Invisible Man |
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| Title: | Invisible Man |
| Author: | Ralph Ellison |
| Publisher: | Vintage |
| Type: | Book / Paperback |
| Publication Date: | 14 March, 1995 |
| ISBN / ISBN-13: | 0679732764 / 9780679732761 |
| List Price: | $14.95 |
| You Save: | $7.71 |
| Amazon Price: | $7.24 |
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Editorial Review / Publisher's Information:
Product Description
Invisible Man is a milestone in American literature, a book that has continued to engage readers since its appearance in 1952. A first novel by an unknown writer, it remained on the bestseller list for sixteen weeks, won the National Book Award for fiction, and established Ralph Ellison as one of the key writers of the century. The nameless narrator of the novel describes growing up in a black community in the South, attending a Negro college from which he is expelled, moving to New York and becoming the chief spokesman of the Harlem branch of "the Brotherhood", and retreating amid violence and confusion to the basement lair of the Invisible Man he imagines himself to be. The book is a passionate and witty tour de force of style, strongly influenced by T.S. Eliot's The Waste Land, Joyce, and Dostoevsky.
Amazon.com Review
We rely, in this world, on the visual aspects of humanity as a means of learning who we are. This, Ralph Ellison argues convincingly, is a dangerous habit. A classic from the moment it first appeared in 1952, Invisible Man chronicles the travels of its narrator, a young, nameless black man, as he moves through the hellish levels of American intolerance and cultural blindness. Searching for a context in which to know himself, he exists in a very peculiar state. "I am an invisible man," he says in his prologue. "When they approach me they see only my surroundings, themselves, or figments of their imagination--indeed, everything and anything except me." But this is hard-won self-knowledge, earned over the course of many years. As the book gets started, the narrator is expelled from his Southern Negro college for inadvertently showing a white trustee the reality of black life in the south, including an incestuous farmer and a rural whorehouse. The college director chastises him: "Why, the dumbest black bastard in the cotton patch knows that the only way to please a white man is to tell him a lie! What kind of an education are you getting around here?" Mystified, the narrator moves north to New York City, where the truth, at least as he perceives it, is dealt another blow when he learns that his former headmaster's recommendation letters are, in fact, letters of condemnation. What ensues is a search for what truth actually is, which proves to be supremely elusive. The narrator becomes a spokesman for a mixed-race band of social activists called "The Brotherhood" and believes he is fighting for equality. Once again, he realizes he's been duped into believing what he thought was the truth, when in fact it is only another variation. Of the Brothers, he eventually discerns: "They were blind, bat blind, moving only by the echoed sounds of their voices. And because they were blind they would destroy themselves.... Here I thought they accepted me because they felt that color made no difference, when in reality it made no difference because they didn't see either color or men." Invisible Man is certainly a book about race in America, and sadly enough, few of the problems it chronicles have disappeared even now. But Ellison's first novel transcends such a narrow definition. It's also a book about the human race stumbling down the path to identity, challenged and successful to varying degrees. None of us can ever be sure of the truth beyond ourselves, and possibly not even there. The world is a tricky place, and no one knows this better than the invisible man, who leaves us with these chilling, provocative words: "And it is this which frightens me: Who knows but that, on the lower frequencies, I speak for you?" --Melanie Rehak
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Customer Reviews:
• Invisible Man
06 March, 2010
Invisible Man, released in 1952, is truly an immeasurable work of fiction in the annals of African-American literature. You will follow the nameless protagonist as he narrates his journey from youth to an HBCU located in the South (think Tuskegee), then expelled and sent to New York, to joining 'the Brotherhood', and finally, to a series of disappointing events in which he realizes his invisibility. Besides the narrator there are quite a number of characters, most of which are continually referred to throughout the story. All characters have names except for the narrator. Ellison maintains his 'invisibility' by alluding to the narrator's name but never fully disclosing it. Along the way, the narrator collects an assortment of items; tokens that possess particular meaning to him and, at times, provides strength and security.
