Bibliophile: Adios, Invisible Man.

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Reading of "The Invisible Man" was finally completed! Things could be so much better in today's world of information overload and instant gratification, if one were locked up in a room with nothing but a book, that man would read, reread and even memorize that book.

Something similar occurred with me. I was on a two and a half hour flight, yesterday, from Delhi to Bangalore, to resume my job hunt here. I was allotted a window seat and, surprise, I didn't have any travelling companion on my side. No sir not even one! I was free to move up the side arms and sprawl on that three seat couch. Cheers! I still had the distraction of my laptop but, as I've not got it's battery replaced, this repaired junk would barely run a few minutes. Hence, no more distracting laptop.

All options snatched away from my hands. All distractions muted in my mind. I was finally free to do some quality work - Crack open a book and read it.

The Invisible Man: My review -

The Invisible Man was a good book. Though parts of it were prolix and a bit dated as are most classics. Some pages are full of unneeded imagery. Now, onto the finer points of the story. The story shows in small glimpses the psychological effects of Invisibility on a man. His effort to handle this new found advantage (power) and finally, his downfall.

A lot of questions comes to my mind. "Where is the blame?" Is the society or these mundane and average
people to be blamed in the crime of not understanding a man's achievement or their mistreatment of him just
cause he was invisible? The first part of the blame I believe is on the society. Unwilling to agree and sympathize with the protagonist.

This mistreatment (discrimination?) of the invisible man by the society may have been the prime cause of
his insanity, I'd argue. But, then, "Are we inherently evil (or good) only a moment away to show our true nature and color?"

A quote comes to mind about blame:

"The superior man resolves to walk alone, and is caught in the rain. He becomes bespattered and people
murmur against him. Where is the blame in this?" - I Ching

And as is custom, here is a quote from The Invisible Man -

"Hitherto I have gone on vague lines. We have to consider all that invisibility means; all that it does not mean." - The Invisible Man.

Now, I'll be off to reading 1984 and job hunting. Wish me luck.

Books Discussed:

1. The Invisible Man by H.G Wells (Science Fiction, Classic, Tragedy, Thriller)

Books Mentioned:

1. 1984 by George Orwell (Dystopian Future, Society, Science-Fiction, Psychology)

Related articles

• Bibliophile: 1984, The Invisible Man, Frankenstein. (mdnaseemashraf.wordpress.com)

Bibliophile: 1984, The Invisible Man, Frankenstein.

Finally, finished flash reading Frankenstein. The story was decent but, senselessly verbose. Actually, if rewritten with the actual story plots it'd be pretty small; Maybe even a short story.

Some of the themes I found in the story should be a premonition to new readers of this classic, which is hardly classic. It starts with the same flavor as is with the story Faust (as much I can gather from Faust's reviews and synopsis; I've not yet, read the original text of Faust.). Another theme is Technophobia and Paranoia (as per the story writer's fault; Yes, that's Mary Shelley's psych evaluation). Religious propaganda, as was common in the west with the authors at that time - which led to subsequent corruption of western perception and fear/hate over time...the rest you can gather. It is not scary, even.though it is classified as horror. It's more of a tragedy.

The Prime message of the Story:

We make our monsters and villains. Our, civilized society discriminates on appearance and other facets, shunning and oppressing the victims. The ensuing suffering of the victim corrupts him/her to hate and malice. Hence, we are responsible for our own problems and suffering, for we built those agents of chaos and pain. Regret fuels redemption whereas, Hate fuels only revenge culminating to Loss/suffering which again kindles Hate (in this new victim - the earlier oppressor). And The Cycle of Hate goes on forever unless, one regrets their mistake and agrees to amend it.

A quote from Frankenstein, (As I quote the best lines I find from the books I read):

"Man, how ignorant art thou in thy pride of wisdom! Cease; you know not what it is you say." - Frankenstein.

Also, the book is replete with stanzas from S.T. Coleridge's, best poem, "Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner". (I wish to read the poem in it's entirety. So, far I've only read excerpts of it.) I hold this poem in very high degree of respect.

Moving forward on the reading list:

Now, returning to the next on my to read Book list is; George Orwell's iconic novel, "1984". And...remarkably, I have received it today for a mere sum of INR 96, that includes delivery. (Yup! Got it from Snapdeal. Read the addendum for my shopping experience of "1984" from Snapdeal.)

