A recommendation from a friend and a book with a similar idea to Poul Andersons Brain Wave. In this novel it's a mouse (the titular Algernon) and a man (Charlie) who undergo surgery to raise their IQ's
The author uses the journals of Charlie as the central method of telling the story. As his IQ increases the language, spelling and grammar used is a neat way of showing his increasing intelligence and his demise towards the end of the novel.
Charlie is a hard character to warm to as for large parts of the book he's hard to understand depending on which end of the intellect scale he's at. But nevertheless his essential character shines through and his desire to improve himself has to go down as representing the human condition. Is the book intended to shine a light on man's efforts to improve himself, maybe maybe not but it is a great book. As other reviews I've read have pointed out it successfully avoids becoming overly sentimental or cheesy and keeps the reader involved from start to finish.
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