Product Description

Ellison's blistering and impassioned first novel, winner of the prestigious American National Book Award, tells the extraordinary story of a man who is invisible 'simply because people refuse to see me'. Yet his powerfully depicted adventures - from a terrifying Harlem race riot to his expulsion from a Southern college - go far beyond the story of one man. The lives of countless millions are evoked in this superb portrait of a generation of black Americans.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #97959 in Books
• Published on: 2001-08-02
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 624 pages

Review
"An extremely powerful story of a young Southern Negro, from his late high school days through three years of college to his life in Harlem. His early training prepared him for a life of humility before white men, but through injustices- large and small, he came to realize that he was an "invisible man". People saw in him only a reflection of their preconceived ideas of what he was, denied his individuality, and ultimately did not see him at all. This theme, which has implications far beyond the obvious racial parallel, is skillfully handled. The incidents of the story are wholly absorbing. The boy's dismissal from college because of an innocent mistake, his shocked reaction to the anonymity of the North and to Harlem, his nightmare experiences on a one-day job in a paint factory and in the hospital, his lightning success as the Harlem leader of a communistic organization known as the Brotherhood, his involvement in black versus white and black versus black clashes and his disillusion and understanding of his invisibility- all climax naturally in scenes of violence and riot, followed by a retreat which is both literal and figurative. Parts of this experience may have been told before, but never with such freshness, intensity and power. This is Ellison's first novel, but he has complete control of his story and his style. Watch it. (Kirkus Reviews)

About the Author
INVISIBLE MAN established Ralph Ellison as the author of one of the most important and influential American novels of the twentieth century. He is remembered as a writer who captured a true sense of the African-American experience. JUNETEENTH joins INVISIBLE MAN and FLYING HOME & OTHER STORIES on the Penguin Modern Classics list.