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Summary: H.G. Wells The Invisible Man ¿ A Must Read
Review: "The stranger came early in February, one wintry day, through a biting wind and a driving snow, the last snow fall of the year, over the down, walking as it seemed from Bramblehurst railway station, and carrying a little black portmanteau in his thickly gloved hand." This quote describes the stranger of Iping. There is a lot of foreshadowing going on in this quote. "Walking as it seemed" give the allusion that he could barely be seen. H.G. Wells, in The Invisible Man, describes the setting and the characters very well. The dialect used throughout the book is typical of the era this novel is set in. The main plot in this novel is really very short, but is stretched out with creative descriptions of the setting and the current actions of the characters and their surroundings.In this book, Wells starts off having a stranger coming into town. He finds a local hotel to stay at; Mrs. Hall, the owner of the small hotel, treats him very well. She notices the stranger has bandages all over his body, and soon there after the whole town notices. He was very weird. Staying at the hotel he always did experiments in his lab that he set up. Test tubes were everywhere and explosions happened frequently. Mrs. Hall asked him to take off his bandages one day and he did, and he was invisible. The whole town goes into shock, and the "Invisible Man" runs away. Through out this book, it tells of his story how he finds old friends and gets help to become visible again. The setting is consistent though out the book. It is all in the same little town of Iping. This is very effective in the book because the reader gets to know all the people in the book. When H.G. Wells talks about the characters in the novel and how they act, readers of this book remember the characteristics are of each person. Also the characterization is prepared very well. H.G. Wells gives the Invisible Man some wonderful description of how he walks and how the clothes look when he has his bandages off and just wearing a robe. The descriptions of the characters are excellent. All of this detailed descriptions also takes away from the plot. Sometimes Wells goes into deep detail, and pulls away from the main point of the story. The plot of this book travels a lot slower than most other books. H.G. Wells gives such great attention to everything and everyone else that the plot seems to be slow. The descriptions of the setting and how the weather is in Iping is described in such detail. The whole novel itself could have been a lot shorter or a lot longer. If he would take away some of the details it could be a lot shorter. He could also add more to the main plot and make the book longer and more intense. The language in the novel is very native to the time period. The setting of this book is before London had electricity. There are slang words of the time like "nigger" which relates to the period. English language is also used in this book which ties into the setting of the book. H.G. Wells', The Invisible Man, is a very well written novel. This book deserves four stars. The plot is very interesting but the book as a whole is very lengthy. The plot should have less description, and more to the actual plot. Overall this book is suited for most reader and enjoyable to nearly everyone.
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Summary: The Invisible Man Strikes With Sucess`
Review: After reading this book, I realised how gook science fiction is. The Invisible Man is a great book for all ages. This great piece of literature is about a scientist named Griffin who created a potion that turns people invisible. After using it on himself, he slowely goes insane, as in the part when he blindly rages through the town of Iping. I'm not going to tell anything else about this book because I'm afraid that I'll ruin the ending. If you want ot be sucked in a strange world of mystery and action, I highly recommend this book.
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Summary: Just a Treat
Review: Ah, "The Invisible Man". One of H.G. Wells' big four books. Probably his least self-conscious in terms of conveying a meaningful message. Indeed, aside from some quick jabs of satire regarding class and the customary warning against bad science found in all "mad scientist" stories, Wells seems far more interested in having fun with the idea of an invisible man. The end result is just a treat.
In a nutshell, a mysterious man, wrapped in bandages, arrives in a small English hamlet, takes a room in bording house, and demands absolute privacy, as he fiddles with chemistry sets and generally acts like a mad man. When he finally has enough of his neighbors' nosyness, this man, Griffin, rips off his bandages and false facial features, revealing himself in all of his invisible glory. He then creates all manner of mischief, even committing a murder. Looking up an old acquaintance, Kemp, Griffin relates his grand scheme for a "reign of terror", leading to the rule of the Invisible Man over the world.
Despite Griffin's progressively evil nature, Wells was definitely going for laughs. Griffin is far more successful in being a general pain then he is a monster. Nonetheless, when he begins on his plans, they are unnerving. When he turns on Kemp, the reader genuinely fears for Kemp's safety. And yet when he meets his demise, we find ourselves rather pitying the poor fool.
This novel was only directly filmed once, starring Claude Rains. While it alters the plot some, the film definitely captures the spirit of Wells' classic.
While not Well's most sophisticated novel, it is among his most entertaining. You can't go wrong with this one.
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Summary: One of Wells's best novels.
