Release Date: 1952
Genre(s): Classics, fiction
Pages: 581
Rating: 
.5
Invisible Man was deemed an instant classic upon its publication in 1952. It follows the narrator’s journey across the racial divide, beginning in the South where he was aspiring to pursue higher education. But in a strange and unfair turn of events, he leaves for New York City, and must find another way to resume his plans. The book follows the narrator very closely, and explores the injustices he faces time and time again.
This book may have been published in the 1950’s, where segregation was the norm and before The Civil Rights Act existed, but in reality, this book did not feel strictly set in any time period. The reason for this is how the book focuses strictly on the narrator, despite the book being about his experiences in the North and the South. Having this focus, the story mainly focuses on the day-to-day microaggressions, discrimination, and even hatred of the narrator by others based on his race. And while much of this book does focus on systems that encourage racism, most of it follows his day-to-day, and how he is treated doing things as simple as walking down the street. These are all things that still exist in our world today – so while reading this book, I often forgot that it was even published in the fifties. I could have been told that this book was published today and, for the most part, could have believed that – and that’s a very frustrating thing to have to say. This book has gained even more meaning since it’s original publication date over 60 years ago because of that, and for that reason alone I do think that everyone should read this book.
I’ve also noticed a theme in books I’ve read recently that exploring what life is like for Black people in the North vs. the South is commonly explored. Earlier this year, I read Zora Neale Hurston’s Hitting A Straight Lick With A Crooked Stick. This book is a collection of short stories that covers a similar topic, but instead of honing in on one person, Hurston focuses on multiple people and families and their connections to the South vs. leaving for the North. Having read that, I was already familiar with this theme, and Invisible Man was able to further demonstrate how racism exists in different parts of the country (and the world). While the narrator’s experiences were different in each region, New York City was viewed as a place of opportunity, but his quest for a better life (and eventually being able to return to his education) was met with an equally as difficult quest for equality, in the form of different experiences.
This book took me some time to read, but purposefully so. It may not take the time to really develop other characters, but by doing that, it is one of the biggest literary examples of walking in someone’s shoes. There were so many times where I put this book down because I was so frustrated and upset by how unfairly the narrator was being treated, and knowing that this is reality for so many people. There are scenes where the narrator is doing no more than just innocently walking down the sidewalk, and he is approached multiple times by people assuming him to be dangerous, and taking ridiculous forms of action against him. I think everyone should read this book in their lifetime (and the sooner the better), so that they can see the world from the narrator’s perspective.
In sum, Invisible Man is a classic that I highly recommend. While it has a very narrow focus, it stood out to me as a prime example of how fiction books can educate, invoke empathy in readers, and demonstrate the power of fictional writing as a whole.
