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Flowers For Algernon

The must-read literary science fiction masterpiece

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Flowers For Algernon

By: Daniel Keyes
Narrated by: Adam Sims
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'A masterpiece of poignant brilliance . . . heartbreaking' Guardian

Charlie Gordon, a floor sweeper born with an unusually low IQ, has been chosen as the perfect subject for an experimental surgery that doctors hope will increase his intelligence - a procedure that has been highly successful when tested on a lab mouse named Algernon. All Charlie wants is to be smart and have friends, but the treatement turns him into a genius.

Then Algernon begins to fade. What will become of Charlie?

Read by Adam Sims
(p) Orion Publishing Group 2017 Classics Genetic Engineering Science Fiction Fiction Emotionally Gripping Heartfelt Thought-Provoking Tear-jerking
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Critic reviews

This is one of the greats: a story and a central character that have stayed with me for thirty years, from the first moment I picked it up
A masterpiece of poignant brilliance . . . heartbreaking, and utterly, completely brilliant
A timeless tearjerker
Excellent . . . extremely moving
Unflinchingly honest . . . it will make you reflect on your own life . . . and completely and utterly break your heart
A narrative tour de force, very moving, beautiful and remorseless in its simple logic
Strikingly original
A tale that is convincing, suspectful and touching
All stars
Most relevant
Fantastic listen. Some of the best voice acting i have come across. Would highly recommend as a first audiobook.

Totally absorbing!

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I usually spend a lot of time deciphering what I am learning from a book, however I spent most of this simply in awe of how beautifully it was written and performed.

the tone of the narration flows perfectly with the book.

not a book I would have thought to read without having it recommended to me. however I found myself moved throughout and am now passing on that recommendation.

moving and awe inspiring.

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When I started listening to this book I took an instant dislike to it and almost gave up on it within the first half an hour. The operator droned on in such a way that I didn’t think I could cope with it for much longer. It dawned on me quite quickly though that this was to set the scene of the book and ultimately added to the greatness of the story.
Stick with this and you will get a very cleverly written book, that is quite different to anything I have listened to before. The plot twists and turns and it is ultimately all pulled together in a very clever way.
Highly recommended!

Hated it at first!

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A brilliant story of a man's mental struggles. Extremely well narrated too, essential reading.

I always saw this on the bookshelf of my local bookshop, and finally got around to listening to it. You won't be disappointed.

An absolute classic.

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Such a beautiful and moving book about a man in his thirties who was born with a learning disabilities and was transformed into a genius after a pioneering brain surgery.
What is it like to be able to have the capacity of limitless understanding and accumulation of knowledge but at the same time losing what was very special about him before he became a genius. Such a sad and fascinating book.
Highly recommended. A true Classic Sci/Fi .

Amazing but a very sad Science Fiction!

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