Review: From early times, men have fantasized about what it would be like to become invisible, as witness medieval stories about cloaks of invisibility, and the like. Wells's novel, placed at the turn of the last century, puts the dream into a modern context, but in it, the dream becomes a nightmare. The beginning of the book deals with the coming of the man, who has invented a way to become invisible, and used it on himself, to a small English town. He is essentially a refugee. The Invisible Man is irritable to the point of homicidal madness, a trait engendered both by secretive overwork on his discovery and by the effects of the decolorizing agent. Because his invisibiity has caused him to go about naked, the Invisible Man has suffered terribly in the English winter, and he has clothed himself in bandages and stolen clothing to hide his newfound status. Still, he is undone by the nosiness of strangers and eventually flees again to find himself in the home of a former acquaintance, one Kemp. In explaining his dilemma to Kemp, the Invisible Man, an albino scientist named Griffin, discloses that he discovered a compound that decolorized blood, and that as an albino, he was the perfect test case. Discussion of the refractory powers of light dominates this portion of the book, in a manner understandable to anyone. However, taking the chemical creates great pain, and madness. Wells's analyses of the problems facing one who has become invisible is extremely thorough, and done in the context of Griffin's narrative. One must be careful not to go about in the rain, where he would appear as a bubble, or in the fog, where he would appear as an opening in the vapor. One cannot walk through mud or puddles without his feet becoming visible, and must eat in hidden places, because the food eaten remains visible until digested. The curiosity of dogs and persons with keen senses is aroused because the Invisible Man still leaves a scent and makes sounds as he moves about. And the lack of protective garments makes one extraordinarily sensitive to heat, cold, and inclement weather. Eventually, the Invisible Man turns to murder and arson to cover his "tracks" and, in the end, is undone and killed when he returns to attack Kemp. The novel bogs down a bit here. Wells's importance to creating s/f writing as a genre is that he used available science to explain how his fantasies came about. In this respect, he differs from Verne and other predecessors, as well as a good many successors. This trait makes his stories possess a veneer of believability uncommon to most s/f. The Invisible Man is one of Wells's best novels, and I can guarantee that you will enjoy it if you like s/f. Highly recommended.
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Summary: Extraordinary Indeed
Review: I watched the "League of Extraordinary Genlemen" and saw the Invisible man's likness in it. I instantly wanted to read the book, and I think it is one of the best I ever read. The plot is amazing, and although Mr. Griffin is homicidal, he never fails to lose his sense of humor. Though short, I would definitely read it again- because it is wonderful. If you haven't read it, then you are truly deprived of a good book.
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Summary: Not so much scary as it is humorous
Review: I went into this book hoping to read something frightening, but, there, I was disappointed. I was, however, unexpectedly amused by its plot and characters. What I find charming about this book is its humor. Though there's nothing "laugh out loud" about _The Invisible Man_, there's something wickedly ironic about a scientist who's brilliant enough to create an invisibility potion but is so greedy about his discovery, he tests it on himself without letting anyone else know. I'll admit that there are some parts of this book that are creepy. For example, turning oneself invisible and consequently being hunted by a paranoid mob. Or, being stalked by a murderous invisible man. But even these scenes have their darkly humorous sides. This book wasn't what I expected, but I enjoyed it nevertheless.
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Summary: A story of brutal self-seeking
Review: It is ironical that one of the characters of H. G. Wells' "The Invisible Man" finds the right explanation to the book itself: it is `a story of brutal self-seeking'. The fact that he is referring to the invisible man's personal story itself actually helps to make the connection.
"The Invisible Man" is in the surface a fantasy science fiction. But it is too simplistic to reduce Wells' book to that. At some point it can be read as a metaphor of living in society or the human nature. One is only free to be what he or she is once he/she is hidden. The character only shows his true colors once he is invisible -- what is a little ironic.
Most of the characters are archetypical, and they work fine for the writer's purpose. With that he explore different strata of his society. And however much it is a fantasy; the aspects of the human nature are quite believable.
Wells' writing is accessible and it is not difficult even for young readers. His style is very straightforward -- even when a flashback pops up-- and there is always something happening, what never let the rhythm falls. And, Wells' sense of humor is a plus. Some fantasy and science fiction contemporary writers should read Wells and learn a thing or two with this man -- who, by the way, was very ahead of his time.
