The Invisible Man by H. G. Wells

Depicting one man's transformation and descent into brutality, H.G. Wells's The Invisible Man is a riveting exploration of science's power to corrupt With his face swaddled in bandages, his eyes hidden behind dark glasses and his hands covered even indoors, Griffin - the new guest at The Coach and Horses - Is at first assumed to be a shy accident-victim. But the true reason for his disguise is far more chilling: he has developed a process that has made him invisible, and is locked in a struggle to discover the antidote. Forced from the village and driven to murder, he seeks the aid of his old friend Kemp. The horror of his fate has affected his mind, however - and when Kemp refuses to help, Griffin resolves to wreak his revenge. This edition includes a full biographical essay on Wells, a further reading list and detailed notes on the text. In his introduction, Christopher Priest considers the novel's impact upon modern literature. For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.

It feels odd to give this book three stars–it probably deserves 4 or 5 just for holding up so well in so many ways to more modern books, despite being over a century old. The structure of the book was the most pleasant surprise for me–starting in the middle, then showing the beginnings through story-in-a-story. I also quite enjoyed the horror aspects that I wasn't expecting, especially toward the end as we see how being but off from other humans can turn a person into a monster.

I hate reviewing classics because about 16 billion people have already reviewed them but I promised myself I'd review everything I read this year so here we are.

Not gonna lie, I dread reading “classics.” And as I read classics, I often wonder who on God's green earth has decided to keep referring to these books as classics. WHY are they classics? Simply because they're old? Because many times, search as I may, I cannot find another reason why these stories would be so highly honored.

That being said, I was very pleasantly surprised by The Invisible Man. This is the first H.G. Wells I've read and I wasn't disappointed. Being originally written in 1897 (I believe), I was expecting some boring, difficult to read novel. Instead, I got a witty, funny, thought provoking, easy to read story. The writing flowed, wasn't halting or boring, and at times was even funny. I'm really impressed and I honestly look forward to reading another Wells novel.

Would I recommend this? Yes with no conditions. I deem this appropriate to be called a classic.

There were two things about this short novel that took me by surprise. First, I didn't realize how much humor there would be. Wells added a lot of slapstick and dry wit, revolving around the various citizens of a small town chasing and being terrorized by the title character. I always thought of Wells as deadly serious, so this book was more entertaining than I was expecting.

The second thing was my preconceived idea that this was going to be a book about a “misunderstood monster. I was thinking this would be an Incredible Hulk-type story where a scientist's experiments go horribly wrong and ruin his life. You felt bad for him because it was an accident and now he had to deal with the struggles of his humanity. He would travel from place to place and people would hate and fear him, while he tried desperately to restore himself to normal.

But instead of all that, this Invisible Man is a jerk. You can't feel bad for him. He made himself invisible on purpose, thinking how superior he would be to everyone else. He never considered the implications of his discovery for the future of science and certainly doesn't want to share it. He robs people without remorse and scares the hell out of them on purpose. He's also selfish, bad tempered, and violent.

His brilliance in figuring out how to render himself invisible is cancelled out by his lack of consideration of the consequences. His thoughts are, “great, I can rob people!” and “oh crap, I can't eat in restaurants.” Not to mention all the times he's nearly run down or crushed because people can't see him. It's not easy being invisible. Being a genius doesn't guarantee that you're very sharp.

The Invisible Man's obnoxious nature takes a more serious nature later on in the book, when he decides a “reign of terror” and revenge on his old friend are in the works. Then, the book gets less funny but more exciting. Fund and quick read for a rainy afternoon.

I didn't know what to expect at first. All I knew of The Invisible Man was that he was a horror movie icon from early Hollywood. As I began to read, I was transfixed by the story. I felt a whole range of emotions towards the invisible man and loved H.G. Wells pacing.

It's a mystery that turns into horror. After finishing the novel, I wanted to read it all over again. Indeed, this may be my favorite “classic” novel. The language isn't nearly as difficult as Dickens or Shakespeare. The length is short, and there is a nice pace set throughout.