's jokes - until an experiment in the enhancement of human intelligence turns him into a genius. But then Algernon, the mouse whose triumphal experimental tranformation preceded his, fades and dies, and Charlie has to face the possibility that his salvation was only temporary.

About this title

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 a 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 realises 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 ...

A timeless tear-jerker with a terrific emotional impact, Flowers for Algernon is the 25th choice in the millennium SF Masterworks series. --David Langford

Review

This is one of the greats: a story and a central character that have stayed with me for thirty years, from the first moment I picked it up (Conn Iggulden)

A masterpiece of poignant brilliance . . . heartbreaking, and utterly, completely brilliant (Guardian)

A timeless tearjerker (Independent)

Excellent . . . extremely moving (The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction)

Unflinchingly honest . . . it will make you reflect on your own life . . . and completely and utterly break your heart (Guardian Online)

A narrative tour de force, very moving, beautiful and remorseless in its simple logic (Science Fiction, 100 Best Novels)

Strikingly original (Publishers Weekly)

A tale that is convincing, suspectful and touching (New York Times)

Edition details

• Publisher: Gollancz
• Publication date: 2002
• ISBN 10: 1857989384
• ISBN 13: 9781857989380
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 224