Ranked #3 in Period, Ranked #4 in Illusion — see more rankings.
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... more
Reviews and Recommendations
We've comprehensively compiled reviews of Invisible Man from the world's leading experts.
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Barack Obama Former USA PresidentAs a devoted reader, the president has been linked to a lengthy list of novels and poetry collections over the years — he admits he enjoys a thriller. (Source)
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Jacqueline Novogratz I read it as a 22-year-old, and it made me think deeply about how society doesn’t “see” so many of its members. (Source)
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Dan Barreiro Riveting time capsule material. Literary giant Ellison on the blues, on race, on his powerful book, Invisible Man. https://t.co/iS6xQ7ojE8 (Source)
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Seth Mandel @EricColumbus A great choice and undeniably important book. Wish it were taught more. (Source)
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Daegan Miller The novel pinpoints relentlessly, and beautifully, the environment of exploitation. (Source)
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Farah Jasmine Griffin It engages a number of literary traditions—the high modernism of Joyce, Eliot and Pound, but also Dostoevsky and Marx. It’s filled with allusions to African American folklore, folk culture and history. It’s just a rich and dynamic novel. (Source)
Rankings by Category
Invisible Man is ranked in the following categories:
- #7 in 11th Grade
- #26 in 12th Grade
- #7 in 16-Year-Old
- #26 in 17-Year-Old
- #26 in 18-Year-Old
- #56 in 20th Century
- #64 in Action
- #76 in Adventure Fiction
- #18 in African
- #9 in African American
- #30 in African American History
- #31 in American
- #25 in American Literature
- #50 in Americana
- #51 in Awarded
- #19 in Black Author
- #86 in Bucket List
- #20 in Buzzfeed
- #41 in Catalog
- #94 in Contemporary
- #56 in Existential
- #29 in Existentialism
- #49 in Graduate School
- #83 in High School
- #69 in High School Reading
- #34 in Identity
- #70 in Justice
- #79 in Literature
- #70 in Men
- #58 in Modern Classic
- #27 in Modernism
- #20 in Modernist
- #20 in New York
- #19 in New York City
- #56 in Poster
- #17 in Racism
- #41 in Time
- #37 in Used