# Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes

13 Hacker News commenters recommended Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes and 1 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 7 of 13 months. It meets the Hacker Approved badge rule.

**Verdict:** People recommend this novel for its emotional story of a man's changing intelligence, often calling it sad and moving; one critic found it a weepie for its own sake.

## Why people recommend it

- Emotionally moving, makes readers cry (3 comments): "That story was so sad, reading it was like actually going through the process together with the main character." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49736395)) "Had me in tears by the end. One of my favorite books." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47133060)) "man did it have me in tears at the end" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47133205))

## What people warn about

- Feels like a weepie for weeping (1 comments): "it felt like a weepie just for the sake of weeping" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49028593))

## Alternatives hackers recommend

- [Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir](https://hackerapproved.com/p/project-hail-mary.md): 117 recommend
- [There Is No Antimemetics Division by qntm](https://hackerapproved.com/p/there-is-no-antimemetics-division.md): 98 recommend
- [Blindsight by Peter Watts](https://hackerapproved.com/p/blindsight.md): 96 recommend
- [Dune by Frank Herbert](https://hackerapproved.com/p/dune.md): 82 recommend
- [Accelerando by Charles Stross](https://hackerapproved.com/p/accelerando.md): 71 recommend

## Where to get it

- [See price on Amazon](https://www.amazon.com/dp/1407230034?tag=hackerapprove-20) (affiliate link)
- [Bookshop.org](https://bookshop.org/a/130825/9781407230030) (affiliate link)

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes", https://hackerapproved.com/p/flowers-for-algernon/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).