Anna L. (annalovesbooks) reviewed on 11/12/2007

Helpful Score: 2

ISBN 0590440160 - A strange man appears in Iping, taking a room at the Coach and Horses owned by Mr and Mrs Hall. He doesn't make a fuss about the price, but does make odd requests from the first. Thrilled to have a paying guest, Mrs Hall is more than happy to oblige, especially since her guest was obviously the victim of a terrible accident. Covered from head to toe, other than the very tip of his nose, he gives no name and no answers to her prying questions. Money talks, though, and she accepts quite a bit in the way of strange and bad behavior. When money is stolen from a neighbor, things begin to come together for the people of Iping and they realize there's an invisible man in their midst. Chased from town and forced into hiding, he runs. While fleeing, he meets with Dr Kemp, who was his fellow student at University College, and tells him his story. He identifies himself as Griffin and the story he tells removes all doubt for the reader about pitying the poor misunderstood invisible man - he's most definitely an unfeeling monster.

I couldn't help but wonder what to make of some of it. The sentence "Sounds like throwing the tablecloth about" made me wonder exactly what that sounds like - mine, thrown about, makes no noise. Also, Griffin says he made a rag invisible, as well as a cat. Of the cat, he says " ...giving drugs to a cat is no joke...". Does this mean he gave drugs to a rag? How is that possible? My pickiness aside, it's a very good book and a classic that everyone ought to read at least once. This edition is supposed to be for kids ages 9-13, but some might actually find it gives them bad dreams so I'd recommend it for the 9 year old who actually likes scary tales. It's not overly frightening, but a sensitive kid with a vivid imagination can scare himself silly fairly easily. Words like Strychnine and paleolithic appear through the book, so a dictionary to hand might help the younger ones.

- AnnaLovesBooks

Back to all reviews of this book
Back to Book Reviews
Back to Book Details