The Invisible Man

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 read it in 12th standard my God I read it day before my literature exam. It was damn interesting that's how I finished it.

One of those classic sci-fi movie monsters. Good story, a dangerous and invisible person. Do you lose your humanity if you can't see your human?

I can see why easily it became a classic and how it inspired so much horror, and it was very well written, but some parts do drag quite a bit

The Invisible Man is not quite as weird or captivating as The Time Machine, but I still enjoyed it. Like The Time Machine, this book's story is told to a narrator who is then relating what he can of the story to us. Some parts of the story the narrator could find no direct witnesses to, so it is interesting to watch him construct the narrative like a detective at times.

I wasn't familiar with the story and have not seen the movie adaptations, so I was not really aware of how titular character is the villain of the story. I appreciated how at first you believe the experiment has made him mad, and then gradually you realize he was a self-absorbed asshole from the beginning. Turning invisible only allowed him to become more of the asshole he already was.

Content warning: HG Wells was a racist and eugenicist, and it does come out a bit in the book - there is one instance of the n——— word as well.


There were quite a few clever turns of phrase that I enjoyed and reminded me of British author Terry Pratchett.

“Opinion was greatly divided about his occupation. Mrs. Hall was sensitive on the point. When questioned, she explained very carefully that he was an “experimental investigator,” going gingerly over the syllables as one who dreads pitfalls.”“The Anglo-Saxon genius for parliamentary government asserted itself; there was a great deal of talk and no decisive action.”“He was simply exasperating. You don't blame me, do you? You don't blame me?”“I never blame anyone,” said Kemp. “It's quite out of fashion. What did you do next?”

And yet more quotes that stuck out to me for simply being amusing or evocative:

“Can't a man look at you?—Ugly!”“What is the good of the love of woman when her name must needs be Delilah?”“He glanced away from the barrel of the revolver and saw the sea far off very blue and dark under the midday sun, the smooth green down, the white cliff on the Head, and the multitudinous town, and suddenly he knew that life was very sweet. His eyes came back to this little metal thing hanging between heaven and earth, six feet away.”

And still more quotes that reminded me how similar we are to the people of 1897:

“The infinite details! And the exasperation,—a professor, a provincial professor, always prying. ‘When are you going to publish this work of yours?' was his everlasting question. And the students, the cramped means! Three years I had of it—““Then I saw in one of those little miscellaneous shops-news, sweets, toys, stationery, belated Christmas tomfoolery, and so forth-an array of masks and noses.”

It's interesting to read books that were labeled “horror” for the time it was written in, but now is really not actually scary.

Now I don't particularly care for the MC cuz he's got quite an unpleasant personality, so i was pretty amused by his thoughtlessness (and rashness) considering he's supposed to be some fancy scientist

the fact that cheese of all things was his downfall!

I enjoyed his more than I expected to - I thought it very cleverly written, and while I am typically late to the party with reading this, I see enjoyment of it varies fairly widely in my GR friends opinions.

Included in the enjoyable aspects were Griffin being an unpleasant protagonist - a scientist with the goal of using his discovery to further his own life, to cause trouble and even terror, and to protect the secrecy of his discovery at all costs. This story just would not have worked had he been a scientist with morals, who would perhaps seek glory, but would still have published his findings etc. I admit also that I found much amusement in the fact he was running about stark bollock naked when invisible.

HG Wells has shown again how future thinking he was - I am guessing this book was a revelation when published. He had a reasonable stab at justifying the science, and I thought he did well to consider all the aspects of invisibility from a practical perspective - for example the fact food remains visible until it becomes digested enough; blood becomes visible when it coagulates; and how limiting it is for him not to be able to carry anything eg money. There were plenty of unintended and unforeseen consequences as Griffin made his way.

And so with Griffin being, most of the time, his own worst enemy - the story rolls out until it's inevitable conclusion.

A quick and straight forward read, one which I appreciated at this time, the last few books I have read having taken longer than I might have liked to get through!

Perhaps a little generous, but 4 stars!

Summary: This story is the tale of a mysterious man who, after arriving in the town of Iping covered head to toe in clothing, is revealed to be invisible and whose isolation and fanatic pursuits have led to some unexpected and dark consequences.

I thoroughly enjoyed “The Invisible Man” and found it to be a captivating story. The character of Griffin, with his albinism and red eyes, adds an extra layer of intrigue, as his appearance alone could startle people even before his transformation into an invisible man. Kind of leading to he was a monster either way.

