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Flowers for Algernon Audiobook
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(3.00) - 140,229 listener ratings
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Publisher Description
Charlie Gordon knows that he isn't very bright. At 32, he mops floors in a bakery and earns just enough to get by. Three evenings a week, he studies at a center for retarded adults. But all of this is about to change for Charlie. As part of a daring experiment, doctors are going to perform surgery on Charlie's brain. They hope the operation and special medication will increase his intelligence, just as it has for the laboratory mouse, Algernon. Meanwhile, each day Charlie keeps a diary of what is happening to him. This is his poignant record of the startling changes in his mind and his life. Flowers for Algernon was first published as a short story, but soon received wide acclaim as it appeared in anthologies, as a television special, and as an award-winning motion picture, Charly. In its final, expanded form, this haunting story won the Nebula Award for the Best Novel of the Year. Through Jeff Woodman's narration, now it becomes an unforgettable audio experience.
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"A more delicious evolution of a story than has ever been told."Character development of the highest quality" would be an understatement at best, and a complete mischaracterization at worst. There are myriads of changes to just the main character, and they are all so well described, down to the most minute detail.We see Charlie rise to intellectual heights without end, but we also see the development of his family, "friends", and various professional geniuses, as clarity comes to Charlie about the true nature of the people around him. "For in much wisdom is much grief, And he who increases knowledge increases sorrow." Ecclesiastes. 1:18.Then, we see Charlie plunge into the depths of cognitive deformity as the neurological medical intervention fails to allow him to sustain his Boss-Brain status! With such genuineness going into each of Charlie Gordon's thoughts, it seems like an autobiography instead of a novel. "
— Worknprogress06 (5 out of 5 stars)
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“A tale that is convincing, suspenseful and touching.”
— New York Times -
“Absorbing…Immensely original…Going to be read for a long time to come.”
— Library Journal
Awards
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Finalist for the 1967 Hugo Award for Best Novel
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Winner of the 1966 Nebula Award for Best Novel
Flowers for Algernon Listener Reviews
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" A simple idea (what would it be like to give a challenged man the gift of intelligence?) explored as deeply and genuinely as possible. It's easy to feel for Charlie as he goes down the path of enlightenment, dealing with the burden of a heart that can't keep up with the brain. Easily one of the most enrapturing books I've read this year. The reader Jeff Woodman also did a stellar job portraying Charlie. "
— FD, 6/26/2018 -
" Wow, what a powerful story. Makes you wonder how you would react if you were in that situation. Great read. "
— Mary, 2/12/2014 -
" I wouldn't like it if I had the operation that Charlie had. I would get frustrated by forgetting all the things I had learned. "
— Kate, 1/31/2014 -
" I really enjoyed reading Flowers for Algernon. I thought it was a very sad story, and i felt bad for the protagonist. I thought Daniel Keys was intelligent when he showed Charlie's journal entries in the syntax relating to Charlie's intelligence. What I found interesting about this book was that it has been challenged for removal from libraries in the US and Canada. Reading this book opened my eyes up to how mentally challenged people can feel and how frustrating and hard it is to surpass life. I loved the friendship that Charlie and the mouse had, and it makes you think of little things that make you happy. Everyone should read this amazing book. "
— Martina, 1/28/2014 -
" This book left me a sobbing mess on my bedroom floor when I first read it, seven years ago. I still think about it all the time. It's a fantastically tragic story that deserves to be told to everyone, young or old. "
— Sheree, 1/18/2014 -
" I will never forget reading this in school. Broke my heart "
— Kimberly, 1/16/2014 -
" I love this book. I love how it was written and how it was all focused around Charlie. It was as if the big wide world was spinning out of control around Charlie and he was just writing down his helpless thoughts and feelings. Loved it! "
— Jo, 1/9/2014 -
