Thursday, September 4, 2014

September 2014: Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison + Photos from Elita's Bon Voyage Party!

From the 1995 Vintage International paperback:

"First published in 1952 and 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."


Biography information on author Ralph Ellison (spoilers are possible):

Wikipedia, click here.
BIO Channel, click here.
Library of Congress, click here

Invisible Man is longer in length than the books we usually read so that members have the time to read our monthly selection along with their personal reading, so if you're unable to finish reading the novel, please don't feel badly or let it discourage you from coming!

We will meet to discuss Invisible Man on Thursday, September 25, 2014, at 7pm at the Atlantic Highlands branch of the Monmouth County Library, located at 100 First Avenue in downtown Atlantic Highlands (inside Borough Hall).  

Here are photos from our August meetup on 8/28, during which we had a going away party for founding member, Elita: