Gollancz never fail to disappoint. I have yet to read a book from their S.F Masterworks collection that I did not enjoy even a little bit. The collection is expertly chosen by people who know their Science Fiction inside and out. Flowers for Algernon appeared in their top ten list: http://www.orionbooks.co.uk/genres/sf-fantasy/gollancz-blog/the-results-are-in!.
I bought the title from Amazon and it sat on my shelf for an undue length of time. When I finally got down to reading it last week I pretty much stayed in one place the whole weekend till I was done. Bad for your eyes …
I don’t usually go for an epistolary style novel; however this seemed the only logical way to tell Charlie Gordon’s story. His character was deeply thought out and explored during the novel with ample time given to the science behind the fiction. The psychological reasoning behind the success of Charlie was as interesting as his failure. Each moment of the process was mapped out in intimate detail giving the whole novel a deeply human feel. I would recommend this to a reader who has not read a lot of Sci-Fi and wants a gentle way in to the genre. You don’t need a vast knowledge of science to read this book (as with The Quantum Thief).
