Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison

[Kelly (Maybedog), Minister of Illicit Reading]

This topic is for discussing the banned or challenged book Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison. It would be great if you would use spoiler tags to hide any information that might spoil the story for someone else. If you have any questions about how to do a spoiler tag, please contact me and I'm happy to explain it to you. It's really easy.

Chat away!

[Regina]

I just find this very surreal reading after the Zimmerman trial.

[Sentimental Surrealist]

Agreed on the Zimmerman thing. I'd finished Invisible Man, but I've been reading Ellison's Flying Home as all of that has played out, and it seems extra-relevant.

Anyway, two things here struck me - the Dostoevsky/Camus influence, and the way Ellison moved his narrator convincingly through so many identities. I wish he'd completed Juneteenth, and that it had really sprawled out - the way Ellison does character development is perfect for longer books.