Reviews tagging 'Misogyny'

Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes

18 reviews

cyndakeel's review against another edition

emotional funny lighthearted reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Sexual content and Misogyny

Minor: Animal death

scifi_rat's review against another edition

reflective fast-paced

3.5

the reviews that talk about how sad charlie's journey made them and how this is generally a very sad and tragic book feel inherently ableist. if anything this book is about trauma and learning and coming to terms with the kind of pain that self awareness can bring.

some of the psychology and sociology feels dated in many ways but ultimately it does the job it sets out to do.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism

Moderate: Child abuse, Medical content, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Abandonment, Alcohol, Bullying, Dementia, Mental illness, Alcoholism, Animal death, Animal cruelty, Confinement, and Excrement

Minor: Sexism, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Religious bigotry, Sexual content, Stalking, and Suicidal thoughts

bookishfaye's review

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad medium-paced

• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

I think there are things about this book for its time that are important & in some ways foundational in literature depicting disability; however, man oh man does this NOT hold up well over time. From the violently ableist language used repeatedly, to the constant misogyny and overall written by a man vibes this book simply does not age well. 

I think as a response to Frankenstein/the Prometheus myth and with commentary about man playing god within science and also monstrosity, there are some interesting things at play within this book. There were moments where I felt very seen by Charlie, and at times very beautiful/important language towards disability as well, it’s just a very very hard read that has extreme ableism/misogyny culture from the late 1950’s marked all over it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Blood, Abandonment, Medical content, Hate crime, Animal cruelty, Medical trauma, Suicidal thoughts, Animal death, Confinement, Forced institutionalization, Injury/Injury detail, Bullying, Child abuse, Sexism, Ableism, Addiction, Alcohol, and Misogyny

caseyjayner's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

I really loved and appreciated much of this, especially for it’s time.  I mostly read contemporary lit so I had to get used to outdated language and misogyny throughout, but when I set that aside I see this is a book arguing for the personhood of intellectually disabled people.  The main character is complex- both likable and self-centered and traumatized by physical and emotional abuse.  I didn’t like the end, but the last couple lines were more hopeful than the rest of the end. 

Easy words, tough read.  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, and Violence

Minor: Sexism and Misogyny

tungstenmouse's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Certain sentences haven’t aged well but this was excellent. I’m very sad but also very happy I read it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexism, Dementia, Racism, Child abuse, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Bullying, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Abandonment, Ableism, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Excrement, and Forced institutionalization

Moderate: Incest, Homophobia, Medical content, and Misogyny

It’s an older book so expect language and character attitudes that are not okay now.

amarie95's review

reading is just SO HARD right now and through this section of the book i didn’t like charlie anymore and i didn’t care what happened to him. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Ableism and Misogyny

luckyone's review

emotional reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Excrement, Abandonment, Medical trauma, Misogyny, Bullying, Classism, Emotional abuse, Ableism, Forced institutionalization, Infidelity, Physical abuse, and Animal death

Minor: Alcohol, Classism, Confinement, Physical abuse, Medical trauma, Bullying, Child abuse, Dementia, Excrement, Mental illness, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Infidelity, and Terminal illness

littlemimus's review

dark emotional hopeful inspiring medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Ableism

Minor: Misogyny

jayisreading's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

2.75

Well, here’s an unpopular opinion, but I didn’t think this was as emotional of a read as many people seem to have found it. I honestly took issue with the portrayal of mental disability in this book, which definitely isn’t the worst, but something about it rubbed me the wrong way. It seemed as though Keyes went back and forth between showing Charlie pity or sympathy. And, to me at least, it read more as pitying the protagonist. On another note, the way women were written in this book was atrocious, and, relatedly, relationships.

That being said, the epistolary approach was really interesting and added a particular dimension to how Charlie was working with the level of his intelligence. At the end of the day, though, this book is really of its time and I sincerely don’t understand how it continues to grab the attention of so many readers today. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Misogyny, Bullying, and Child abuse

Moderate: Animal death

Minor: Suicidal thoughts

bcgalore's review

dark emotional sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism and Misogyny