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Summary: Science gone wrong yet again in Wells novel
Review: Just as the foreword says, the wonders of invisibility does have its pros and cons. Or put it this way, it can be used for both bad and good, but given human nature, more to the former. Shoplifting, sneaking into movies for free, robbing a house, even murder or rape. It's that element of surprise that gives invisibility its appeal, that sense of being powerful and thus invulnerable. However, imagine someone looking around to make sure nobody's around, sees nobody, pulls out a gun and shoots at nothing, hitting an invisible person. Moreover, what if one couldn't revert to visibility? Both assets and disadvantages are experienced by the title character, who during the course of H.G. Wells's immortal 1897 novel, goes around the bend. The Coach and Horses country inn in Iping gets a mysterious visitor on 29 February 1896-the year's not mentioned, but I say this because 1896 is the closest Leap Year-and this person isn't exactly hospitable. He's brusque, reclusive, demanding, and temperamental, as he breaks things but is willing to have them put on his bill. Iping being a small-town and all, it isn't long before people learn about the "damned rum customer" at the inn. Rumours start flying. One is that he's an escaped criminal in disguise. The most amusing comes from Mr. Fearenside, whose dog bit the stranger's leg. "He's a kind of halfbreed, and the colour's come off patchy instead of mixing." The only thing patchy here is Fearenside's theory, but let's not go there. A burglary and an event the inn's proprietress Ms. Hall attributess to spirits occur, before the stranger's secret is unveiled, to reveal... nothing. But that's only the beginning, as the stranger's hot temper eventually becomes his undoing. Wells' writing in this novel is more journalistic. He writes from the POV of someone having heard this account from other sources, like the characters in the story. The account of a murder that takes place reads out partly like a police report, but also a detective yarn. And he gets the dialect of the Iping folk down pat--imagine people talking like Hagrid (Harry Potter). There are also interesting bits of writing, as when he describes Mr. Huxter yielding to unconsciousness: "The world seemed to splash into a million whirling specks of light, and subsequent proceeded interested him no more." Like its predecessor The Island Of Dr. Moreau, Wells' novel is another portrayal of science gone wrong under misguided scientists.
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Summary: Who Else Could It Be
Review: On the surface, THE INVISIBLE MAN concerns a scientist named Griffin who has discovered the means to invisibility--but who has gone mad in the process. When frustrated in his efforts to restore himself to visibility, he determines to embark upon a reign of terror that will make him master of the world. It is worth noting, however, that Wells was very much a social writer and that his novels are inevitably commentaries on various social evils. Once you scratch the surface of THE INVISIBLE MAN you will find that it is very much a parable of class structure that dominated British life during the Victorian age: there are many "invisible men;" this particular one, however, is in a very literal situation. And it is the literal situation from which the novel draws most of its power. Invisibility sounds attractive--but what if you were to actually become so? How would you cope with the ordinary details of every day life? Griffin does not cope well at all, and although Wells suggests that his madness have arisen from a number of sources, he also implies that it may arise from the fact of invisibility itself, again twisting the context back into the social criticism on which the novel seems based. First published in 1897, THE INVISIBLE MAN is one of Wells earliest novels, and for all its charms it creaks a bit in terms of plot and structure. Some may disagree, but to my mind the most effective portion of the novel are the chapters in which Griffin relates his adventures to fellow scientist Kemp--but regardless of its flaws remains extremely influential and it has tremendous dash and style throughout. Short enough to be read in a single sitting, it is a quick and entertaining read and it is also quite witty in an underhanded, subversive sort of way. Extremely memorable! GFT, Amazon Reviewer
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Summary: Extremely Influential, Extremely Memorable
Review: On the surface, THE INVISIBLE MAN concerns a scientist named Griffin who has discovered the means to invisibility--but who has gone mad in the process. When frustrated in his efforts to restore himself to visibility, he determines to embark upon a reign of terror that will make him master of the world. It is worth noting, however, that Wells was very much a social writer and that his novels are inevitably commentaries on various social evils. Once you scratch the surface of THE INVISIBLE MAN you will find that it is very much a parable of class structure that dominated British life during the Victorian age: there are many "invisible men;" this particular one, however, is in a very literal situation. And it is the literal situation from which the novel draws most of its power. Invisibility sounds attractive--but what if you were to actually become so? How would you cope with the ordinary details of every day life? Griffin does not cope well at all, and although Wells suggests that his madness have arisen from a number of sources, he also implies that it may arise from the fact of invisibility itself, again twisting the context back into the social criticism on which the novel seems based. First published in 1897, THE INVISIBLE MAN is one of Wells earliest novels, and for all its charms it creaks a bit in terms of plot and structure. Some may disagree, but to my mind the most effective portion of the novel are the chapters in which Griffin relates his adventures to fellow scientist Kemp--but regardless of its flaws remains extremely influential and it has tremendous dash and style throughout. Short enough to be read in a single sitting, it is a quick and entertaining read and it is also quite witty in an underhanded, subversive sort of way. Extremely memorable! GFT, Amazon Reviewer
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