Synopsis:
It all began with a mouse--a small, white mouse with pink eyes whose intelligence appeared to drastically improve after an experimental brain surgery. Algernon's successes--improved speed and agility and problem solving techniques--inspired Professor Nemur and Dr. Strauss to take their research one step further.
At a local school for mentally disabled adults, Charlie Gordon works with Alice Kinnian, learning how to read and write. With an IQ under 70, Charlie would never move beyond his custodial job at a local bakery. There, his co-workers tease and abuse him, although he fails to see their laughter and jokes as offensive. Alice recommends Charlie as a human specimen for the experimental brain surgery, stating that his initiative and determination will assist him in this challenging and dangerous journey. After Charlie undergoes the surgery, results come slow at first, but then rapidly drive his intelligence onto outstanding levels. Charlie surpasses his teacher and friend Alice, as well as the professor and doctor working directly with him on the experiment. Charlie struggles to understand his relationships with previous acquaintances, including his co-workers, Alice, and the family who neglected him. He finds himself co-existing as two Charlies--the emotionally underdeveloped child within and the genius who remembers and understands everything he reads. Charlie eventually discovers Algernon's slow mental deterioration as the effects of the surgery wear off. Charlie understands at this point he must reconcile his differences with his abusive mother and intolerable sister, mend his relationship with Alice, and make arrangements for himself when he reverts back to his level before the surgery. -- 262 words, 10 sentences
Commentary:
Charlie tells his own story in the form of journal entries, as required by the doctors in the lab. Thus, the narrator litters the first few weeks (and the last few days) with misspellings, grammatical errors, and strange syntax to show his mental deficiencies. At times, I found myself paying more attention to the errors than to the story itself, and I sought to notice the subtle changes as his intelligence improved (or deteriorated, in the end). Yet I also struggled, at the height of Charlie's academic abilities, to understand the complex topics he discussed with leading doctors and scientists from various universities. The author probably wanted this to occur as readers experienced Charlie's changes with him. Still, I cannot attest as to the accuracy of this novel--as a science fiction novel it requires a bit of suspension of disbelief--and because of my limited experience with people with mental disabilities. I do not believe this story seeks to give hope of a "cure" somewhere looming behind doors of labs, but instead tries to find a way to educate people without disabilities tolerance for those who do. -- 188 words, 7 sentences
Total 450 words, 17 sentences
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