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Title: The Invisible Man
Author: H. G. Wells
Genre: sci-fi
Book Number/Goal: 16/52
My Rating: 4/5
Notes: for Coursera Fantasy and Science Fiction course (reread)
Download: project Gutenberg
Review:
A scientist discovers a way to make living creatures invisible. So he makes himself invisible - just because he can, and because he envisions invisibility as a huge advantage over the rest of mankind, not unlike being a sighted person in the country of the blind. But his plans go terribly awry...
I've read this novel a long time ago, at school, but I don't remember it being so funny! The writing oozes with irony, and even though it's a bit too slow and verbose, it feels more atmospheric than dated. There are some silly jokes ("This, this Invisible Man, then?" asked the man with the black beard, with one hand behind him. "I guess it's about time we saw him.") and some jokes that sound surprisingly modern ("One might think we were in the thirteenth century.").
The characters, as comedy goes, are simple and stereotypical; in particular, Griffin the Invisible Man is a selfish asshole with no redeeming qualities whatsoever, and his main antagonist Dr. Kemp is a bland "righteous citizen". Griffin's story is considerably less funny than the rest of the novel (oh that poor kitty!) but more dramatic and tense, inducing a constant feeling of a disaster waiting to happen - which doesn't disappoint.
Classics is often a pain in the ass to wade through, but not this one... seriously, it's a great reading.
Author: H. G. Wells
Genre: sci-fi
Book Number/Goal: 16/52
My Rating: 4/5
Notes: for Coursera Fantasy and Science Fiction course (reread)
Download: project Gutenberg
Review:
A scientist discovers a way to make living creatures invisible. So he makes himself invisible - just because he can, and because he envisions invisibility as a huge advantage over the rest of mankind, not unlike being a sighted person in the country of the blind. But his plans go terribly awry...
I've read this novel a long time ago, at school, but I don't remember it being so funny! The writing oozes with irony, and even though it's a bit too slow and verbose, it feels more atmospheric than dated. There are some silly jokes ("This, this Invisible Man, then?" asked the man with the black beard, with one hand behind him. "I guess it's about time we saw him.") and some jokes that sound surprisingly modern ("One might think we were in the thirteenth century.").
The characters, as comedy goes, are simple and stereotypical; in particular, Griffin the Invisible Man is a selfish asshole with no redeeming qualities whatsoever, and his main antagonist Dr. Kemp is a bland "righteous citizen". Griffin's story is considerably less funny than the rest of the novel (oh that poor kitty!) but more dramatic and tense, inducing a constant feeling of a disaster waiting to happen - which doesn't disappoint.
Classics is often a pain in the ass to wade through, but not this one... seriously, it's a great reading.
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