Flowers For Algernon

Just finished another book from my reading list, Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes, which won both the Hugo and the Nebula award.  Not what I would classify as a sci fi story, but there is more than enough science in it to justify the label.  

To be honest, the book was a lot better than I thought it would be.  Following Charlie's ascent from an IQ of 68 to an IQ over 180 was interesting and causes one to think about the nature of learning.  Painful for the first few pages, though nowhere near the level of Clockwork Orange (another on my reading list that I haven't been able to pick up), I was surprised at how much I liked it as it went on.  Though I have no earthly idea how the operation would work, its results seemed believable.   Reminded me strongly of Plato's Cave allegory, which is a good thing since it mentions it throughout the book and quotes it at the beginning.

The style of the book is set in progress reports written by Charlie, which normally bothers me but worked for this.  I could say something cliched and trite about how it shows how ignorance can be bliss or how intelligence (which ironically I can't spell) doesn't equal happiness.  Though I don't think either are what the book is trying for.  I'll leave that up to however picks this book up, cause I doubt that it will affect anyone the same way twice. 

And yes, you did miss me actually shed a tear for this book.  Sorry, B.I. Or whatever it is you're calling yourself now.

Wiki page for Flowers:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flowers_for_Algernon

And Plato's allegory for those who weren't forced to learn it in high school English:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plato%27s_allegory_of_the_cave

And I'm bad at the reviewing thing.  That's why there are Wiki links.