num_pages: 608
description: In this deeply compelling novel and epic milestone of American literature, a nameless narrator tells his story from the basement lair of the Invisible Man he imagines himself to be. He describes growing up in a Black community in the South, attending a Negro college from which he is expelled, moving to New York and becoming the chief spokesman of the Harlem branch of "the Brotherhood," before retreating amid violence and confusion.Originally published in 1952 as the first novel by a then unknown author, it remained on the bestseller list for sixteen weeks and established Ralph Ellison as one of the key writers of the century. The book is a passionate and witty tour de force of style, strongly influenced by T.S. Eliot's The Waste Land , James Joyce, and Dostoevsky.
language: English
title: Invisible Man
titlecomplete: Invisible Man
characters: Lucius Brockway, Tod Clifton, Mary Rambo, Mr. Norton, Dr. Hebert Bledsoe, Ras the Exhorter, Jim Trueblood, Brother Jack, Unnamed Narrator, Sybil (Invisible Man)
genres: Fiction, American, School, Literature, Classics, Novels, Historical Fiction, Literary Fiction, Race, African American
ratings_count: 182948
places: Alabama, Harlem, New York City, New York, The United States of America, New York City, New York
awards: awardedAt: -536428800000
name: National Book Award
category: Fiction
publisher: Modern Library