Editing Invisible Man (section)

{{short description|1952 novel by Ralph Ellison}}
{{About||the H. G. Wells novel|The Invisible Man{{!}}''The Invisible Man''|other uses|The Invisible Man (disambiguation)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2011}}
{{Infobox book| 
| name          = Invisible Man
| image         = Invisible Man (1952 1st ed jacket cover).jpg
| caption       = Front dust jacket art of the first edition
| author        = [[Ralph Ellison]]
| illustrator   =
| cover_artist  = [[Edward McKnight Kauffer]]
| country       = United States
| language      = English
| series        = 
| genre         = {{hlist | ''[[Bildungsroman]]'' | [[African-American literature]] | [[social commentary]]}}
| publisher     = [[Random House]]
| pub_date      = April 14, 1952<ref>{{cite magazine |url=http://www.newyorker.com/books/page-turner/justice-for-ralph-ellison |title=Justice For Ralph Ellison|last=Denby|first=David|author-link=David Denby|date=April 12, 2012 |magazine=[[The New Yorker]] |access-date=July 23, 2018 }}</ref>
| media_type    = Print (hardcover and paperback)
| pages         = 581 (second edition)
| isbn          = 978-0-679-60139-5
| dewey         = 813/.54 20
| congress      = PS3555.L625 I5 1994
| oclc          = 30780333
}}

'''''Invisible Man''''' is [[Ralph Ellison]]'s first novel, and the only one published during his lifetime. It was published by [[Random House]] in 1952, and addresses many of the social and intellectual issues faced by [[African Americans]] in the early 20th century, including [[black nationalism]], the relationship between black identity and [[Marxism]], and the reformist racial policies of [[Booker T. Washington]], as well as issues of individuality and personal identity.

''Invisible Man'' won the U.S. [[National Book Award for Fiction]] in 1953, making Ellison the first [[African-American literature|African-American writer]] to win the award.<ref name=nba1953>{{cite web|url=https://www.nationalbook.org/awards-prizes/national-book-awards-1953| title=National Book Awards – 1953|year=1953|publisher=[[National Book Foundation]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181105224940/http://www.nationalbook.org/awards-prizes/national-book-awards-1953/ |archive-date=November 5, 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref>
In 1998, the [[Modern Library]] ranked ''Invisible Man'' 19th on its list of the [[Modern Library 100 Best Novels|100 best English-language novels of the 20th century]].<ref>{{cite web|title=100 Best Novels|url=http://www.modernlibrary.com/top-100/100-best-novels/|publisher=Modern Library|access-date=19 May 2014}}</ref> [[Time (magazine)|''Time'']] magazine included the novel in its 100 Best English-language novels from 1923 to 2005 list, calling it "the quintessential American [[picaresque novel|picaresque]] of the 20th century", rather than a "race novel, or even a ''[[bildungsroman]]''".<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://entertainment.time.com/2005/10/16/all-time-100-novels/slide/invisible-man-1952-by-ralph-ellison/|title=All-''TIME'' 100 Novels|first=Lev|last=Grossman|author-link=Lev Grossman|magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]]|date=January 7, 2010|via=entertainment.time.com}}</ref> [[Malcolm Bradbury]] and Richard Ruland recognize a [[Black existentialism|black existentialist]] vision with a "[[Franz Kafka|Kafka]]-like absurdity".<ref>[[Malcolm Bradbury]] and Richard Ruland, ''From Puritanism to Postmodernism: A History of American Literature''. Penguin, 380. {{ISBN|0-14-014435-8}}</ref> According to ''[[The New York Times]]'', [[Barack Obama]] modeled his 1995 memoir ''[[Dreams from My Father]]'' on Ellison's novel.<ref>[[Greg Grandin]], [https://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/19/opinion/sunday/obama-melville-and-the-tea-party.html "Obama, Melville, and the Tea Party".] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181106185226/https://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/19/opinion/sunday/obama-melville-and-the-tea-party.html |date=November 6, 2018 }} ''[[The New York Times]]'', 18 January 2014. Retrieved on 17 March 2016.</ref>