Ellison parlays a heavy dose of symbolism, metaphors and vivid imagery into a nationally acclaimed novel about one African-American man's odyssey to conquer his charade-playing foes.
Also by Ralph Ellison: Shadow and Act, Juneteenth: A Novel and Three Days Before the Shooting . . . (Modern Library); the latter two posthumously released after his death in 1994
- Amazon Customer Review
• Extremely Powerful
15 March, 2010
Invisible Man is considered a classic of the 20th century. I had avoided it until now as I had a difficult time imagining that I'd enjoy it. It overwhelmed me. This is especially true since was written in the late 40s and early 50s.
The book is about an unnamed African American man from the southern U.S. who is intelligent and seeks to be a role model and exemplary representative of his race. In the 40s and 50s, the concept of representing your race was an expectation as racism was more explicit.
The novel contains many, many extremely vivid scenes. The power really begins with the famous Battle Royal scene. It needs to be read to be fully appreciated. This is where the jarring, hard hitting novel really takes off.
This is followed by an extremely confused scene at a bar called The Golden Day which is chaotic, confusing and exciting.
These two scenes set the stage for many more memorable events that I won't go into but that are equally intense. Race riots, the Paint Factory scene, interracial sex experiences (very controversial for the time), the conflict between the socialist Brotherhood and the more radical black leaders. This book is packed with wonderfully written, unforgettable scenes about a man's struggle in America.
Clearly, from other reviews, this is not everyone's cup of tea but I am surprised several people found this such a chore to get through. I honestly found it to be a page turner and read it very quickly.
I've focused on the intensity of the novel which is a key aspect. This shouldn't take away from the exploration of many underlying themes of racism in America in the 50s that still ring true today.
I think this is a major work and very highly recommend it.
- Amazon Customer Review
• This Book Should Be On Kindle
02 February, 2010
I read this book in High School and College and I would like to be able to down load it on Kindle. Loved this book.
- Amazon Customer Review
• A Brilliant, Dark, Complex, And Ambiguous Masterpiece
15 March, 2010
Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man is many things, all of them great: one of the twentieth century's best novels, a landmark identity exploration, one of the most brilliantly vivid dramatizations of existentialism and other Post-Modern intellectual concerns, one of the most relevant sociopolitical works since World War II, a revolutionary novel in structural terms that proved highly influential, and a milestone of African American art. It is essential for anyone even remotely interested in such things and, indeed, anyone even slightly concerned with twentieth century literature.
Invisible is often called a "black novel," and while this sells it incredibly short, it has much to admire in this regard. The protagonist and most major characters are black, and the book gives a fascinating peak at mid-century African American culture, especially black intellectuals, political dissidents, early black power movements, and urban blacks. We get a good idea of such movements' ins and outs as well as their members' thoughts, speech, and behavior. The novel memorably deals with many themes of great importance to African Americans, from poverty to racism to identity issues. It is also steeped in black history. However, it is important to realize that Ellison did not set out to write a "black novel" in the sense of Richard Wright or James Baldwin. He was in fact disturbed by those pressing such strict sociopolitical readings, stressing that he wished Invisible could be seen "simply as a novel." To be sure, it has much to say about African Americans and their status then and now and is at least as political in its way as anything overtly meant as such. However, it is extremely complex and ambiguous; critics and readers still debate just what Ellison meant more than half a century later. This was clearly intentional; nearly every aspect of the book has great sociopolitical relevance, but it never even comes close to didactic. Ellison dramatizes supremely meaningful themes and raises many profound questions but knows better than to give answers; that is up to us. As with Zora Neale Hurston, his refusal to take a definite stand on "black" issues did not sit well with the more forceful politically engaged black leaders, but this is to the book's literary benefit. Released in 1952, it is an important link between Modernism and Post-Modernism; its relentless staging of profound philosophical issues with an existential awareness of the impossibility of definitive answers is distinctly Modern, while its political aspect is very Post-Modern. It walks a similar line between African American literature and general literature with the former's trappings and the latter's breadth. The bottomline is that it has the strengths of both and is great on both fronts.
