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3.86 AVERAGE
3.86 AVERAGE
challenging
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
non ho la forza mentale per stare dietro a quello che chiaramente è un capolavoro
I finished this book a few weeks ago and I still find myself thinking about it. How much of our identities are formed by our society? As I watch the decline of morals all around me, it seems clear that we have to know who we are at a much deeper level than whatever the current trends dictate. Interesting read!
I listened to a free audio of the novel...that might have been my mistake. While the first few videos I found were done by a man who expressively read the novel, the remaining novels were read by someone who voice was monotone the entire time. (This is what you get when you are too cheap to buy the audio. lol) This book is so rich in symbolism and I developed a new appreciation of the novel after reading the Spark Notes (which I highly recommend for their summaries and symbolism explanation). I know that James Baldwin was critical of the novel which sparked my interest to finally break down and read the novel. It tells that tale of an African-American in the turn of the century trying to find his identity to only realize that he is truly invisible.
challenging
dark
slow-paced
Loveable characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
challenging
dark
fast-paced
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
challenging
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
*3.5 stars. Let me preface this by saying I picked up this book by mistake from a mini free library thinking it was The Invisible Man by H.G. Wells from a glance, so I was not in the mindset I would have been in going in had I sought this out. Having said that, I am definitely glad I read this book and would shelve this with my classics. I would say that I found the first half of the book more easy to read (after the shock of incest pretty early on in the story), but the later half was a bit of a chore to get through where I would find myself needing to take some mental breaks. Although the later half was a challenge, I think that the density and almost abstractness adds to how well the author used writing to further the purpose of the story to parallel the reader to the narrator as he becomes more and more disillusioned through the book. I also think the later half of the book was very confusing because of how the author used "The Brotherhood" organization as an allegory for communism in the 30's and 40's. I can see how implementing literary devices to show how the faults in communist ideologies relates to the character development of the narrator, but I think it could have been more impactful if it wasn't so abrupt in the book. I enjoyed reading a well written classic again for the details that really make a classic interesting, like how this is really about how the narrator struggles with finding his identity as an individual, an identity so hidden from himself that we never know his name as the audience, he simply remains as the narrator, the invisible man. Overall, I would recommend this read to those who like reflective books that are dark and comment on the interaction between sociology, society, and ones identity of self.