The Invisible Man in Around the Year in 52 Books

Jul 25, 2025 Blaine rated it liked it

Shelves: 2025, e-book, audible

“I was invisible, and I was only just beginning to realise the extraordinary advantage my invisibility gave me. My head was already teeming with plans of all the wild and wonderful things I had now impunity to do.”
…
“Before I made this mad experiment I had dreamt of a thousand advantages. That afternoon it seemed all disappointment. I went over the heads of the things a man reckons desirable. No doubt invisibility made it possible to get them, but it made it impossible to enjoy them when they are

“I was invisible, and I was only just beginning to realise the extraordinary advantage my invisibility gave me. My head was already teeming with plans of all the wild and wonderful things I had now impunity to do.”
…
“Before I made this mad experiment I had dreamt of a thousand advantages. That afternoon it seemed all disappointment. I went over the heads of the things a man reckons desirable. No doubt invisibility made it possible to get them, but it made it impossible to enjoy them when they are got.”

In a four-year stretch, H.G. Wells wrote four books that together cemented his place as a father—if not the father—of science fiction: The Time Machine, The Island of Doctor Moreau, The War of the Worlds, and The Invisible Man. The Time Machine is one of my favorite books. It’s a great story, and very well-written. It has the first use of time travel as plot device, used to tell a thought-provoking critique of modern society. The Island of Doctor Moreau has some flaws, but works as a dark novel about the dangers of science (specifically genetic engineering) gone too far, and the hubris of scientists who believe they can and should wield the power of creation. The War of the Worlds is one of the first novels about an alien invasion, and has a brilliant ending where humanity is saved most unexpectedly.

Which brings us to The Invisible Man, which I’d never read before even though I’ve read the other novels multiple times. I knew the broad outlines of the story and it just never really appealed to me. So, it’s probably no surprise that this one left me a bit flat. It shares themes with other works by Wells, about the dangers of scientists’ unchecked hubris and ambition. But Griffin was immoral before he became invisible, stealing from his own father and engaging in some animal cruelty. So, the fact that he turned into an immoral monster after becoming invisible doesn’t really prove that another, moral person would have fallen down the same slippery slope. It’s not a bad story by any means, but it’s not at the same level as The Time Machine or The War of the Worlds. ...more

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Oct 03, 2019 Kathryn rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: aty-2019, reading-list-2019

I enjoyed this more than the only other H.G. Wells I've read, The Time Machine. And when I was borrowing this from the library, I noticed there's another book of the same title by Ralph Ellison which I may read to see how they differ! ...more

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Sep 05, 2020 Ruth rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: horror, classics-pre-1910, non-human-vampires-witches-etc, suspense, eerie-creepy-dark, entrapment, own, sci-fi, out-of-body-mysticism, kindle

I really like H.G. Wells writing and I'm not even a sci-fi fan. I guess I mean I'm not into modern sci-fi. This kind of reminds me a bit of steampunk.
Anyway, this book is a fore-runner of a lot of horror tales. It was first published in book form in 1897.
I like his writing style, it's not very flouncy, it gets straight into the story and the action. I find him a very atmospheric writer, he makes me feel I'm in the book.
A book like this could seem very dated but to me it's not.
It's a ghost st ...more

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Mar 25, 2016 RebeccaErGlad MegetGlad rated it liked it

Shelves: books-i-own, literature, bingo2016, bookclub

I don’t have much to say about this one.

Pro: Efficiently scary, inventive. The language is clear and precise.

Con: It’s incredibly formulaic, or so it feels, rather like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, and, to some extent, The Picture of Dorian Grey as well. Someone, who’s not truly bad, but has all the right (wrong) inclinations in that regard, discovers something incredible, often scientific. Their lonely pursuit of this goal leads them down a path to madness, and we loose sympathy. Finally some stand I don’t have much to say about this one.

Pro: Efficiently scary, inventive. The language is clear and precise.

Con: It’s incredibly formulaic, or so it feels, rather like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, and, to some extent, The Picture of Dorian Grey as well. Someone, who’s not truly bad, but has all the right (wrong) inclinations in that regard, discovers something incredible, often scientific. Their lonely pursuit of this goal leads them down a path to madness, and we loose sympathy. Finally some stand up guy or guys resolves the issue.

It predictable in a boring way, even though it’s expertly done in this case. I like this better than DJaMH.

I get that it can be read as a warning about the consequences of solitude, arrogance and narcissism, and a underlining of the foundation of human morals in the social.

But it’s not exactly a social commentary, and, like a children’s book, Evil can be confined to one man and thus eliminated. Common people (meaning everybody but the “protagonist”) are simply too nice. Some of them, like Mrs. Hall, the landlady, are beautifully described, but they never transcend the stereotype.

All in all, this is an outstanding example of a genre that I – when it comes down to it – don’t like, and there the proverbial Danish dog is buried.

3 stars meaning that I respect it and can appreciate that it is well done, but just not for me.

“Really” word count: 0. Steinbeck must still be in effect.

Small rant: I am the type of person that always brings at least four, often more, books with me when I travel. Not because I’m suffering under the illusion that I’ll read all of them, but because I like to have a selection (shut up about your bleeding Kindle - I am not yet ready). This time, though, I though: be sensible, Rebecca, and just bring one. A thin one (so it weighs less - I only had carry-on) (and you can keep on being silent as the grave about that Kindle) and now I’ve read it! At first I was distraught, but then I caught wind of a good bookstore.. I’ll just have to fit it in the suitcase somehow. For once, I have a good excuse. And I’m going to get some apple pie. And watch Hail Cesar. And lament that High Rise doesn’t have a premier date in DK yet, but the Netherlands premiere is after I leave.. Sigh.

Read for the Old and New Classics Challenge 2016: Catching up on Classics. ...more

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Oct 10, 2020 Kim rated it liked it

Shelves: classics, 1000books

3.0/5.0 - This is a hard book for me to rate. I've often thought which superpower would I choose, if I could, and it always came down to the ability to fly and being invisible. This book certainly made me rethink that choice. It comes down to how do you choose to use that power, and in this case, the protagonist, Griffin, an albino scientist who discovers how to make himself invisible, chose to use it for evil purposes. Griffin is tired of being invisible to others growing up and in university, ...more

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