Important as Invisible is to black concerns, it is also grandly universal - politically, philosophically, and otherwise. Above all, it is an eloquent illustration of the underdog in all facets - an extremely vivid account of what it is like to be an outcast in various societies. The Invisible Man symbolizes everyone who is downtrodden, whether from race, class, beliefs, or whatever else. It is thus a supremely searching and stirringly affecting portrait of modern alienation; whether in the rural South or Harlem, the Invisible Man is essentially down and out and in the most fundamental sense alone. There is a strong criminal, even revolutionary, element to his plight that shines a much-needed light on the vast dark side of a mid-century era that many think of as idyllic. A far cry from the official Leave It to Beaver world, it was a loud wake-up call to a complacent society and remains a vibrantly relevant paean to outcasts everywhere.
Many Post-Modern themes abound - paranoia, distrust of authority, etc. -, but identity crisis is preeminent. One of the most truly existential novels, Invisible focuses largely on the prime existential question - how to find oneself in a world where traditional authority, from government to religion, has become extinct. One can no longer rely on higher sources but must find the answer in one's own heart and mind. Invisible is thus a bildungsroman on top of everything else - one's man's struggle to find the answer. Traditional fallbacks fail one after another, and he is left truly alone but not without a certain dignity and even a certain (very unconventional) strength. His fight for true independence has some success, and the self-awareness and clear-sightedness he gains is in many ways at least as valuable as the illusions he loses. Probably no one would want to be him, but all honest thinking people can see themselves in him - a disturbing thought reinforced in the unforgettable closing words. We certainly do not envy him, mainly because we can see ourselves becoming him so easily; he is an extreme version of the darkness that can befall an intelligent, capable person unable to fit into modern society. We identify with the darkness at his heart because we see it in ours - hopefully barely kindled but in danger of becoming a conflagration at any moment, just as his unexpectedly does when he seems on the very brink of success.
Important as the content is, the structure is also integral. The back of the book claims that Invisible gives "an entirely new model of what a novel can be," which is not much of an exaggeration. Non-linear and distinctly anti-realist with a highly symbolic, often surreal plot, it again straddles Modernism and Post-Modernism. This is one of the main reasons that calling it a "black novel" is severely limiting. For one thing, it is highly allusive, referring to many works by non-blacks; Homer's Odyssey is an important source, and Dostoevsky's Notes from Underground and H. G. Wells' Invisible Man are essential antecedents acknowledged by Ellison. Though not near-impenetrable as the likes of Joyce, Faulkner, and Pynchon are at their most abstruse, Invisible is challenging; the content was audacious and is still provocative, and the protagonist is not the usual sympathetic one, but the structure itself is demanding. One can read - and even enjoy - Invisible on a surface level, but those willing to dig deeper and truly engage themselves will get so much more out of it. We must make an effort to identify with the protagonist even when he seems most alien precisely because this is when he is really most familiar, and we must be alive to the frequent symbolism. Those willing to do so will be well rewarded; few novels are broader in scope or more complex in execution, not to mention more thematically meaningful and relevant. Invisible is a masterpiece on every level, making the fact that Ellison never finished a second novel a truly tragic loss to literature; it thankfully stands alone as a towering monument that will make him a literary immortal. It is a canon in itself, essential for anyone struggling with or curious about modernity's unique problems.
- Amazon Customer Review
• B.s.
14 February, 2010
Let me start off by saying I am not impressed by this book. And here's a little anecdote for all the politically correct wallflowers: I saw a n'ger this morning and as I passed him, I uttered the word "n'ger" loud enough for him to hear, even though we were in a restaurant. He said nothing in return, nor did he follow me outside. He did not try anything. I am white and big enough to handle myself. Yeah, I read books, but I'm no wallflower pansy. If n'gers (sic) are so great, why is it every black country in the world is a slum? Does Ralph Ellison address this? No. Indeed many are still chucking spears and wearing loin cloths. Why is it when a calamity hits a third world (ghetto) country, it's a white country that has to bail them out? The only thing those black ghetto countries know how to do is make more worthless pieces of ....
- Amazon Customer Review
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