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3.86 AVERAGE
3.86 AVERAGE
This is an incredibly powerful piece of literature. It’s written almost like prose, and if you can allow yourself to be caught up enough in the story it carries you through it so that you experience more than read it. There are some very important principles taught within it and Ellison is excellent at putting you inside the mind of the protagonist. I really enjoyed it.
adventurous
challenging
dark
funny
inspiring
reflective
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
dark
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
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Wow. My mind is swirling. I had never read a book like this one before, and I am SO GLAD that I have decided to go back and read all the classics I missed in my high school/college years. I think I really needed to read this, although I had no idea what I was missing. I hadn’t even read a plot description of the book, because I wanted to go in completely blind, but I had heard this title mentioned so often that I really wanted to give it a chance because I knew it was revered. There is so much to think about upon finishing this book. I know that in the days to come I will be reading and researching and thinking about dozens of topics discussed in this novel.
This book follows an unnamed protagonist who is a college educated black man from the racially charged South (non specified where) to his move to Harlem, New York City, where he grapples with issues of identity, racism, and societal expectations. (Set during the civil rights movement, post-slavery). The novel is a deep-dive into the psychological and social effects of racism, as the invisible man faces both overt and covert forms of discrimination as he interacts with dozens of characters.
I would highly recommend reading this book to anybody, but I think it would be specifically beneficial to Americans, no matter what race you are. I think it will have different effects on the reader, depending on your race and your own experiences with systemic racism, or white privilege. But in both instances, it is definitely a story that makes you think and constantly learn and question everything.
This book takes you on a literal and metaphorical journey, and will probably leave the reader a changed person. I would say before reading this novel, I had maybe a slightly above average knowledge/understanding on race relations in the United States. Even though this book was published in 1952, it (sadly) is extremely relevant today. What I love about books is the ability to take a walk in someone else’s shoes and really get to understand someone else’s perspective. I really enjoyed this book and I know you will too!
This book follows an unnamed protagonist who is a college educated black man from the racially charged South (non specified where) to his move to Harlem, New York City, where he grapples with issues of identity, racism, and societal expectations. (Set during the civil rights movement, post-slavery). The novel is a deep-dive into the psychological and social effects of racism, as the invisible man faces both overt and covert forms of discrimination as he interacts with dozens of characters.
I would highly recommend reading this book to anybody, but I think it would be specifically beneficial to Americans, no matter what race you are. I think it will have different effects on the reader, depending on your race and your own experiences with systemic racism, or white privilege. But in both instances, it is definitely a story that makes you think and constantly learn and question everything.
This book takes you on a literal and metaphorical journey, and will probably leave the reader a changed person. I would say before reading this novel, I had maybe a slightly above average knowledge/understanding on race relations in the United States. Even though this book was published in 1952, it (sadly) is extremely relevant today. What I love about books is the ability to take a walk in someone else’s shoes and really get to understand someone else’s perspective. I really enjoyed this book and I know you will too!
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
dark
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
“Perhaps, like them, I was a throwback, a small distant meteorite that died several hundred years ago and now lived only by virtue of the light that speeds through space at too great a pace to realize that it’s source has become a piece of lead…”
adventurous
challenging
dark
informative
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This is such a dense book and it took me quite some time to finish it. But that was actually the right approach to this book, because there's so much to unpack and to reflect on. This is definitely a book that will stay with me. Be warned, it's surreal in places, but it is really powerful.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Racial slurs, Racism, Violence, Classism
Moderate: Slavery, Blood, Police brutality, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Infidelity, Misogyny, Sexism
14.
"It goes a long way back, some twenty years.
All my life I had been looking for something, and everywhere I turned someone tried to tell me what it was. I accepted their answers too, though they were ofter in contradiction and even self-contradictory. I was naive. I was looking for myself and asking everyone except myself questions which I, and only I, could answer. It took me a long time and much painful boomeranging of my expectations to achieve a realization someone else appears to have been born with: That I am nobody but myself. But first I had to discover that I am an invisible man!" (15)
"It goes a long way back, some twenty years.
All my life I had been looking for something, and everywhere I turned someone tried to tell me what it was. I accepted their answers too, though they were ofter in contradiction and even self-contradictory. I was naive. I was looking for myself and asking everyone except myself questions which I, and only I, could answer. It took me a long time and much painful boomeranging of my expectations to achieve a realization someone else appears to have been born with: That I am nobody but myself. But first I had to discover that I am an invisible man!" (15)