Flowers for Algernon

This work of fiction was written by Daniel Keyes in the format of separate progress reports as chapters.  This novella was recommended to me by a friend who claims that this is his favourite book of all time.  I read this book in early 2016.  It is about this mentally retarded man, Charlie Gordon, who becomes a subject of an experiment to become more intelligent.  At his low IQ, he was happy working as an errands boy at a bakery and was not aware when others were making fun of him.  As he grows in intelligence and awareness, his speech becomes more comprehensible but emotionally he also becomes more weary and suspicious of his "friends" at work who were really teasing him and became isolated as his relationships with others deteriorate.  He lost his innocence and became a genius but he was still emotionally immature. 

The story begs the question, is ignorance bliss?  We often praise people for their intelligence as if it is a blessing to be intelligent but is intelligence really such a good thing?  Sadly, the experiment had a huge flaw and Charlie's intelligence gradually reverted to its original state.  As his speech gradually deteriorates into a mumbling mess, those around Charlie pities him for what he has to go through.  In the end tragically he lost everything, his friends, his family and his intelligence.