Flowers for Algernon now and always will be one of my all time favourite books, regardless of genre. it still surprises me how a book over 60 years old still comes across with so much heart that still affects the reader in the modern day. At the time of my first reading I had never read anything so original. The book is written from Charlie's perspective, as his own diary. Because we first meet Charlie as a mentally disabled bakery cleaner, the butt of everyones affectionate but cutting jokes, his diary entries are littered with spelling mistakes and a childlike perspective of the world. As the plot progresses and Charlie gains increased intelligence, we see the same world in his new perspective, and get a real insight into his mind as he navigates his strange new world. An aspect of this I love is the exploration of how intelligence affects his relations with friends, colleagues and lovers. Seeing the contrast between a handicapped Charlie pining to be smarter and a vastly educated Charlie struggling to come to terms with the world makes it almost feel like two separate characters completely. Keyes writes both wildly different perspectives perfectly, bringing what could feel like two separate novellas in the hands of a lesser author into a brilliant and desperate narrative. Flowers for Algernon is a book I hope to always come back to, and I don't think I'll ever be unaffected by the brilliant but painful ending.