5 of 5 stars

I stumbled upon this book because of something I read on LitHub or saw on on the SF feeds I follow on Twitter. It is perhaps one of the best illustrations of the power of speculative fiction I’ve ever encountered. It is one of the best books in general that I’ve read. Easy to read, hard to swallow sometimes, while looking at the world reflected through the beautiful writing.

A simple (no pun intended) science/medical hook brings the reader into Charlie Gordon’s mind and his lived experience. To view how he experienced the world before the operation that increased his intelligence, through his ascendency and then his decline, is powerful. As a reader, I was excited, depressed, angry, and humbled through the entire experience. The writing is easy to read, fast-paced, and never felt contrived or didactic.

There’s also a little icing on the cake for me in that it’s almost a epistolary novel, one of my favorite styles. The story is told through progress reports that Charlie makes from the beginning to the end of his experience with intelligence.