Readers were first introduced to Daniel Keyes' masterpiece in 1959 when it was published as a short story in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction. Met with instant success, Flowers for Algernon won the Hugo Award for Best Short Story the following year. The expanded novel was later published in 1966 and has subsequently been adapted into multiple films and even a West End musical, titled Charlie and Algernon,
Flowers for Algernon is unlike anything I have ever read before. Seldom does a book captivate me so much that I find myself having to choose what not to highlight in order to reflect on Keyes' highly poignant prose. There isn't a single quote in this book that one cannot find meaning in. Breaking the boundaries of science fiction, Flowers for Algernon is to me a story of identity, a study of finding oneself. To say that Keyes' novel is "predictable" or "too cliché" is to severely misinterpret the message that this book sends out so powerfully.
To fully appreciate Flowers for Algernon, one must start by focusing on Keyes' highly compelling narrator and protagonist, Charlie Gordon. Through Charlie's "progress reports", Keyes thrusts us into the role of the doctor, peering in and assessing the complexities and fluctuating state of Charlie's intellectual capacity. This beautifully comprises a unique and gripping narrative, as Charlie's cumbrous writing style allows us to observe his development before he himself can notice any improvement. From the very outset, I was immersed by the portrayal of Charlie's background and his desire to "get smart". Seeing the story unfold through the filtered mind of this complex character, it is up to us as readers to distinguish Charlie's thoughts and feelings, his wants and desires. What was so immersing to me was the universality of Charlie's struggles, at which on the surface merely appears to be a load of gibberish:
"And he said that meens Im doing something grate for sience and Ill be famus and my name will go down in the books. I dont care so much about beeing famus. I just want to be smart like other pepul so I can have lots of frends who like me."
If one looks through Charlie's fragmented writing, we see a character with underlying issues, lacking a sense of purpose. This is where I believe Flowers for Algernon shines. Through his early "progris riports", we see that Charlie is undergoing an "operashun" to enable him to "get smart". This, he believes, will open up the doors of life and allow him to make lots of "frends". As the operation intensifies, Charlie's narration begins to change by the day. Despite his ever growing intellect, one must wonder if we ever actually see a liberated Charlie Gordon. With the apparent "curing" of his disability, Charlie is haunted by his past, seeing his newly founded personality as a separate entity to his former self. When Charlie does "get smart", do we ever see him have lots of friends? The answer, sadly, is no. As Charlie's intellect grows, he merely becomes more aware of the faults of the world around him. So much so, he begins to reject what good is around him as he deems everybody intellectually inferior. There is, however, one saving grace for Charlie. This, of course, is in the form of a little mouse named Algernon.
Algernon is another test subject at the lab, undergoing the same operations as Charlie. Initially Charlie's nemesis, Algernon is always one step ahead of him, passing every test with flying colours. However, due to the "Algernon-Gordon Effect", Algernon experiences erratic behaviours and deteriorates rapidly, leaving Charlie's fate in a race against time. The sense of urgency that Keyes expertly creates cannot be overlooked, and one must also look beyond the predictability of Charlie's inevitable decline. Notably, it is through Algernon that Charlie finds his truest friend, despite the fears the mouse instills in him. By burying Algernon and leaving flowers when he dies, Charlie sees Algernon as more than just a test subject, mirroring his own desperate yearning to be treated as a human being. As the narrator, Charlie dedicates a postscript to Algernon, seeing him as an individual, asking for respect, all the while retaining his own self worth. Therefore, it is not Charlies' intelligence that gives him solace, rather it is the journey with Algernon that grants him a sense of purpose. This is particularly telling when even the title of the novel is dedicated to Algernon, who on the surface seems an ordinary lab mouse.
Therefore, I stress that for me the key takeaway from this book was Charlie's quest for identity, not his quest for intelligence. Despite his decline at the end of the novel, Charlie says goodbye to those who are close to him, no longer pushing them away as he did when he was "smart". This, unexpectedly, left me somewhat with a sense of fulfilment, as it was by being his true self, without the interference of the operation, that Charlie values what is around him. That, I think, is the true message of this book, which in itself is so potent, meaningful and universal.
Stay in the know, and check out what I've been reading on The Storygraph:
emotional, reflective, sad, tense, medium-paced
Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0/5.0 stars
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