Ralph Ellison: Invisible Man

[lovejuice]

Anyone read this? I just finished the book. Can't wrap my mind around it, though. The subject is quite interesting. I love how ellison combines racism and communism, an approach I have never seen anywhere else. I still cannot put my finger on what exactly the main character's invisibility is. Also a massive portion of this book seems to be superfluous. This first 200 pages can be left out, and I don't think there will be significant loss.

What is your take on this book?

 

[baddichter]

I think his invisibility referred to his being black in a white society. I thought it was a powerful book. It's ironic how Ellison became invisible after he wrote it. Supposedly, he's been working on another magnum opus for decades.

 

[-Carlos-]

I am just about to start my reading of Invisible Man.

 

[Christheblogger]

Invisible Man - Ralph Ellison

I recently finished this book and am still deciding what I think of it. How many people have read it? I found it pretty engaging, and never boring, but I think some things went over my head.

Being not from the USA, and ignorant of a lot of the history of the civil rights movement, I don't think I really understood the significance of parts of it. Case in point:

Spoiler

What was the deal with all the weird experiments that were preformed on the narrator, about a third of the way through the book?

Anyway, what do you think?

 

[Chris_Morey]

Can anyone pass a link my way about this book? I'm intrigued.

 

[Christheblogger]

Wikipedia is probably a good place to start. Short of actually reading the book.