Algernon is an experimental mouse who, with the help of brain surgery, managed to dramatically increase the level of mental abilities. Inspired by the success, the scientists decide to continue the experiment on humans. They find lonely 32-year-old demented Charlie Gordon working as a janitor in a bakery…
Algernon is an experimental mouse who, with the help of brain surgery, managed to dramatically increase the level of mental abilities. Inspired by the success, the scientists decide to continue the experiment on humans. They find a lonely 32-year-old weak-minded Charlie Gordon, working as a janitor in a bakery … The famous novel by American writer Daniel Keyes is written in the form of a diary that Gordon keeps. “Doc Strauss said I should write down everything I think and remember and everything that has happened since today,” begins his first report. After the operation, the records become more literate, and thoughts more sophisticated, Charlie’s intelligence is growing rapidly. However, somewhere in the depths of his unconscious, the stupid little boy Charlie is still lurking, who will have to face an unfamiliar life, with the world of adult feelings and thoughts. The main intrigue is that his future, like the side effects of the experiment, cannot be foreseen. This book, which begins as a purely intellectual sci-fi etude, in the finale is a real emotional upheaval. In it one can also see a metaphorical model of any human life: from helpless infancy through intelligent maturity to old age, which often turns into a new meeting with preconscious childhood. The novel, published over 40 years ago, remains a worldwide bestseller.
Eksmo, Domino, 384 p.