Invisible Man

Life altering. Stunning. Perfectly crated.

“I am an invisible man. No, I am not a spook like those who haunted Edgar Allan Poe; nor am I one of your Hollywood-movie ectoplasms. I am a man of substance, of flesh and bone, fiber and liquids—and I might even be said to possess a mind. I am invisible, understand, simply because people refuse to see me.”

Scathing about all social strata

“The world is a possibility if only you'll discover it.” Reading this for school most definitely took the fun out of it, but I enjoyed it nevertheless. Invisible Man follows an unnamed black narrator who speaks of his invisibility. His invisibility is due to him being a black man in the early 1900's United States. Throughout the novel, we follow him on his journey to becoming someone, anyone with importance. His identity changes from time to time, from him learning new lessons or becoming involved in certain crowds. He chooses his actions based on what he feels but also based on how the white men around him want him to act. This book has many lessons and morals to learn from and I truly feel that it is an important book to read. The main thing I loved about this book was the writing. Ralph Ellison has a way with words and a way of making the book feel natural. The language/prose makes you feel like you are there with the narrator, experiencing what he is experiencing and learning the lessons he learns. It was hard to get through, though, because of the philosophical take. Many pages were just filled with long paragraphs of the narrator talking about life, invisibility, equality, death, identity, etc. and I found myself bored very often. But in the end, those pages are the ones with the lessons and ideologies we need to be exposed to and learn from. i suck at ending reviews so bye lol

"I am an invisible man. No, I am not a spook like those who haunted Edgar Allan Poe; nor am I one of your Hollywood-movie ectoplasms. I am a man of substance, of flesh and bone, fiber and liquids--and I might even be said to possess a mind. I am invisible, understand, simply because people refuse to see me." The beginning is simply that--an affirmation of what people (namely the reader) would perceive of the narrator, whose invisible nature even results in him not getting a name. He also paints a picture of what the world around him was like--indifferent towards his humanity, they consider him a shadow or somebody to be played with for their own purposes. Starting from the South, the un-named narrator goes up to New York to find himself a job, only to find out that his path was merely that to get rid of him. He finds himself reflecting in his identity, only to join the Brotherhood--a communist-like group which would allow the rights the invisible man seeks. And that has its own loop-holes... When I was in high school, I read the famous "Battle Royale" scene for my Short Story class; I remember the amount of brutality in which the kids are forced to reckon with. In context of the entire book, it's more of an avenue to which one could attain glory for the future, represented by a simple suitcase. The gold coins which were only tokens for cars were a bit jarring, though--were they meant to symbolize insincerity of some sort? I relate to the main character in his college years--I did want to get a better life for my own sake through classes. The scene in which he ends up driving Mr. Norton into danger and thus, getting him injured was quite the surprise. It also indicates how much the main character got into trouble because of a minor action, which ultimately lead's into the next part of his life. The end of that time, where he "stood in the darkened doorway trying to probe my future if I were expelled. Where would I go, what would I do? How could I ever return home?" (135) One of the more compelling parts of the book was how the main character uses his words to make an impact. It helps him get the scholarship during the Battle Royale, and gets him a job with the Brotherhood when he fights for the evicted couple. Once there, he becomes a mouthpiece, but is forced into the strict discipline that is needed to become one of them. I've never felt that way in terms of getting into a political cause, but I always liked using my words to try to make a difference. And that's what makes the "invisible man" less invisible, though it doesn't always lead to a happy ending. The reading experience was a bit of a drag--sometimes, I got lost into the prose and the whole depth of it, and I almost felt indifferent about the whole thing. However, there were musings in which I get into the Invisible Man's struggle and am encouraged to learn a bit more. And there wer bits of dry humor in it, which was always a plus. Invisible Man is definitely a classic, but a bit hard to get into. If you're into the Battle Royale scene, while serious on its own terms, let it be known it's only the beginning of one man's arc, which has its own ups and downs.

“I am an invisible man. No, I am not a spook like those who haunted Edgar Allan Poe; nor am I one of your Hollywood-movie ectoplasms. I am a man of substance, of flesh and bone, fiber and liquids-and I might even be said to possess a mind. I am invisible, understand, because people refuse to see me.” I’m a sucker for good openings. If an author gives me a great opening line or paragraph, I’ll likely stick with the story to the end, even if the magic dissipates after the first few pages. Which is the main reason I finished this book. I understand that I’m in the minority here. Don’t get me wrong, I can see why it’s a classic and I’m glad I can now say that I read it. But, to me, those first few lines were magic that never quite reasserted itself in the rest of Ellison’s work. The novel started out strong. Really strong. Our nameless narrator was trying to make the best life for himself that a black man could at that time, and tried to use his powerful oration to help his fellow man. For the first third of the novel, I was engrossed in his life, my heart heavy with sympathy and guilt for the sins of my forefathers. But after (view spoiler)[ the narrator was basically given an electrical lobotomy to erase his memory, (hide spoiler)] the book started to unravel for me. There were still moments of beauty and moments of heartache. Mary was a wonderful character, and I smiled any time she was in a scene. But the further I read, the more disjointed the book seemed to me. I don’t know if this was purposeful, to show how damaged the narrator was from the spoiler above, or if it was just in how I read, but I lost my connection to the narrator. I felt disconnected from about the middle of the book until the epilogue, where our nameless narrator is once more his present self. Here I reconnected, right before Ellison wrapped up his tale. Overall, I am glad that I read Invisible Man. I went into it knowing that it wouldn’t be an enjoyable read. How could it be, given the subject matter? But it was a thought-provoking read. I hate that I couldn’t maintain my involvement with the story all the way through the novel, but I don’t blame Mr. Ellison for that. It was an important story, poetically told.

Literally the worst book I've ever read in my life.

One of the best books I’ve ever read???

3.5

Well one thing I realized is that I've read this book. But most was fuzzy and scenes kept seeming familiar but not really and finally the scene where the woman wants our unnammed main character to rape her because she believes she is a nymphomaniac reminded me that "yes I have read this book because that is the first time I had ever heard the term nymphomaniac". I kept getting caught up in fretting about who the "founder" was and then maybe missing the whole point of the story. Another one I am sorry I missed our book group discussion.

An uncomfortable read, which, I suppose, is the point, but I also found that aspects of this verged on the grotesque. The parts with the Trueblood family near the beginning and Sybil near the end left a particularly nasty taste in the mouth. Appreciate the message here, but jury is still out re the delivery.

3.5

A masterfully written, or perhaps woven, tale of a young black man trying to understand the world, and his place in it, if he even has one. I'm glad I read it but I never want to read it again, I'm exhausted.

This was an odd book, one of those books that I finish and am not really sure how I feel about it. On one hand, the writing is excellent. The prose flows without hitch from one page to the next, from one topic or event to another. However, that fluidity obscures any definitive point. At the end I am unsure of the author's overall purpose in writing the book. The situations that the purposefully unnamed protagonist finds himself in are utterly absurd and mind-numbing. I'm sure that if I read the book more carefully and studied it as if I had to read it for a class I would understand more. I happen to believe, however, that the best books don't need that level of scrutiny to be understood, at least at a surface level.

Oof. This novel is hard to read. Not because it's terribly written, but the ways in which pain and manipulation hit so close and so existentially close to home will spoon out your brain like a melon. Invisible Man feels both real and surreal. The overall result is something crushing and terrific that makes everything around you feel so much heavier.

Didn't really know what to expect out of this one. There were some powerful bits especially closer to the end, but on the whole I found it a lot more tedious than some others of a similar bent I've read this year.