But, in the chronological order of stacking of my books on the shelf, H.G Wells's  "The Invisible Man", awaits being read still in it's transparent plastic packing. (Nah! I had to rip it open. Reasons for unpacking later.)

A small Synopsis/teaser of both these works as per my knowledge is as follows (It's better not to read the synopsis and reviews online as they spoil the material's true quality.):

H.G Wells's "The Invisible Man":

A work of science fiction by the science fiction classic writer. As the name suggests, it's a story about an invisible man, driven to insanity and plotting a heinous crime. I have to admit I've seen a lot of invisible men from pop-fiction. The best to date I found was, Lloyd Ventrix aka Mojo, the Invisible Man from Batman the Animated Series episode, "See No Evil". This guy was formidable, giving the Dark Knight a run in the dark. Though, Batman could've and has on many occasions devised ingenious contingencies like, SONAR or using non-visible electromagnetic spectrum to detect the invisible entity (like IR or UV cameras).

George Orwell's "1984":

A work of dystopian science fiction but, with greater emphasis on the social and real-life implications of such a world and it's inhabitants. The story is more grounded in reality and is actually a sociopolitical response/propaganda against Socialism. Famous for it's inception of the term and idea, Big Brother: A system of constant surveillance of the public (with emphasis on encroachment of personal privacy). It's themes are again inspired and adapted from another earlier work; "Brave New World". I've seen and read a lot of similarly themed works in a wide range of formats from comics, movies, cartoons and books to real life news (Yeah! You must be abreast of the latest news as well as hue and cry over NSA spying and the PRISM, internet conspiracy theory.)

Though the best identical themed work I've seen and read is V for Vendetta. (The best there is in this flavor. Trust me.)

*This book is thicker i.e voluminous, with 312 Pages. While,...wait a minute. I'll have to remove the plastic cover.....Yes. 218 Pages.

*Then it is done, gentlemen. I'll be starting with The Invisible Man.

Addendum:

I had ordered for 1984 A Novel by George Orwell in the last month's ending days. The delivery was not made to me even though the package had reached the city, Patna three days before it's online delivery date. Even after telephonic verification the book was not delivered to me. The next two days were holidays due to Diwali. Though, Amazon ordered, "The Invisible Man" and "Frankenstein" reached on it's promised delivery date + 1, due to festival on 6th of this month.

Maybe, the delivery service of Snapdeal is not efficient in the smaller cities, like Patna. But, both Amazon and Snapdeal had sent their packages via the same delivery service, surprising, ain't it? While Amazon's delivery reached late it was delivered on time (I was intimated of the delay), Snapdeal's earlier delivery was not handed over to me despite asserting the courier company, BlueDart, that the package is already present there in their collection. What next? I had to take a flight by mid-day on 7th.

Also, Snapdeal does not provide any facility to alter recipient address once the package has been put in transition. Again, Amazon, saves the day here. Amazon provides an online address change facility. I'm not sure if the shipping address change is charged or not. But, the initial delivery was under Amazon Assured free home delivery service. While, I had to spend INR 30 for delivery of this book 1984.

Another, thing about the book I have from Rupa Publications; The Invisble Man's paper quality is very good but, has a yellowish tinge to it. This actually, artistically speaking, extends the dull yellow cover theme and the type-written fonts with typewriter like ink variations in it's print makes it all the more nostalgic classic book to read. (Mind it this book is from Amazon).

But, 1984, bought by my judging of it's beautiful cover was an illusion. The pages are thin, dull white and feel like recycled newspapers. Still, the text and fonts are alright. I may have bought some incorrect print version.

Also, about Frankenstein, the book from Collins Classics collection and published by Harper Collins (One of the very best publishers) was excellent with it's Easter egg - Classic Literature: Word and Phrases adaptation from the Collins English Dictionary, at the end of the book for quick reference of old archaic word meanings. Next time I buy a classic I'll first seek it in a Collins Classic collection.

Books Discussed:

1. Frankenstein by Mary Shelly (Science-Fiction, Horror, Tragedy)

Books Mentioned:

1. Faust by Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe (Supernatural, Horror ??)- I must read later.
2. The Invisible Man by H.G Wells (Science Fiction)
3. 1984 by George Orwell (Dystopian Future, Science-Fiction, Fantasy)
4. Ancient Mariner by S.T Coleridge (Story-Poem, Archaic, Adventure)