Ralph Ellison - Invisible Man

Pros: it's quite a lot of fun to read

Cons: overlong

The Bottom Line: ---

Review: I commemorated Black History Month this year by rereading Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man. As with (the much shorter) Of Mice and Men,* I wonder if teenagers who are assigned to read Invisible Man or who pick it up on their own (as I...

Pros: Ralph Ellison is one of the great literary craftsmen of history.

Cons: Ralph Ellison has died.

The Bottom Line: Skip this flawlessly structured and sparklingly polished gem at your peril.

Review: What sort of invisibility is Ellison talking about?

When I was in graduate school, I supplemented my income by preparing headnotes and footnotes for the Harlem Renaissance section of the Norton Anthology of African American...

Pros: Superlative writing, engaging plot, multi-dimensional characters.

Cons: Ellison’s affinity for lengthy descriptive language and stream-of-consciousness writing may frustrate some readers.

The Bottom Line: Invisible Man is an incomparable classic that explores themes that even today still affect Americans of all races. Do yourself a favor and check it out.

Review: Nooooo, you didn’t think I was going to let February pass by without a Black History Month review did you? C’mon you know me better than that.

To be honest, I was so lost in other responsibilities that I hadn’t given the idea of...

Pros: A unbearably beautiful classic.

Cons: None

The Bottom Line: You're not well-read if you've never set eyes on Ellison!

Review: Inspiration From On High

Being an English major, I'm forced to read a lot of books that I don't like, literature that simply doesn't speak to me. Sometimes I'm lucky enough to find the complete opposite, a book so powerful and...

Pros: Excellent work depicting the struggle of the blacks in the pre-Civil Rights Era...

Cons: May be too dense for some audiences...

The Bottom Line: Ellison demonstrates solid control, expressing his views against a wide assortment of backdrops allowing his characters to resonate with irony and purpose...

Review: The ongoing evolution of our society and culture causes changes in our microcosmic existence that result in stressful and sometimes traumatic effects. Both Ralph Ellison and Kurt Vonnegut, in their respective works, portray the experiences of the...

Pros: Very interesting journey, unforgettable character and scenes

Cons: Very long book; not as much fun if you don't get the references

The Bottom Line: A Masterpiece. Highly recommended to anyone interested in literature.

Review: I am not one to reread books. This, however, is definitely an exception to that rule. Every time that I read this book, I notice something new and interesting that I have not noticed before, perhaps another detail that is a reference back to an ...

Pros: Character, Narrative Quality, Sweeping themes, every single word!

Cons: NONE! Not a one!

The Bottom Line: Buy this book, read it, explore it! Add it to your library! Share it with a friend!

Review: Every now and then, we run into an impossible goal: throwing a perfect game, singing on the same stage as our musical icons, writing something unparalleled in the history of literature. One of my goals became impossible in 1994, a year before I read ...

Pros: The conflict of a black man

Cons: Not like any other story you've heard before.

The Bottom Line: Enjoy immensely by me and soon by you.

Review: A story of a young black man struggle to go to college. At first you would think it a story like any other but its not. You see he needs a schlorship before the white men will give it to him, he must endure their torture. We have all face torment and...

Pros: Important, socially significant, powerful.

Cons: Not very much fun to read.

The Bottom Line: Worth reading, but for all the wrong reasons. You won't find yourself yearning for a Hollywood adaptation.

Review: What can you say about the Invisible Man? There are a couple of directions I could go with a review on this book. It was revolutionary, it was bold, it was timely, and it had extremely significant socio-political statements. Ralph Ellison writes a...

Pros: Motivational and inspirational

Cons: some passages are a bit puzzling

Review: Invisible Man is a good novel. As an avid reader, I can clearly see why this novel has won much prestige. Ellison uses lively imagery and creative characters to add to the mystic of the Invisible Man. I felt a real connection with the novel. I was...