Flowers for Algernon

This was my first audio book and was very impressed. The story was one that makes you think. I thought it was very good.

I think it was an excellent book for showing that there is far more to the makeup of the human being than just our body and mind/feelings and thoughts. It was helpful insightfully for me especially since I have always been more cerebral as a matter of form. Excellent even if it was predictable. I highly recommend it. Great story!

The plot line intrigued me but also seemed a bit fantastical if not also rushed. I recognized the narrator from another book. he does a good job portraying character thru voice. I stayed with it to the end. stirs thought.

The book is told in first person from the perspective of Charlie, the learning disabled character. Because Charlie can’t read and presumably is unable write or journal, the perspective during the beginning of the book elt a bit over-exaggerated, or for lack of a better term over the top. But I interpreted the purpose of this was to convey the main character’s inability to perceive aspects of communication and process information that the rest of us take for granted, and how this fact impacts his everyday life- including feelings about himself and others. It is interesting that at a point in the book the tables turn, and provide a different perspective and insight into how people’s minds work. We all tend to perceive things in a way that tends to suit our needs first and not necessarily in a way that conveys to us what the reality of a situation is. Overall the book was interesting and kept me engaged, but I rated it with 4 stars instead of 5 because I think the beginning could have been done better, and because the ending leaves one wanting more for Charlie- even if he doesn’t. I’ll leave it at that not to spoil it. Worth reading.

I liked many things about this book but it was very predictable.