The Invisible

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The story had a major impact on popular culture, with over 30 movie and TV series adaptations since the 1930s. Again this book is co-written so it is difficult to tell what input Patterson had exactly but nevertheless it ticks all the boxes.

The narrator in Invisible Man says, "I am not complaining, nor am I protesting either", signaling the break from the normal protest novel that Ellison held about his work. At an emergency meeting, Jack and the other Brotherhood leaders criticize the narrator for his unscientific arguments and the narrator determines that the group has no real interest in the black community's problems. The narrator escapes over the rooftops and is confronted by Brother Jack, the leader of a group known as "the Brotherhood" that professes its commitment to bettering conditions in Harlem and the rest of the world. The 15-foot-high, 10-foot-wide bronze monolith features a hollow silhouette of a man and two granite panels that are inscribed with Ellison quotations. If only someone would devote his life to building a road from the middle of one field to the middle of another – a road that would be useful if extended at each end, but that would sublimely remain as only the middle stretch of a road!According to Rampersad, it was Melville who "empowered Ellison to insist on a place in the American literary tradition" by his example of "representing the complexity of race and racism so acutely and generously" in Moby-Dick. Not that I’d get published of course, but even if I hadn’t got published I’d still sit there coming up with ideas and writing them down. The Invisible Book is thus extolled as the ideal book par excellence, catering to the myriad conflicting needs and expectations of both book trade and readership. One of the most shameful legacies of this Government will be the way in which it gave rise to a nasty culture of stigmatising working class communities and looking down on those just struggling to survive, who could be any one of us in different circumstances. People interacting across generations, across cultures, mixing with good food, music and a blossoming urban wildlife providing a space where people can feel safe and happy.

In both recent novels bearing his name as co-author, the contribution Ellis makes to the stories infuse much into Patterson's work, helping it surpass even the popular Patterson series. The arguments will no doubt continue as to who wrote what but this stand alone book is, in my opinion, a 'good read'. Ellison's resistance to being pigeonholed by his peers bubbled over into his statement to Irving Howe about what he deemed to be a relative vs. Unprotected and unloved, she learns that the only way to feel safe is to draw as little attention as possible, to be invisible. It was worthy of at least a 4 Star rating, but any book that induces a migraine from the sound gets dinged.David Ellis is a judge and an Edgar-award-winning author of nine novels of crime fiction, as well as five books co-authored with James Patterson. Overall, it was one of my favorite Patterson books and I am looking forward to the second book – INVISIBLE – when my turn comes at the library. The unique perspective in The Invisible is the focus on the social effects of poverty and the story is told in a way that is accessible to a very young child. With a very small team of four – the director’s concession – they had limited time to find evidence. I re-read it last year to see if it was as good as I had remembered, and luckily It was, but it’s funny how many things I hadn’t picked up on as a child!