"Charlie Gordon is about to embark upon an unprecedented journey. Born with an unusually low IQ, he has been chosen as the perfect subject for an experimental surgery that researchers hope will increase his intelligence - a procedure that has already been highly successful when tested on a lab mouse named Algernon.
As the treatment takes effect, Charlie's intelligence expands until it surpasses that of the doctors who engineered his metamorphosis. The experiment appears to be a scientific breakthrough of paramount importances, until Algernon suddenly deteriorates. Will the same happen to Charlie?"

Paperback, 311 pages.

The book will travel to the winner of the Mail a Garden Sweepstakes. Enjoy!

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Congratulations, you've found a book I've released in the wild. It's yours now - you can keep it, give to someone you know or release it back in the wild. Thank you for letting me know you've found it! If you want, you're welcome to join Bookcrossing.com. :)

Wow, this one has a long journey. It has arrived safe and sound now. Thanks for the pick. I read this a long time ago and have a fond memory. I'd love to read it again before I set it free.

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Updated December 20, 2018

I loved the book the second time round. It is still moving even though I know what will happen.

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Reserved for One Book a Month December 2018.

On its way to daffidil-2 as my December 2018 offer for One Book a Month on the RABCK forum.

Received in the post today all the way from Canada from Mscar as a RABCK. Thank you very much. This looks like my kind of book and I'm really looking forward to reading it. I will try and fit in into one of Plum-Crazy's monthly themes asap. (See under Book Talk in the Forum). Also in the parcel was a postcard and BC label. Thanks again Mscar.

REVIEW:- "Well, what a very thought-provoking book this is. I empathised with it on so many levels and I felt there would be parallels in most peoples lives when interacting with people of different intelligence and perception from yourself. A lot depends on our reactions and treatment of others and we don't all perform well in this.
I was struck by the way different people reacted to the changes in Charlie and shocked by the bad reactions, even of people who understood what was going on in his brain. Others who were ignorant of the reasons for his metamorphosis at least had some excuse.
I was struck by the line (a quote from Charlie)"How strange it is that people of honest feelings and sensibility who would not take advantage of a man born without arms or legs or eyes-how such people think nothing of abusing a man born with low intelligence."
It was ironic what happened to Charlie's mother years after she had abandoned him and very sad that the Professors and scientists who had experimented on him didn't feel obliged to take care of him once the experiment had ended.
I feel that this story will stay with me for a long time and I was still thinking about it and analysing it long after I finished it. I thought the book was very well researched and well-written and some of it went slightly over my head when Charlie was at his peak, but I'm sure this was intended by the author. I would certainly look for other titles by Daniel Keyes."

This book will be sent by mail to 4evagreen as part of the wishlist tag game.

To the finder:-
Welcome to bookcrossing -you have found a travelling book. Please make a journal entry now to say where you found the book in case it has been moved. Then, when you have read it, please come back and make a further entry saying whether or not you enjoyed the book and why. It is now yours to do as you like with it, pass it to a friend or just leave it somewhere different for someone else to find and help it with its' journey. Of course if you can't bear to part with it at the moment then keep it, but please let me know that you have found it. If you join bookcrossing, which is free and spam-free, you can follow the book on its' travels as you will get an email each time it changes hands, but if you prefer to remain anonymous, that's fine too. Please also say what you intend to do with the book next. Thanks for coming onto the site to let me know you have found the book.

I already have books travelling in many countries around the world-a list can be found on my bookcrossing profile.

When re-releasing this book please be aware that airports are not a good place to leave books unless they have a specific book exchange shelf or area, due to security problems, so they may well just be disposed of. Also charity shops may well discard books that have been labelled in any way and they mostly chose only the books in the very best condition
to place on their shelves and discard the rest-so another bad release option.

Returned from a weekend in Cornwall to find this waiting for me. Thanks for sharing I look forward to reading it.

The story is told using first person reports that Charlie makes for the University. Initially these are simple and replete with misspellings and grammatical errors but as Charlie's intellect improves so does his use of language meaning that his style and tone is constantly changing. This I found this initially confusing but soon became aware how clever tool it really was. Whilst Charlie’s dreams featuring his younger, still intellectually disabled self constantly reminds us just where he has come from, his truly horrible experiences at the hands of his mother and sister yet it is written with a sympathy and pathos which is nothing short of amazing. Likewise the author gives us just enough detail about Algernon so that we feel sympathy for him as well.

That's not to say that I don't have a few minor gripes as well. Firstly I found the idea that a lack of intellect also means an almost total lack of memory rather patronising despite the fact that it undoubtedly adds to the overall structure of the story. Secondly I felt that some aspects felt a little dated. Firstly the over optimistic belief in the power of subliminal sleep teaching but also whilst the abuse and mistreatment that Charlie suffered sadly do still occur, the institutionalisation of learning disabled people is obviously far less common today but given that the book was first published in 1966 that is quite understandable as is the constant references to retards, a term thankfully no longer used.

However, my main problem was with Alice. I was disappointed, both that Alice didn’t try to be a bit more active in helping Charlie, she often disappears for large sections of the book and when she reappears is far too passive. Somehow Alice feels poorly drawn in contrast to Charlie's neighbour and one time lover Faye.

The story in without doubt dark yet there are also elements of triumph and humour even if we know that they are pyrrhic. There were some instances in which I thought Keyes perhaps overdid the darkness a little. The book’s ending is simply tragic, Charlie doesn't merely regress intellectually, but becomes a far less likeable person as well. However, I feel that this deserves to be regarded as a modern classic. Despite there being no aliens this is Sci-fi writing at its very best, perhaps an uncomfortable read with its highs and lows but one that I would heartily recommend.

"Thank God for books and music and things I can think about.

Going out to hopefully make a new friend as part of a Reading/ Want it thread. Enjoy!

Thank your for sending me this book!

Finished this book already. Such a powerfull story!