The Invisible Man by H.G. Wells

This text was an interesting read because I'm not usually one for science fiction. I've never been very good in science. But I found that my lack of skills in this area did not impede my understanding this text. The only scientific parts of this text that had me grasping at straws to understand was when the Invisible Man was elaborating to his doctor "friend" how he went about making himself invisible. The talk of blood, cells, and properties of water and glass made me question the validity of the process Wells laid out in the text. But as I'm not usually interested in this type of material, the fact that I was thinking about it speaks wonders about Wells' talented writing.

If you are attempting to read this text, my recommendation would be to create a character chart. There are many minor characters in the text that seem to all mesh together by the last 1/3 of the text. Each of these characters are important to know, so something to help keep them straight is helpful.

I also found that I had to use my imagination quite often to "see" the scenes in the text. Wells didn't focus on the setting/imagery in his text as his priorities laid in character development and conflict. I don't believe this was a hindrance to the text though as my imagination was able to piece together a scene using my own prior knowledge of settings like inns and department stores. Although, I do believe it would have been helpful for Wells to give a little more detail to help put my imagination into at least the right century. But now that I'm thinking about it, was this his intention? Was Wells trying to suspend time to make it possible for the Invisible Man to exist in the world today?  I might have to go back and reread to test this theory.

Regardless, this novel is one that will most likely keep me mentally engaged for a long time to come. If you are interested in expanding your horizons, don't overlook this text that plays into science fiction, adventure, and horror. It's a true popular culture piece and now I know why.