Ralph Ellison's The Invisible Man follows an African American narrator whose color renders him invisible. Ellison eloquently presents his readers with a novel that presents many of the issues that African Americans faced throughout the 20th century. It follows topics like black nationalism, the relationship between black identity and Marxism, issues of individuality and personal identity, and the reformist racial policies of Booker T. Washington.

This cautionary tale is one that will never expire. Through the eyes of this nameless, faceless narrator, readers are subject to social and political aspects of society that threaten to erase this unique identity. Ellison's book presents the suppression of one black man (who stands, contextually, to represent the entire race), and it also warns of society's blacking out of countless individuals.

The Invisible Man has continued to engage readers ever since its publication in 1952. The narrator is driven by the desire of recognition, and leaves his secluded basement, and goes out into a cold and often alien-like world. He is forced to brave many challenges of living and must put his past to good use in order to find meaning of his present.

The historical and contemporary search for identity and recognition of humanity is what truly makes this book so important even still. So pick it up and give it a read - a close read. You won't be disappointed.