by Daniel Keyes
First published 2012
Charlie Gordon works as a janitor and struggles with severe intellectual disability. He becomes the subject of an experimental procedure designed to dramatically increase human intelligence. The same surgery has already been tested on Algernon, a laboratory mouse who showed remarkable cognitive improvements. As Charlie's IQ soars, he experiences the world in completely new ways and develops complex relationships with the researchers who transformed him. But the experiment carries unknown risks, and Algernon's behavior begins to change in disturbing ways. Charlie must confront what it means to gain and potentially lose the very thing that defines human consciousness. The story explores the delicate relationship between intellect and emotion as Charlie navigates his transformation.
Genres: fiction, science-fiction, dystopia, medical, academic, disability
Vibes: emotional, intimate, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: fish-out-of-water, unreliable-narrator
Setting: Laboratory
Period: 20th Century
Audiobook · Recorded Books
Content warnings: ableism, medical-trauma, mental-illness