‘Flowers for Algernon’ earned Daniel Keyes a Hugo award in its original novella format, and the novel-length version that this review concerns won him a Nebula award 6 years later. It is also justifiably included in Millenium’s ‘SF Masterworks’ collection.

The story is told from the POV of Charlie Gordon, a mentally deficient bakery worker. Through the reading and writing classes he takes at a local institution, he is offered the chance to be the recipient of an experimental operation to drastically increase his IQ. Charlie is keen to better his lot, and jumps at the chance he is offered. The text consists of the ‘progress reports’ the scientific team encourage him to write so that they can observe his mental state before and throughout the experiment. And the experiment appears to be a resounding success – within weeks, Charlie’s intelligence levels soar to way above those of even the scientists who have transformed him. These changes are reflected in his language and attitudes as he pours out his heart onto the pages of his reports. The reader follows the trials and tribulations of a man having to adjust to a world that seems to change around him as his perceptions of it are altered.

SF is often defined as being concerned with the ‘encounter with otherness’. In ‘Flowers for Algernon’, Charlie encounters the otherness of being a new-born intellectual in a world that always seemed to him as simple as he himself once was. The novel’s power stems from Keyes’ subtle and emotive treatment of Charlie’s reactions to the revelations that pour into his mind as the experiment progresses, through his meteoric rise and then his tragic fall back to the point where he started. This is a touching, indeed heart-rending, story. The entire text brims with Charlie’s emotional confusions, evoking a sense of pathos in the reader that will stay with them for a lifetime. This human element has ensured that, while always lauded as an SF classic, it has also been recognised by the world of ‘straight’ literature as a powerful piece of writing. Some would argue that was given the ultimate accolade by being made into a movie (‘Charly’) which subsequently won an Oscar. However it is considered, ‘Flowers for Algernon’ is a novel that can be appreciated by anyone who enjoys a good story told well. But considered as a work of Science Fiction, it shines as an example of the genre that demonstrates that great SF doesn’t necessarily have to involve aliens, outer space and so forth. Despite being nearly forty years old, it is still as relevant now as it was when it was first published, and is a worthy addition to any collection of fiction, genre or otherwise.