Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes is definitely one of the best books I have ever read. It vies with Watership Down to claim the top spot in my affections... If you haven't, do read it, and keep in mind when it was actually written, and how far ahead of its time it was, to not feel outmoded or dated at all. Simply amazing and quite powerful.
I think this definitely wins the award for Best Title Ever, too.
Irony: I read this first about fifteen to twenty years ago, and was very profoundly moved by it; it seared itself into my brain. Yet recently I found myself unable to remember what happened exactly; and when I reread it, it almost felt like I was reading it again for the first time. It's not as if this were a casual memory--- It's as if I'd forgotten how the Bible ended or something similar... I worry for my mind.
I see now that the path I choose through that maze makes me what I am. I am not only a thing, but also a way of being- one of many ways- and knowing the paths I have followed and the ones left to take will help me understand what I am becoming. (p. 154) (!)
"But I've learned that intelligence alone doesn't mean a damned thing. Here in your university, intelligence, education, knowledge, have all become great idols. But I know now there's one thing you've all overlooked: intelligence and education that hasn't been tempered by human affection isn't worth a damn." (p. 173)
How strange that light should blind! (p. 204)
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