This one is a tear-jerker. Its also amazing. And, I should note, it is my wife’s favorite book. It is the story of a scientific experiment which makes a mentally challenged man named Charlie Gordon into a genius. This is good, right? Well yes, until he realizes that all the people he thought were his friends, who were just being silly, were actually making fun of him. Through this the story touches on deep questions: is ignorance bliss? What defines a good person?
Algernon is the name of the mouse who also undergoes the experiment. When Algernon reverts back to his normal state, Charlie realizes this is going to happen to him. He puts all of his newly acquired knowledge into figuring out how to avoid this. What’s perhaps best about the book is that it is written from Charlie’s point of view, so the writing changes throughout as Charlie gets smarter.
Overall its just a fantastic story.
David Hershey 