Reviews tagging 'Physical abuse'

Flori pentru Algernon by Daniel Keyes

74 reviews

dark emotional inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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dark emotional sad fast-paced

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emotional reflective medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny informative mysterious reflective relaxing sad tense slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

I actually liked this a lot. Charlie's journey is inspiring! Damn, what happened was mad. I mean, he started as mentally challenged and ended the same way. Amazing! I mean, his dream of becoming smart happened, but it's not as glittery as he thought.

Remembering a lot of painful memories sucked. There's a reason why the unconscious is there to help us cope with life's greatest challenges. Being knowledgeable has its perks and curses. 

Experiments may be magical, but not an assurance of permanence. It's like being sharp, but we need to maintain it in our own way. 

Algernon! You're a great metaphor! 

I will never forget this story. 

Thank you, Daniel✨

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challenging emotional sad medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

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challenging reflective sad medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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challenging emotional hopeful reflective sad tense fast-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

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
challenging dark emotional inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

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reflective fast-paced

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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challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

I read this in 1 day and cried my eyes out. 
There are heavy subjects, yet narrated with such an ease that's so grippling, relatable and heartfelt. It makes me think alot about humanity, morallity, consciousness, what makes us human, what makes us happy, who are we and what are we looking for? 
It's a complex read (thought-provoking and emotional) without being pretentious or over-complicated. The focus is on where it should be. 
A rant: 
I cant imagine grieving yourself while being alive. I was hoping for a better outcome for Charlie...but his reversal back to a more (for lack of a better word) primitive state of mind perhaps is the peace that he deserves? His happiness is in the little things, limited - yet unstained by the burden of awareness... 
A vr interesting take on the biblical story of Adam and Eve, here, Charlie ate the forbidden fruit and suffered the consequences. In many ways, ignorance is indeed bliss, but that is not to say (his) learning worth nothing at all. Quite the contrary...the complexity of it all is, indeed, the human experience: to love, to grieve, to hate, to hurt, to heal...therefore, to live. A blissful paradise of innocence may shelter us from bitterness, jealousy, etc but maybe it also shelters us from having actual drive and connection(?)
Man, i do love this book. I'll keep thinking about all of this some more

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