Invisible Man | Ralph Ellison

What can one say about a classic that hasn’t already been said? I’d like to explain why I chose it for the Base Bookspace. Impressively enough, it is Ralph Ellison’s debut novel and our selections feature debuts more often than not. Secondly it is the first book I consciously remember reading by a black author. Maybe I didn’t even know the author was black when I borrowed it from the library but it sure enough became clear within the first few pages. Set in Harlem in the fifties, Invisible Man tells the story of the whole of a people through the life of one Afro-American man. Ellison’s writing is witty, soft and strong when need be.

Paperback | 642 pages | ISBN 9780141184425