Invisible Man
by Ralph Ellison 1952  / 592 pgs Bildungsroman/African American Literature

Invisible Man has been popping up on my radar a few times to read.  It is a challenge to devour.  However, it is an outstanding novel.  It will make your butt squirm in the chair as your comfortability is questioned.  It can also make you upset and feel with the character, which is the point behind the writing. It’s not supposed to be an easy, simple read.  It makes you think about yourself and the struggle of others; this is the gift of the Invisible Man.       

The narrator is unnamed, the Invisible Man (IM), who is challenged about who he is around every corner.  In the beginning, he gives a valedictory speech at his high school graduation. He is invited to give the same address at a meeting of the town’s leading men.  He prepares vigorously to give the speech.  After arriving at the ballroom to provide his address, he is forced to participate in a boxing battle royal, even blindfolded before he can give the speech.  He doesn’t win; however, in the end, he is told to give his address, and he does with a mouth full of blood.  After, he is given a briefcase and a scholarship at a local African American university. Is he a great speechwriter or just a man that entertains?  He thought his speech was inspiring, yet, he was there for another reason he didn’t know.  He was a IM used for other purposes, and once it was complete, he was no longer needed. 

After arriving at the school and working on his studies, he believes he’s moving in the right direction.  He has his goals and beliefs in who he is.  His Grandfather’s last words haunt him.   However, his life starts to change as his beliefs are questioned in every chapter.  He is challenged by the very leaders he admires and those that came before him.  Warning after warning is made by people in a position of power.  The IM begins to understand that even when he does all that everyone asks, he is only good for them for a limited time, then he is nothing.  While trying to change to be what everyone else asks, he isn’t himself.  In the end, he is just an IM.

This novel is about the race challenges that African Americans have experienced and are still going through.  It opens one’s eyes to why so many are upset.  Change hasn’t happened.  Even in the book, change is challenged at the Brotherhood’s speed, led by whites, desiring it to grow slowly and scientifically. Raz the Exhorter who wants no white influence and demands change immediately.  It is still sound to how change is happening today in the United States.

Invisible Man is a classic, and I would absolutely recommend it.  Forwarn, it’s not a page-turner.  Although it can be challenging to read, it still is an excellent story.  It starts slow and builds up; it slows down and becomes dry to bear through a few times; however, it eventually moves over you like a steam roller when it starts to pick up. 

Enjoy a good cup of coffee and get lost in an excellent book,

Lopaka