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ashction's review against another edition
4.0
Truthfully, I didn't fully finish this, but overall found it an excellent American novel and mediation on race and identity.
milesszwarc's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
hannahflora's review against another edition
2.0
While I understand that the point of this novel was to not have a clear identity formed in your mind for the narrator, I feel like his lack of identity made him really hard to connect with and read about. I liked the concept of this book but didn't love so much how it was portrayed. However, the symbolism used by Ellison was a very unique way of writing. It was like the more I learned about the novel in class, and researched it on my own time, the more it made sense and the greater my appreciation for it grew.
I would probs not recommend though outside of for literature educational purposes.
I would probs not recommend though outside of for literature educational purposes.
allisonwhite167's review against another edition
5.0
“But deep down you come to suspect that you’re yourself to blame, and you stand naked and shivering before the millions of eyes who look through you unseeingly.”
second time reading this all the way through, and it still holds up as one of the best books i’ve ever read. no where else have i encountered a work of fiction so incredibly jammed with intense meaning and purpose in every detail paired with an unfolding of an incredible dream-like narrative that ultimately reveals the narrator’s eternal state. one of the most meaningful texts i’ve ever had the pleasure of encountering.
second time reading this all the way through, and it still holds up as one of the best books i’ve ever read. no where else have i encountered a work of fiction so incredibly jammed with intense meaning and purpose in every detail paired with an unfolding of an incredible dream-like narrative that ultimately reveals the narrator’s eternal state. one of the most meaningful texts i’ve ever had the pleasure of encountering.
ledimirnunez's review against another edition
5.0
Invisible Man sits beside Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert Pirsig, The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen, Herzog by Saul Bellow and The Book of Disquiet by Fernando Pessoa. These are the books to read before you die.
In my second reading, nearly two years after the first, I find myself again engrossed in the latter half of Ellison's novel. I am 26 years old now, and will be turning 27 years old in a month. Perhaps it is age, or living in Harlem, or the mere coincidence of my experiences and those of the narrator's who starts out aiming to please.
By now it's evident that the books I am drawn to are those that ponder the questions of identity: who am I? What am I? What am I to do? Would these be the same questions that an artificial intelligence asks upon awakening? I digress, but to err is human and to ruminate on your errors is torture. The slope so slippery.
It's the vet that awakens you, but he was in the first half. It's Grandfather's curse that keeps you up, and though its repeated throughout, it haunts you. To agree them to death? Well isn't that the pain we're avoiding? And so everybody must suffer together or there is no other way. Who else? Brother Tarp - because you are who you are before you got here, and you can change but that's just the top layer. At the end of the day, we know who you are, we know what your place is. Stokely Charmichael said the Civil Rights movement wasn't for black folks who needed to know about equality, it was for white folks who needed awakening. That must be a terrible paraphrase, but listen to his speech delivered at UCLA in 1960-something.
Something inside of me exists that I don't want to see. Why do I make myself invisible to me? I could stand it if others believed I was invisible, but what about when I think I'm invisible too?
In my second reading, nearly two years after the first, I find myself again engrossed in the latter half of Ellison's novel. I am 26 years old now, and will be turning 27 years old in a month. Perhaps it is age, or living in Harlem, or the mere coincidence of my experiences and those of the narrator's who starts out aiming to please.
By now it's evident that the books I am drawn to are those that ponder the questions of identity: who am I? What am I? What am I to do? Would these be the same questions that an artificial intelligence asks upon awakening? I digress, but to err is human and to ruminate on your errors is torture. The slope so slippery.
It's the vet that awakens you, but he was in the first half. It's Grandfather's curse that keeps you up, and though its repeated throughout, it haunts you. To agree them to death? Well isn't that the pain we're avoiding? And so everybody must suffer together or there is no other way. Who else? Brother Tarp - because you are who you are before you got here, and you can change but that's just the top layer. At the end of the day, we know who you are, we know what your place is. Stokely Charmichael said the Civil Rights movement wasn't for black folks who needed to know about equality, it was for white folks who needed awakening. That must be a terrible paraphrase, but listen to his speech delivered at UCLA in 1960-something.
Something inside of me exists that I don't want to see. Why do I make myself invisible to me? I could stand it if others believed I was invisible, but what about when I think I'm invisible too?
katy_ryn's review against another edition
5.0
Beautifully written, absorbing, and still deeply relevant. A truly classic book.
diyaspectrum's review against another edition
5.0
One of the best books I've gotten the chance to read for school. Hundred percent recommend for those who wants to have a better idea of race relations in the USA.
alisynamant's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes