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reachingforstardust's review
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Misogyny, Colonisation, and Police brutality
Moderate: Ableism, Alcohol, Rape, Gun violence, Gaslighting, and Grief
maddiebo97's review against another edition
challenging
dark
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
a timely classic that almost feels like it could have been written yesterday. it’s scary how much this book is still relevant.
I wish I would have been able to read it in a class, because I feel like I didn’t get everything out of it that I was supposed to… almost feels like I read it “wrong”. it was a daunting novel that was difficult to pick up. the plot was not difficult to understand, but the plot of this book is definitely secondary. it’s there to deliver the message, but I missed out on the message half of the time.
I wish I would have been able to read it in a class, because I feel like I didn’t get everything out of it that I was supposed to… almost feels like I read it “wrong”. it was a daunting novel that was difficult to pick up. the plot was not difficult to understand, but the plot of this book is definitely secondary. it’s there to deliver the message, but I missed out on the message half of the time.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs, Rape, Police brutality, Sexual violence, Racism, and Sexual assault
djvill's review
challenging
dark
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
I can see why Invisible Man is an important work. This book puts you inside the head of the unnamed first-person narrator as he tries to navigate white respectability, only to find that the only way for him to survive a white man's world is to accept his powerlessness. As a non Black person, I'm grateful for works like this that help me better understand the profound psychological tax of being Black in America. To me, Ellison's thesis is that for Black Americans, the pursuit of assimilationism in an America where white supremacy pervades all spaces - including radical left-wing spaces that profess colorblindness - inevitably leads to failure. Maybe that explains Ras's evolution from Exhorter to Destroyer? This is a profoundly pessimistic view, even nihilistic, but reading in the context of 2023, I found myself moved by it.
It was interesting to consider the historical context of this book, sandwiched between the Harlem Renaissance on one hand and the Civil Rights Movement & Great Society on the other. By setting the book's main action in a down-and-out Harlem, Ellison seems to be saying "the promise of the Renaissance is dead". The book was also eerily predictive of the future, notablya riot sparked by police murders of innocent Black people .
All that said, this book really didn't need to be 600 pages. The action is super slow developing - the narrator doesn't arrive in New York until page 155. I made the mistake of trying to read this book at bedtime; the slow action often put me right to sleep, and reading it over a few months meant I lost some recurring plot threads. It's also obviously an old-fashioned book. But I really enjoyed it in the daytime. It's insightful, darkly humorous, literary in a way that stops short of being overly high-minded, and its plot is compelling.
It was interesting to consider the historical context of this book, sandwiched between the Harlem Renaissance on one hand and the Civil Rights Movement & Great Society on the other. By setting the book's main action in a down-and-out Harlem, Ellison seems to be saying "the promise of the Renaissance is dead". The book was also eerily predictive of the future, notably
All that said, this book really didn't need to be 600 pages. The action is super slow developing - the narrator doesn't arrive in New York until page 155. I made the mistake of trying to read this book at bedtime; the slow action often put me right to sleep, and reading it over a few months meant I lost some recurring plot threads. It's also obviously an old-fashioned book. But I really enjoyed it in the daytime. It's insightful, darkly humorous, literary in a way that stops short of being overly high-minded, and its plot is compelling.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism
Moderate: Police brutality
ashley_1206's review
adventurous
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
3.5⭐️
guys i actually liked this book but it was so damn long. but the symbolism, message, and everything from a literary standpoint was good. it’s definitely my favorite summer reading book for ap lit! but please classics STOP HAVING LONG CHAPTERS.
guys i actually liked this book but it was so damn long. but the symbolism, message, and everything from a literary standpoint was good. it’s definitely my favorite summer reading book for ap lit! but please classics STOP HAVING LONG CHAPTERS.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Fire/Fire injury, Gun violence, Grief, Hate crime, Murder, Police brutality, Racism, Racial slurs, Alcohol, Blood, Classism, and Cursing
jordan21's review
challenging
dark
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Easily one of the most profound and significant classics I’ve read. The narratives describing the racist systems of 1950s New York City are eerily relevant to present day America, bringing to light how little progress we’ve really made in civil rights. I easily got attached to the nameless main character, and his voice painted vivid pictures of his experiences.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Police brutality
ratthew86's review
emotional
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Police brutality, Cursing, Racism, Murder, Racial slurs, Death, Hate crime, and Violence
Moderate: Alcohol, Emotional abuse, Alcoholism, Fire/Fire injury, and Sexual assault
jadenbailey's review
challenging
dark
funny
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Incest, Rape, Alcohol, Violence, Murder, Racism, Racial slurs, Gore, and Police brutality
mahalia's review
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Death, Racism, Alcohol, Child abuse, and Police brutality
jwells's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
WOW. This book is quite a journey. I am so glad I picked it up. Definitely belongs among the classics of American fiction.
So many things happening here. Such a dark, sly sense of humor.
Our narrator's life seems to consist of rewards and punishments mixed randomly. The Brotherhood organization just about out-Vonneguts Vonnegut if you ask me. They recruit him because of a speech that's practically incoherent, and scold him when he becomes too effective.
Act three leaves the realm of comedy, even very dark comedy, though, doesn't it. Some stunning writing in those scenes.
So many things happening here. Such a dark, sly sense of humor.
Our narrator's life seems to consist of rewards and punishments mixed randomly. The Brotherhood organization just about out-Vonneguts Vonnegut if you ask me. They recruit him because of a speech that's practically incoherent, and scold him when he becomes too effective.
Act three leaves the realm of comedy, even very dark comedy, though, doesn't it. Some stunning writing in those scenes.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Police brutality, Racism, and Forced institutionalization
Moderate: Incest and Racial slurs
rachael_a's review against another edition
challenging
dark
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Incest and Racial slurs
Moderate: Police brutality