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The Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison

By Snuggiepants | Posted Under Book Reviews | Comments (12)

Artwork-TearsofaBlackMan-2.jpg

I’ve had two experiences with Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison. The first was in 1989, when I was assigned to read it as part of an American Lit course my sophomore year in college. I read the first few pages. Then I bought the Cliff Notes. I was a BAD English major that semester. (I have since tried to make up for it by reading Dostoevsky’s Notes From Underground.)

The second experience was in the summer of 2008. I saw a used copy for a couple of bucks and felt compelled. As I read it, I got so excited by the parallels in that book, set in the 1940s, and our current political climate that I kept stopping to exclaim over it ad nauseum with others. And in an odd way, I didn’t completely measure the depth of it because the idea that the Invisible Man was invisible no longer distracted me to such a degree.

But first: the book. The narrator is a young black man who remains nameless throughout. “I am invisible, understand, simply because people refuse to see me.” The narrator’s struggles in the 1940s south and New York City take up the bulk of the action. Obviously, his social invisibility is a major theme. He’s an underdog, he’s in the dark, he’s blind, others are blind to him. (Is he Odysseus? Is there a Cyclops? And Sirens?) The contrasts and parallels to the present day would intrigue all but the most surface-level reader. And anyone interested in a first-person (though fictionalized) view of the beginnings of American black nationalism couldn’t do much better than this. Honestly, it’s a compelling read all on its own, just as an engaging story of a man trying to find his own identity and share it with those who care to see.

Ralph Ellison’s The Invisible Man will be the subject of June’s Pajiba Book Club. I hope you can join us for a discussion of it here on June 30th.










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Comments

Thanks for the preview snuggiepants! I think I will pick it up and give it a try. It's not my usual reading material but I am looking to expand my horizons.

Posted by: bionic woman at June 9, 2010 12:15 PM

Oh, man I loved this book. I read it in high school for my English class and it might be the best book I read that year. So great.

Posted by: Jeni at June 9, 2010 12:18 PM

I own this! I've read it! Yay, I can participate in a book club.
I remember making lots of notes about the paint-mixing bit. I loved being an English major. Snuggie, have you ever gone back and just giggled about some of your very "deep" insights?

Posted by: MyySharona at June 9, 2010 1:06 PM

I loved this book in high school and will have to find my copy so I can be prepared come the 30th.

Posted by: schrome at June 9, 2010 1:17 PM

I TOTALLY OWN THIS and have been a lame and not read it ever. And I will. Scout's honor.

Posted by: Caroline at June 9, 2010 1:39 PM

meh....

Read this in high school and I just could not for the love of me finish it. So I don't think I will participate this month.

Who am I kidding? I will totally absolutely read this, even if i might hate it (Sorry, Snuggiepants). Because I love Pajiba THATTTTT much.

Posted by: dene at June 9, 2010 2:20 PM

dene How long ago was high school?

If it was more than just a year ago or so, you might find it feels very different to you. The longer it's been, the more different it might seem.

Not, of course, because the book has changed, but because you have--time, experiences, all that.

I honestly would not have been able to grasp much beyond the surface if I had read this in high school. And I was a great reader, a future English teacher. But I was also still 15, 16, 17, etc.

Posted by: Snuggiepants at June 9, 2010 3:08 PM

When I read it, it was 6 years ago. I remember really liking the first half of it, and just getting impatient with the 2nd half. I'll definitely give it another try.

Like I said, I'm a sucker for the book club, so I'm definitely there for this month.

Posted by: dene at June 9, 2010 11:48 PM

Oh dear. I read this in high school. I did not really like it, but this was mostly because the way we read books then was to do it in class, out loud, with the teacher starting us off and then asking for volunteers. And we'd always, always get this boy volunteering who could not read aloud well to save his life. He'd rearrange sentences and add in words and it was PAINFUL. I hated reading aloud in class but would do it sometimes just so he wouldn't.

So yes, not the best way to be introduced to this book (or any other, boy did it kill any love I might have had for Othello). Not sure I'll be giving it a go, even though I know I should.

Posted by: Carrie at June 10, 2010 5:14 AM

OOH, can't wait to get started on this!!

Unforch, I'll be abroad on the 30th, but I'll do my best to check in and post comments anyway. But I'll definitely try to read the book! :)

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