Flowers for Algernon
I recently read Flowers for Algernon while on my flight back from Los Angeles to Chicago. It was one of my favorite reads this year. I’ve been getting through Lex Fridman’s book list slowly since starting in summer of ’22, and I’ve gotten about halfway through the entire list, with a focus on reading the longest books first.
I want to start doing book and literature reviews on my blog site but not necessarily in a formal manner. I didn’t study much English in high school or college, so even reading consistently is still new to me.
Spoiler alert! The biggest takeaway from the book for me was Charlie’s experience of gradual cognitive dissonance. As he became smarter w.r.t. his formal systems—mathematics, music, emotions, the greater the contradictions of the real world began to hit him. I actually felt really sorry for him.
Honestly this book was a reminder that ideal world ≠ reality. It was interesting to see Charlie at the height of his powers going out on the weekends with the girl across from him and getting wasted to blow some steam.
It was also interesting to see the reaction of Charlie when he fully understood his ultimate fate. Love—even if it’s for a short chapter of one’s life—is IQ agnostic. I know I’ll read this book again someday but for the first pass I really enjoyed it.