Invisible Man cover art

Invisible Man

A Novel

 Preview

Audible Standard 1-month free trial

Auto-renews at $8.99/mo + applicable tax after 30-day trial. Cancel Anytime
Try for $0.00
More purchase options

Invisible Man

Written by: Ralph Ellison
Narrated by: Joe Morton
Try for $0.00

$8.99 a month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy Now for $25.80

Buy Now for $25.80

Selected by the Modern Library as one of the 100 best novels of all time

Ralph Elllison's Invisible Man is a monumental novel, one that can well be called an epic of modern American Negro life. It is a strange story, in which many extraordinary things happen, some of them shocking and brutal, some of them pitiful and touching--yet always with elements of comedy and irony and burlesque that appear in unexpected places. It is a book that has a great deal to say and which is destined to have a great deal said about it.

After a brief prologue, the story begins with a terrifying experience of the hero's high school days, moves quickly to the campus of a Southern Negro college and then to New York's Harlem, where most of the action takes place. The many people that the hero meets in the course of his wanderings are remarkably various, complex and significant. With them he becomes involved in an amazing series of adventures, in which he is sometimes befriended but more often deceived and betrayed--as much by himself and his own illusions as by the duplicity of the blindness of others.

Invisible Man is not only a great triumph of storytelling and characterization; it is a profound and uncompromising interpretation of the Negro's anomalous position in American society. Classics Fiction Genre Fiction Literary Fiction Psychological Science Fiction Social justice
adbl_web_anon_alc_button_suppression_t1

What the critics say

"A book of the very first order, a superb book." —Saul Bellow
All stars
Most Relevant
Possibly the best audiobook narrator I’ve heard yet. The skill he has of playing the variety of voices and mania is sheer talent.

A classic, but this narrator!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
The novel is already compelling, moving and deeply significant. But the reading is so powerful that it gives the novel a deeper dimension and a more powerful impact. One of the best audiobooks I've ever listened to in decades.

incredible reading of an important classic

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
#Audible1

This is a difficult book- but the audio version is masterfully performed, which aids in the understanding. Will stay with me forever!

Excellent!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
There is no question, Ellison can write. And at times that writing is challenging to work your way through...but it's worth the struggle - the story, the characters, and the nameless narrator/protagonist's incredible journey from visibility to invisibility. Most significantly, Morton's voice of the narrator is outstanding. His acting chops are in full evidence as he uses different voices for each character - male or female. Morton's reading is a great way to experience Ellison's language, intelligence, and unparalleled wisdom as they chronicle one man's social, mental, and physical journey through what it meant/means to be Black in America... #Audible1

A Difficult Read Worth every Minute!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Masterful performance of a great work, Morton’s reading of Ellison is absolutely the best way to read Invisible Man.

Joe Morton is Perfect

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
See more reviews