Algernon, Charlie and I: A Writer's Journey by
Daniel Keyes
hbk out April 00
Published by Challenge Press
American Edition - $24.95
The question that makes writers cringe, but which is inevitably asked at readings and signings is: Where do you get your ideas from? Harlan Ellison claims that he used to smugly answer the question by saying that he subscribed to an idea service, and that
they would send him six ideas a month for twenty five dollars. He notes that he stopped using this answer when someone asked him for the address of the service.
It's not hard to understand why readers ask the question. Most people don't understand the process of writing, and there's no real reason why they should. Books (and movies) are sold to the public
purely on the basis of the idea, ideally spelled out in ten words or less. That this, after all, the definition of "high concept." But in fact, the idea behind a book is pretty well meaningless. Most ideas - however clever or sexy they may initially sound - can ultimately be reduced or simplified to something someone else has
already written. There are many great books full of original ideas, but few books are great because of any single idea. By and large, greatness is manifested in the execution. The best idea is still
crap if the process of fleshing it out does not succeed. Writing is hard work. Not hard like digging a ditch or working twelve hours on an assembly line maybe, but hard in a way that means there are lot more grubby manuscripts out there than there are published books. (And believe it or not, the vast majority of writers earn less on an hourly basis than those folks in the ditch and on the assembly line.)
Reading Daniel Keyes' memoir brought all this to mind, because it is an enjoyable book which charts the evolution and execution of a single idea - a damn good one - into the story and ultimately the novel Flowers For Algernon. However, Keyes would doubtless disagree with my dismissal of the importance of ideas, because he details how he toyed with and honed the idea for "Flowers for Algernon" for many years before he set it down on
paper. In fact, I was stunned by the notion that he poked and prodded and stuck with the idea for so long before managing some realization. On the one hand, it demonstrates a phenomenal kind of determination and self-belief, but on the other, it struck me as a little sad. Especially inasmuch as Keyes has never written any other fiction of note. His discussion of the development of Algernon is engaging, and Keyes made so much money from the book - it has sold millions of copies - that he doesn't need any other ideas, but I was left wondering if he hasn't, perhaps, sold himself short as a writer for failing to come up with another idea he perceives to be as successful. Because if I'm right about the unimportance of ideas, we are all the poorer; Keyes is such a good writer that even his lesser ideas, if only he'd carried through with them, would have led to more wonderful books. The other disappointing thing about this otherwise very readable memoir is that Keyes never discusses his relative inactivity as a writer post-Algernon. Surely, this is the question everyone who's read Algernon wants answered.
One bonus in the book is the reprinting of the original novella which was later expanded into the novel. It is a fabulous piece of work: original, clever, provocative, and deeply, deeply moving. A great idea, yes; but more importantly, a great piece of writing.
(
Jay Russell
- one of the greatest talents the horror industry has produced for some time… (Black Tears))
