A review by aviously6
Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes

emotional reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

I thought this book was conceptually very interesting. It is also incredibly dated, both in its terminology and it's portrayal of women. Still, it was a super interesting narrator perspective, which is really what I enjoyed the most about this book. Like other books known for "unreliable narrators", this one was interesting to think about how much of what we were reading was altered by Charlie's perspective, both at the beginning of the book and in the middle ('peak' intelligence involved a lot of him assuming how others felt and what their motives were, which bites him in the ass a lot). I also don't quite understand the amount of people who say this book made them sob - I felt bad for him towards the end, but it didn't make me cry.