A sweetly sad story. Charlie Gordon, who has learning difficulties, has a job as a janitor in a factory, but attends night classes to try to improve his understanding. His teacher, feeling sorry for him, proposes him for an experimental surgery. The surgery has previously only been tried on mice – one mouse in particular: Algernon.

Charlie’s progress reports show his changes in language, personality and emotions following the surgery, as he is tested against Algernon to see who can solve puzzles faster. To begin with, the mouse always wins, but soon Charlie realises changes are happening within his brain. First, he realises his friends at the factory are not true friends; that they have been making fun of him all this time. Then, trying to form an affectionate but intellectual relationship with his teacher, he realises he has unfortunately surpassed her level of understanding. His sense of isolation and despair is complete when his mouse friend deteriorates, losing its intelligence and memory, and Charlie realises he will likely share the same fate.

The unique narrative voice in this story really hooks you in, and though his writing is initially limited, Charlie paints a bigger world than he himself is capable of describing.

First published in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, 1959