I appreciated that the story was easier to read than “Frankenstein” and that Griffin’s character remained consistent from page to screen, unlike Frankenstein’s portrayal, which has varied widely in adaptations. Overall, “The Invisible Man” is a fun, classic novel that continues to fascinate readers with its unique blend of science fiction and horror.

this one's short but really had to push through, it's fine but didn't tickle my fancy

The audio book narrator gave his all and it really carried this weird story about a naked, invisible man terrorising a small town of really english people. I did expect a little bit more from someone often called ‘the father of Science Fiction'.

A blend of sci-fi, some mystery, and an insight into human behavior in the face of the unknown. The premise seemed quite promising, yet the book didn't live up to its full potential.

this book was interesting, it felt more like an exploration of what it's like to be invisible and what someone could do when invisible. What I didn't expect was that the invisible man was so rude and mean and everything bad.. I mean I could've expected that if I read the blurb but I didn't sooo.. it's actually quite interesting, someone becoming invisible - well most people might be tempted to break all of society's rules that are there to ensure living safely and in harmony with one another. Being invisible, it's easy to think one is invincible as well and do things one might not do if one was visible because then people would of course see you and judge and there will be consequences one might not be able to escape from. . Overall, it was well written and interesting but I wasn't really enjoying the story.

A fascinating and thought proving read. Recommended.

Regardless of when this was written I found the random use of the n-slur repulsing. I know people argue that it's representative of the beliefs at the time and that people insist it can has a valid place in literature, but I found it entirely unnecessary to advance the plot or character development and it made me google more about any racism present in HG Wells' other works. Spoiler Alert: there are many anti-Semitic, pro eugenics and horrifying racists statements and ideas expounded upon in other stories.

Transparent embodiment of anger punches his way through Victorian England.

Not what I expected at all. Elaborate fight scenes aren't really what you would expect out of a science fiction classic about someone turning themselves invisible. Yet those are what I found most enjoyable about this book. The titular protagonist punches, shoves, kicks and strangles in all directions in multiple crowds and the ensuing chaos is described in a fun and enjoyable way.

The moral angle of someone being consumed by his work to the point of complete lunacy was also quite interesting but really the insane fighting was what made me like this book and it came completely out of left field.

Malgré quelques longueurs au milieu du roman, ce grand classique signé H. G. Wells tient toutes ses promesses.

A partir de la possibilité pour un homme de devenir invisible, l'auteur nous propose un récit passionnant, sans héros apparent mais un protagoniste plutôt antipathique, voire carrément fou, et une petite galérie de personnages secondaires savoureux.

J'ai beaucoup aimé cette lecture, en particulier le premier puis le dernier tiers, le milieu étant un peu plus lent ou répétitif. Il m'a suffi de m'accrocher un peu pendant ce léger plat pour retrouver le plaisir de suivre les aventures de cet homme invisible.

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.

The invisible man starts as kind of an ass so if there is a morality tale about how being released from moral restrictions by being unobserved it is a little lost on that. This is a pretty fun read otherwise.

Livro excepcional, daqueles que ficam na sua cabeça, como um filme. Meu primeiro livro do H G Wells e so me deu mais vontade de ler outros dele

This was pretty good and had some...humor in it even?? Don't be expecting the movie haha but this was a good short read!

Probably 3.5 but rounding up init

Another great and must-read classic. Absolutely enjoyed it and would highly recommend it to anyone.
It's interesting to read it and think about what I would do if I was in the situation of being invisible, or what other people would do. I honestly think that most people, if not everyone, would do some evil. Being invisible does just make being evil easier, and I'm pretty sure that everyone at some point thinks or has thought about doing something bad, something evil, but hasn't done it just because of the possible consequences they'd have to face if caught.

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.

Story : Well, the concept is really interesting, but I didn't liked the execution so much... it's short, but feels so dragged. It would have been better as a short story that included the important parts. The first half is whatever, but when Kemp shows up, it gets better.

Characters : Griffin was a douche, but he was written pretty well. Kemp was also a nice character, but I couldn't care more a about the rest of them. It was interesting to see what Griffin did when he was invisible... it's not so easy as it sounds.

Overall : A lot of stuff just to fill the pages, but if you read the core parts, it's pretty good! I think I'll like the film more (the one from 1933).