Flowers for Algernon

“Flowers for Algernon” by Daniel Keyes is included in the mandatory reading program in American schools. Thirty-three-year-old Charlie Gordon is mentally disabled. At the same time, he has a job, friends, and an overwhelming desire to learn. He agrees to... participate in a dangerous scientific experiment in the hope of becoming smart... Changes in Charlie Gordon happen before our eyes, here and now. The first reports are full of mistakes, but gradually they disappear. This fantastic story has a striking psychological power and makes us ponder universal moral questions: do we have the right to conduct experiments on one another, what results can this lead to, and what price are we willing to pay to become “the smartest.” And alone? To the questions raised by M. Bulgakov in “Heart of a Dog” and J. London in “Martin Eden,” Daniel Keyes gives his unambiguous answer. The book is released in a new translation by Sergey Task.