Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison

 Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison was first published in 1947, yet it is still applicable to today. Ellison tells the story of an unnamed black man who wins a scholarship to college. While there, he discovers that what he hoped was true was not, and he finds himself in New York on a new journey of discovery. 

Goodreads blurb: ". . . immediately hailed as a masterpiece, Invisible Man is one of those rare novels that have changed the shape of American literature. For not only does Ralph Ellison's nightmare journey across the racial divide tell unparalleled truths about the nature of bigotry and its effects on the minds of both victims and perpetrators, it gives us an entirely new model of what a novel can be.

As he journeys from the Deep South to the streets and basements of Harlem, from a horrifying "battle royal" where black men are reduced to fighting animals, to a Communist rally where they are elevated to the status of trophies, Ralph Ellison's nameless protagonist ushers readers into a parallel universe that throws our own into harsh and even hilarious relief. Suspenseful and sardonic, narrated in a voice that takes in the symphonic range of the American language, black and white, Invisible Man is one of the most audacious and dazzling novels of our century."

This book is a work of art, and I enjoyed every minute of it. I listened to the audio version that was most expertly narrated by Joe Morton who acted out every character and made the journey all the more enjoyable. I found this book thought provoking as it shows the effects of racism on all. This book is worth reading or listening to. Five stars.

Read to a child today even if that child is you. 

Link to our NICU book registry to donate books to babies in the newborn intensive care unit so their parents can read to them while they grow. You can also donate gently used books to our project by sending them to me or to Angie. Email me for a mailing address. We can use both English and Spanish books. If you have a graduate of the NICU, or if you have a baby whose life you would like to honor by donating books to this project, let me know, and I can make a book plate with their name for the books you donate.