I have only just recently begun to take reading seriously and I’ve already read a few books this year. I finished Flowers For Algernon in May of this year and it only took about a week to get through the whole thing. I would have finished it sooner however as I drew near to the end of the novel I couldn’t see past my tears. The reason I’m writing this post so late is because I cant forget this story, It feels like I am still mourning the loss of Charlie Gordon, I also cried just as much for Algernon.
Years ago in middle school Flowers For Algernon was given to me as a book assignment but at the time I was no where near mature enough to understand and appreciate the story. Now this book has become unforgettable to me and I want to change and become a better person because of it. I don’t see my tears ending anytime soon for Charlie or Algernon.
by CommunicationFew6583
37 Comments
I remember reading this back in junior high (also a school assignment) and being absolutely gutted by the ending even then. Might be time to revisit.
I read it earlier this year and it was hard. It’s one of my favorite books.
It was a tearjerker. Multiple aspects of the story.
I am sometimes surprised by the books students are given to read as assignment. While Flowers for Algernon isn’t the worst pick, I imagine it can be difficult to get accustomed to the way Charlie originally writes, Charlie exploring his new life in various ways and just the overall sadness and understanding what certain scene’s suggest and the difficulties Charlie encounters.
Not that it is written in a cryptic way, but I can imagine that when you’re a kid, you don’t get all the implications and exactly why something is wrong, frustrating or a struggle.
Ignorance truly is bliss
If you want to feel a little bit better, watch the Always Sunny episode – Flowers for Charlie. Might help with the bittersweet nature of the short story.
That book really made me cry.
I see everyone else as well.
such a beautifully sad story, i loved it. i had so much hope for charlie that he wouldn’t begin to deteriorate, i was so devastated when i read the first entry as the process began.
It’s a great book, but I think I liked the original short story better. The movie, “Charly” (1968) starring Cliff Robertson & Claire Bloom was really well done, too. All have a high TJ rating.
Readers typically say the ending was the saddest part.
To me, the saddest part was when Charlie fully realized how poorly he was treated before. The hurt and betrayal cut me to my core, and I literally wept. I’m a fully grown, middle-aged man.
No book has ever made me cry like Flowers for Algernon. When I finished reading it, I sat on my couch and just sobbed for a very long time.
I just ordered a copy of Number the Stars. I remember reading this one in middle school as well.
Grab some Kleenex.
My dad’s favourite book. Such a tough read
I am so glad I read it in high school, because as an adult I don’t think I will ever have the mental fortitude to get through it again without completely breaking down. Beautiful, unforgettable book.
You may be interested in the book The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon.
To spread awareness, my son has the same condition as Charlie. It’s called PKU and it stems from brain damage done that is suffered from the body’s inability to process protein correctly. With a regulated diet it’s not a problem, but, if it’s undiagnosed it becomes a life altering problem that causes irreparable cognitive damage.
This book is one of my favorites!! It makes you aware of how fast things can change as well as disappear. Rip Charlie and Algernon😢😢
That book destroyed me
Poor old Charlie Gordon. To have all that only for fate to take it all away again.
The book “Still Alice” deals with similar themes from the second half of the book, like >! awareness of one’s inevitable mental decline. It’s a book about a woman with early onset Alzheimer’s, and !< I really recommend it if you are looking for an emotional first person account story
small tip, probably put a spoiler alert at the beginning in case some ppl haven’t read it yet.
this is my absolute favorite book of all time.
I read this when I was 14(forced in school and didn’t really get it) then again when I was 28(on my own, after college and the death of by father). It clicked so much more at 28 with life experience. I can’t wait until I read it again at 42 and see how it changes in my mind again.
I think about all the fellow squirrel-people with ADHD who are having trouble getting stimulant medications so they’re going without either while they wait an extra week or two after their prescription is due for it to come in, or just having to survive cold turkey, or trying new medications that don’t work, so let’s give it another month, so they try a different one that doesn’t work, so let’s give it another month, all the while becoming a less and less reliable and competent looking employee at work as they live in a brain fog, make mistakes, show up late and miss work due to depression.
Finding a drug that actually works, and then losing access to it is like living the nightmare of the last third of this book, without the bliss of not remembering what it was like to be a fully functional human being.
Guess that’s our Flowers for Algernon post for the week
I remember reading a passage from it in elementary school for an English assignment and was immediately hooked. I finally found a copy of it when I was 21 and loved it 😊
I read it in high school and remember it being very sad and then we watched the movie afterwards. Cliff Robertson won the Oscar that year for his portrayal of Charly.
The whole book hits me hard. There are so many sad moments.
One of my favorite books that it makes me think about it sometimes even after I read it for so many years ago.
If you like the style of the perspective Flowers for Algernon was written in and like dark humor try Pygmy by Chuck Palahniuk. It’s the only book I’ve ever read that was written in engrish daily log style by secret agent foreign exchange student Pigmy.
Flowers for Algernon is one of the books that I wish that I could read again for the first time.
I listened to this as an audio audiobook doing chores. Family and neighbors got to see me bawling while shoveling the driveway, doing dishes, folding clothes, and a few other chores. Incredible book, glad I listened to it at the age I’m at now. As a kid I wouldn’t have understood it.
This book broke my heart. Think about it all of the time.
I loved this book. But I’ll never read it again.
Go with Tuesday with Maury next, similar in feels, to me.
Amazing book. I need to read again.
This book is so juicy. No diss to the emotional aspect but the one thing that stuck to me the most was when a hyper intelligent Charlie would ridicule a scientist’s thesis by saying something along the lines of “oh? didn’t you know an Indian guy already disproved this last week in an Indian paper?”, and the scientist is embarrassed because he only knows English. Really makes you think about how much we focus on English-speaking research