Storyline: 4
Suspense: 6
Humor: N/A
Relatability: 5
Originality: 10
Overall: 6.25

Comments: Just to start things off I want everyone to know that this is not The Invisible Man by H.G. Wells. This is Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison. Also, I realize that this book is considered a classic; even College Board has it on its list of 101 Books to Read Before College. I realize this. But I hated this book.

 

It's original enough; I can't say I've ever read a book about a black man who got a questionable scholarship, started college, and got kicked out, only to get tossed around by various members of questionable groups and finally fall down a manhole. No, I'm not kidding about the last part.  He really does fall down a manhole at the end. Actually, he's telling the story from the manhole about how he got in the manhole. I guess the main problem is that it takes two hundred pages for the guy to get the scholarship, go to school, and get kicked out, and then there's four hundred pages left for the rest.

 

As a literary text, I can see why it would be placed in the "important" group; it is very well-written, even if the fact Ellison draws everything out puts you to sleep every fifteen pages. The characters are all strongly developed and there are many, many metaphors and places where meaning can be drawn from. The problem with this book is that it's boring. Things happen but it's almost as if you don't really feel like they're happening; you don't understand the reason for it. Maybe that's part of the point, but when a character is that out there and has such random things happen to him, it makes it hard to relate to. I get that this story is about racism and the struggle of the black man, and it does make you sympathize with various characters because of that struggle, but it just . . . there's something missing. Perhaps it's something along the lines of rationality; many of the things that happen don't seem linked. He just seems to jump from a woman's house to a supposed pro-black-rights group to being on the street during a riot. That isn't to say the storry lacks continuity; the reader understands where he is and how he got there, but I found it hard to link where he was with why he was there.

 

If you're looking for a light read, this isn't the book. If you're looking for an insightful look into the struggle of minorities, this may be the book for you. I just hope you can get through it. I had to for a class; I don't think I would have been able to finish it otherwise.