Tuesday 4 July 2023

Rediscovering The Invisible Man

I read very little science fiction. It is simply not my literary genre. When I do, it mostly has a lot of horror elements in it. But I do enjoy reading the father of science fiction, English writer H.G. Wells, albeit I read fairly little of his work. The very first book I read of him was The Invisible Man, when I was 12. I had barely started discovering old British classics and I remember my mum suggesting I tried this one when we found it in the local library. I was not expecting much of it, but ended up reading it in a few days and loving every page. Maybe because I was already an Anglophile, I don't know. Surprisingly enough, it took me decades to read more of him. But a few days ago, I decided it was time to revisit The Invisible Man, this time in the original language. I am surprised that I remember quite a lot of it, so it must have made a sreally strong impression on my young mind. I also find it surprisingly violent. I knew it was, but I had thought it had been mostly my impressionable young mind. I love how Wells never shies away from the more sinister implications of scientific discovery. The novel is subtitled "A Grotesque Romance" and this is very fitting.

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