Just read....

I've just read 'Flowers for Algernon' by Daniel Keyes. Considering it is supposed to be a science fiction book, I thought it was very good (good in the way other people might get, not just good in the sense I find lots of geeky things). Turns out they also made an Oscar winning movie out of it in the '60s.

The book is written as a series of diary entries written by Charley, who is mentally retarded, but receives experimental surgery to make him smarter. As the book goes on Charley slowly becomes more normal (reflected by a gradual change in writing style). His intellect keeps developing, soon surpassing that of his doctors. From the beginning he is fascinated by Algernon (Al-gi-non) a lab mouse who used to prove the treatment works. Later in the book, the now genius, Charley watches Algernon's improved mind deteriorate and sees the mouse breakdown and become catatonic (no it isn't a talking mouse). Charley realizes that the same thing will happen to him and he will return to his original state.

I'm impressed by how well the book conveys the emotions of this arc. Firstly the really sad transition from 'retarded but innocently happy' to self aware. Charley discovers that the people he'd been working with aren't really his friends, they just like to laugh at him.

The second part of the arc, is also depressing, as Charley realizes he's loosing his mental faculties and soon everything he knows will be gone again. In some ways it is how I imagine neurological diseases such as Alzheimer's or severe mental illness. Knowing that you are going to degenerate to the level of a child makes it much more scary.