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A review by ojtheviking
The Invisible Man by H.G. Wells
4.0
Having not only reached but surpassed my reading goal for this year, I was almost about to settle for a total of 34 books read in 2023, mainly because I had just returned to Norway after a trip to the US, and was feeling exhausted from the trip (I had started book number 34 while in the US, and finished it when I came back home).
However, since 34 isn't a round number, my slight OCD tendencies made me want to go by the “increments of five” rule, and read a 35th book this year. I wanted this final read of the year to be something short, and the choice fell on this sci-fi/horror(ish) classic.
I was familiar with the story since I have seen all the old Universal Classic Monsters line-up, but I usually find it interesting to go back to the source material whenever I have seen the movie adaptation before reading the original novel.
Simply put, it was a short and fun read. It had its flaws (maybe especially according to today's standards), but nothing I wasn't able to disregard, and taking into consideration that this is a story from 1897, it's pretty innovative for its time.
Wells' writing has enough attention to detail and makes enough use of scientific terminology to give the scenario a certain plausibility. One nice little touch is the concept that recently consumed food is still visible for a moment until fully digested. (Incidentally, this made me think of a scene from the movie adaptation of another novel, H. F. Saint's Memoirs of an Invisible Man)
The narration style is also interesting. Not fully epistolary, but more of a retelling based on what information the narrator has gathered from various sources. As such, it's not necessarily an omniscient narrator, but rather one that has tried to piece together everything in a logical order.
In terms of suspense, I'd say the book can be divided into two parts, where the first half feels more like a mystery, while the Invisible Man is staying at the inn at Iping. The more horror-esque elements emerge later on, as his more sinister intentions are the main drive of the remaining plot.
Definitely recommended, and it makes me want to explore more of H. G. Wells' stories!
However, since 34 isn't a round number, my slight OCD tendencies made me want to go by the “increments of five” rule, and read a 35th book this year. I wanted this final read of the year to be something short, and the choice fell on this sci-fi/horror(ish) classic.
I was familiar with the story since I have seen all the old Universal Classic Monsters line-up, but I usually find it interesting to go back to the source material whenever I have seen the movie adaptation before reading the original novel.
Simply put, it was a short and fun read. It had its flaws (maybe especially according to today's standards), but nothing I wasn't able to disregard, and taking into consideration that this is a story from 1897, it's pretty innovative for its time.
Wells' writing has enough attention to detail and makes enough use of scientific terminology to give the scenario a certain plausibility. One nice little touch is the concept that recently consumed food is still visible for a moment until fully digested. (Incidentally, this made me think of a scene from the movie adaptation of another novel, H. F. Saint's Memoirs of an Invisible Man)
The narration style is also interesting. Not fully epistolary, but more of a retelling based on what information the narrator has gathered from various sources. As such, it's not necessarily an omniscient narrator, but rather one that has tried to piece together everything in a logical order.
In terms of suspense, I'd say the book can be divided into two parts, where the first half feels more like a mystery, while the Invisible Man is staying at the inn at Iping. The more horror-esque elements emerge later on, as his more sinister intentions are the main drive of the remaining plot.
Definitely recommended, and it makes me want to explore more of H. G. Wells' stories!