I really liked this post, Hunter, as it's made me want to go back and re-read "Invisible Man" -- I don't think I have since college (?), and that's a looooooong time ago! I'm intrigued by your suggestion of "Hell of a book" being a sort of mirror to it. I recently finished that novel and was particularly excited by "how he did it," i.e., the structure, the crafting of it. I recently took a workshop with a Toni Morrison scholar who emphasized the importance of Morrison's being a professional editor -- how people rarely talk about that when they talk about her. She knows CRAFT and work, in other words, quite intimately. Anyway, thanks for another stimulating read!
Another great essay, Hunter. I loved Invisible Man so much, and could see how much was influenced by it in the decades since it was published and was so widely recognized. I feel its influence in a lot of film, as well. And I need to read Hell of a Book; this makes me even more curious. Shocked to learn that Morrison never won an NBA--especially knowing how she won the Nobel Prize.
Great analysis as usual. Another recent example was the Booker prize a few years ago being awarded to both Margaret Atwood and Bernadine Evaristo. Both are widely published but Atwood still remains better known and more popular and Evaristo, I think, has shared her frustration with not being more widely read. I read both books (The Testaments and Girl, Woman, Other) and both were well written, etc. But in my mind Girl, Woman, Other was the stronger book on so many levels and I can already see it standing the test of time.
I really liked this post, Hunter, as it's made me want to go back and re-read "Invisible Man" -- I don't think I have since college (?), and that's a looooooong time ago! I'm intrigued by your suggestion of "Hell of a book" being a sort of mirror to it. I recently finished that novel and was particularly excited by "how he did it," i.e., the structure, the crafting of it. I recently took a workshop with a Toni Morrison scholar who emphasized the importance of Morrison's being a professional editor -- how people rarely talk about that when they talk about her. She knows CRAFT and work, in other words, quite intimately. Anyway, thanks for another stimulating read!
Another great essay, Hunter. I loved Invisible Man so much, and could see how much was influenced by it in the decades since it was published and was so widely recognized. I feel its influence in a lot of film, as well. And I need to read Hell of a Book; this makes me even more curious. Shocked to learn that Morrison never won an NBA--especially knowing how she won the Nobel Prize.
Great analysis as usual. Another recent example was the Booker prize a few years ago being awarded to both Margaret Atwood and Bernadine Evaristo. Both are widely published but Atwood still remains better known and more popular and Evaristo, I think, has shared her frustration with not being more widely read. I read both books (The Testaments and Girl, Woman, Other) and both were well written, etc. But in my mind Girl, Woman, Other was the stronger book on so many levels and I can already see it standing the test of time.