" A moving tale, told in the first person by an unforgettable protagonist. "
— Florin, 1/6/2014 -
" Brilliant, captivating story. Full stop. "
— Nooners, 12/5/2013 -
" One of my favorite books from adolescence and still one of my favorite books. Heart-wrenching and beautiful at the same time. Loved it! "
— Samantha, 12/5/2013 -
" First book which ever made me cry. A brillant, very original, heart-wrenching and mind-blowing story. "
— Louise, 12/3/2013 -
" Read it looking out at the world through his eyes, felt the elation, the despair and demise...excellent stuff "
— Vanessa, 11/14/2013 -
" Very enthralling. Thought-provoking story concept. Heart-wrenching at times in the extreme. All in all, surprisingly hard to put down. "
— Julian, 11/8/2013 -
" T_T "
— Monica, 5/24/2013 -
" So wonderful and sad! "
— Steve, 1/1/2013 -
" I thought that the book was really good. On a couple of occasions I would lose interest, but other than that I enjoyed it "
— River, 12/14/2012 -
" This is an excellent book told through diary entries. The main character goes through some real turmoil and I was totally invested in him by the end. Really made me think about how intelligence can make you miserable. "
— Richard, 10/24/2012 -
" This is one of my favorite books ever since reading a shorter version of it in a school English class textbook when I was 14. I bought my own copy, and every couple of years I read it. "
— Layla, 8/28/2012 -
" One of my all time FAVORITES! "
— Tracy, 1/28/2012 -
" Really deep, I enjoyed it. "
— Kay, 1/22/2012 -
" I think that it is a very wonderful and sad book. Charlie was always made fun of because he was not smart but then they did this experiment on him like they did to this mouse name Algernon because they have never done it on a person. "
— Mallory, 1/11/2012 -
" this book was about a man named charlie gordon that gets a surgy to get smart. i thought it was a good book cuse i thought it was funny. this book would be good for people who likes science fiction. "
— Hunter, 10/31/2011 -
" an interesting perspective on the power and importance of intelligence. "
— Kevin, 8/19/2011 -
" I administer these assessments for a living...so I was particularly interested...and subsequently really touched by this book. "
— Patty, 6/30/2011 -
" I read this SOOOOO long ago, but I will never forget how happy I was for him when he was getting smarter or the horror (SPOILER ALERT) .... as the smartness declined. "
— Jill, 6/28/2011 -
" A very heart-breaking piece of work. I read it in one sitting-it was that compelling. "
— Mimy, 6/27/2011 -
" This book was beautifully written to involve the reader in Charlie's thoughts, feelings and transformation. Daniel Keyes did a lovely job keeping the reader interested and using dialect. "
— Jess, 6/27/2011 -
" One of my all time favorite books. When is natural course of things better left alone? Who says interference is necessary, and what is the "perfect amount" of interference. All questions this book makes you ponder. "
— Angela, 6/26/2011 -
" A beautiful book, that explores the complexities of intelligence, emotions, and self-awareness in a heartfelt, yet honest manner. "
— Ankush, 6/25/2011 -
" This one always brings a tear or two to my eyes. "
— Devi, 6/24/2011 -
" Even though I had already read this in ninth grade, back then I could not appreciate Keyes' in the same way I can now that I'm older. This is definitely a must read, and I have to admit I cried as I read the last few pages, even though I already knew the ending. "
— Jorge, 6/22/2011 -
" Incredibly stunning book!! Anything other than "read it, enjoy it and find for yourself" would be a spoiler :) "
— Kamil, 6/19/2011
About Daniel Keyes
Daniel Keyes (1927–2014) was born in Brooklyn, New York, and was the author of eight books, including the classic Flowers for Algernon, first published in 1966, which would go on to sell more than five million copies and inspire the Oscar-winning film Charly. He also worked as a merchant seaman, a fiction editor, a high school teacher, and as a university professor at Ohio University, where he was honored at Professor Emeritus in 2000. He won the Hugo and Nebula awards for his work.
About Jeff Woodman
Jeff Woodman is an actor and narrator. He is a winner of the prestigious Audie Award and a six-time finalist. He has received twenty Earphones Awards and was named the 2008 Best Voice in Fiction & Classics, as well as one of the Fifty Greatest Voices of the Century by AudioFile magazine. As an actor, he originated the title role in Tennessee Williams’ The Notebook of Trigorin and won the S. F. Critics’ Circle Award for his performance in An Ideal Husband. In addition to numerous theater credits on and off Broadway, his television work includes Sex and the City, Law & Order, and Cosby.