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Flowers for Algernon

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Flowers for Algernon

By: Daniel Keyes
Narrated by: Adam Sims
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About this listen

Charlie Gordon, a floor sweeper born with an unusually low IQ, has been chosen as the perfect subject for an experimental surgery that doctors hope will increase his intelligence - a procedure that has been highly successful when tested on a lab mouse named Algernon.

All Charlie wants is to be smart and have friends, but the treatment turns him into a genius.

Then Algernon begins to fade.

What will become of Charlie?

Read by Adam Sims.

©1966 Daniel Keyes (P)2017 Orion Publishing Group Science Fiction Fiction Heartfelt Thought-Provoking Tear-jerking

Critic Reviews

"A masterpiece of poignant brilliance...heartbreaking." ( The Guardian)
All stars
Most relevant  

If you could sum up Flowers for Algernon in three words, what would they be?

Challenging, moving, interesting

What does Adam Sims bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you had only read the book?

Really well read. Good character voices without trying to be overly theatrical

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Yes, but dont want to spoil the plot.

Any additional comments?

This is an amazing book and well worth the listen. I knew the concept before I started it but never imagined how deeply it would be explored.

Amazing novel

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Powerful and moving, this book changed my life for the better. Well narrated and written.

One of the best books I’ve listened too

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it's a demanding listen, but doesn't shy away from the depths of what it is intelligence, what it means to be human and the generosity/spiteful characteristics we're all capable of

what a wonderful book

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they have done such a brilliant job, loved but hurt so much for this book

heartbreaking and thought provoking

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a poignant and heartbreaking tale, narrated to perfection. sure to make one reflect deeply

breathtaking and moving

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This was one of my greatest reads. I could not recommend it high enough. I would recommend that it be read over listening, as you miss things such as his spelling and punctuation changes through the progression. But all in all, my emotions were going wild throughout the whole book. Loved every second of it.

Loved this book

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You can see where this is headed, right from the beginning but you want to hear it anyway. Beautiful story.

What a heartbreaking story

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I've never sat through a whole book in one sitting, but I was absolutely glued to this book and I binged all 8 hours. I absolutely loved it!

I bought this book on paperback so I could read along with the audio, which highlights the evolution of spelling, grammar, and punctuation, which I found fascinating.
Daniel Keyes is a genius when it comes to looking deeply into the mind of someone who we all look at as "different".

This book reminds me of "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime" but with a much more intellectual, introspective, and darker way of seeing things.

Keyes beautifully captures the confusion that comes with extraordinary circumstance, and demonstrates that the acquisition of knowledge isn't always a blessing.

I'll definitely be reading this again. Instantly in my top 3 books for this year.

Looking forward to reading more of Keyes' work :)

a beautiful perspective into a changing mind

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Good performance. Hit a bit close to home as I've just discovered I have a degenerative disease and fear losing my intelligence, the only thing I've had since birth. I'd say this a must read.

A classic protagonist.

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Thoroughly enjoyed this book. First time reading so I didn't know what to expect. The book does an excellent job at growing with it's protagonist. As little as writing, "Progress Reports" instead of "Chapters", adds to the feeling of going on the journey with its protagonist. I could go on about this book however just highly recommend readers read it for themself.

Flowers for Algernon

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