Flowers for Algernon

"Flowers for Algernon" by Daniel Keyes is included in the required reading program in American schools. This is the only story in the science fiction genre by an author who was awarded twice, first for a short story and then... for a novel with the same title, hero, and plot. 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 intelligent... This fantastic story possesses remarkable psychological power and provokes thoughts on universal questions of morality: do we have the right to experiment on each other, what results might 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 provides his unequivocal answer.