Mentally challenged Charlie Gordon participates in an experiment which turns him into a genius, but only temporarily.

With more than five million copies sold, "Flowers for Algernon is the beloved, classic story of a mentally disabled man whose experimental quest for intelligence mirrors that of Algernon, an extraordinary lab mouse. In poignant diary entries, Charlie tells how a brain operation increases his IQ and changes his life. As the experimental procedure takes effect, Charlie's intelligence expands until it surpasses that of the doctors who engineered his metamorphosis. The experiment seems to be a scientific breakthrough of paramount importance--until Algernon begins his sudden, unexpected deterioration. Will the same happen to Charlie? An American classic that inspired the award-winning movie Charly.

When brain surgery makes a mouse into a genius, dull-witted Charlie Gordon wonders if it might also work for him. With more than five million copies sold, Flowers for Algernon is the beloved, classic story of a mentally disabled man whose experimental quest for intelligence mirrors that of Algernon, an extraordinary lab mouse. In poignant diary entries, Charlie tells how a brain operation increases his IQ and changes his life. As the experimental procedure takes effect, Charlie's intelligence expands until it surpasses that of the doctors who engineered his metamorphosis. The experiment seems to be a scientific breakthrough of paramount importance, until Algernon begins his sudden, unexpected deterioration. Will the same happen to Charlie? An American classic that inspired the award-winning movie Charly.

Play Scripts.

"Until he was thirty-two, gentle and likable Charlie Gordon had lived in a mental haze. He realized that knowledge and the ability to write were important, and though he was functionally literate, he wasn't as bright as most people around him. Even a white mouse named Algernon seemed to outpace Charlie. But Algernon's gifts weren't natural. They were the result of a unique operation. When Charlie undergoes a similar operation, readers are at once drawn into a radical experiment that has complex and profound implications."--Page 4 of cover.