AUTHOR: Joseph Wurtenbaugh
PUBLISHER: Mariner Books
PUBLICATION DATE: May 1, 2005 (first published 1966)
PAGES: 311
SYNOPSIS FROM GOODREADS:
The story of a mentally disabled man whose experimental quest for intelligence mirrors that of Algernon, an extraordinary lab mouse. In 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?
MY RATING: Flowers For Algernon is undeniably one of the saddest or heart-wrenching novel I've read so far. There are numerous times that some parts of this book that made me teary eyed, especially on how Charlie was maltreated by his own mother and younger sister, and by his colleagues in the bakery. This novel was first published on the late 50's, thus the people narrated during that time treated people with down syndrome differently. I cannot say that those who had this genetic disorder nowadays no longer experienced discrimination or maltreatment, but perhaps people are more considerate and open-minded now because of the massive information that we can access regarding this. If you're not into reading sad novels, then you should skip this one. However, don't fail to read this if you can handle distressing stories such as this. |
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