Flowers for Algernon (1965) [pdf]
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Re: Flowers for Algernon (1965) [pdf]
#2Despite all my rational efforts; all the maths and research - there is a speck of insight that only poetry and literature can reach. It's irritating and comforting at the same time.
Re: Flowers for Algernon (1965) [pdf]
#3I read this so long ago, but nothing else I've read has used the very medium of language to communicate character development so effectively.
Re: Flowers for Algernon (1965) [pdf]
#4Despite all my rational efforts; all the maths and research - there is a speck of insight that only poetry and literature can reach. It's irritating and comforting at the same time.
Thank you for this. This is exactly how I felt but could not articulate.
Re: Flowers for Algernon (1965) [pdf]
#5This was a formative read for me many years ago but only recently realized there is also a novel version. Has anyone here read both?
Re: Flowers for Algernon (1965) [pdf]
#6This was a formative read for me many years ago but only recently realized there is also a novel version. Has anyone here read both?
It’s commonly agreed that the short version is way better.
Re: Flowers for Algernon (1965) [pdf]
#7This was a formative read for me many years ago but only recently realized there is also a novel version. Has anyone here read both?
I've only read the novel... didn't realize there was a short story version of it until just now. The short story reads a lot like, well, a short version of how I remember the novel to be.
FWIW the novel was also excellent and is one of my all-time favorite books. As someone who is smart but not that smart, in a culture (software/tech) where intelligence is fetishly worshipped to the detriment of other personality traits, this was a very humbling, humanizing, and deeply touching read.
EDIT: Actually, I just read the short story version. The story is essentially the same, as you'd expect, but the pacing suffered a little bit IMO. It was more believable in the longer form, where plot developments happened more gradually and the characters were fleshed out more. The novelization has more emotional impact because it was a smoother journey (at least as I remembered it) vs the rapid progression of the short story version. But, granted, it didn't help that I already knew the basic premise before reading the shorter version, so YMMV. Still, if you have time, why not go for the full thing? It's the sort of story that invites quiet contemplation instead of quick digestion.
Re: Flowers for Algernon (1965) [pdf]
#8There's something curiously American about Flowers for Algernon... our general popular culture tends to value physical achievement (the athlete) more than mental achievement (the nerd/geek). So here's the story of how the co-workers/peers of a mentally disabled individual, Charlie, (who they ridicule initially) react to the reversal of that disability (with suspicion and distrust) and then the re-imposition of that disability (with protective behavior, and a degree of guilt and shame). The whole story is really more illustrative of the co-worker's behavior & values than anything else.
Other cultures seem to have a more balanced view (i.e. mental development and physical development should go hand-in-hand, and an either-or approach is considered unhealthy). American culture in contrast developed the stereotypes of 'dumb jock' and 'scrawny nerd' - Hollywood's fault, maybe?
Re: Flowers for Algernon (1965) [pdf]
#9This was a formative read for me many years ago but only recently realized there is also a novel version. Has anyone here read both?
The novel is short enough that I'd recommend it. If you really don't read much, though, the short story gets the point across.
Either way, highly recommended.
Re: Flowers for Algernon (1965) [pdf]
#10I was first exposed to it in movie form, called Charly and starring Cliff Robertson.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0062794/
It had a big impact on me and I immediately wanted it in book form after seeing the movie.