- Paperback
- Publisher: Andor Pub Co (June 1975)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0893190098
- ISBN-13: 978-0893190095
- Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars See all reviews (64 customer reviews)
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Library Journal
Two of Wells's masterpieces get the red-carpet treatment here in these luxurious editions. Along with annotated texts, they feature scholarly introductions and appendixes, bibliographies, illustrations, and indexes. Though they are perhaps a tad pricey for most public libraries, academic collections supporting English departments should definitely invest in these volumes.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Review
"Stover, by presenting the intellectual underpinnings of Wells' work, has provided a powerful tool for understanding his writings; one sees them more deeply, without losing that earlier sense-of-wonder that orignally opened the vistas of the young reader's mind" -- Fosfax
"Wells's masterpieces get the red-carpet treatment here in these luxurious editions...academic collections supporting English departments should definitely invest in this volume" -- Library Journal --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
"Wells's masterpieces get the red-carpet treatment here in these luxurious editions...academic collections supporting English departments should definitely invest in this volume" -- Library Journal --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
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First Sentence
THE STRANGER came early in February, one wintry day, through a biting wind and a driving snow, the last snowfall of the year, over the down, walking as it seemed from Bramblehurst railway station, and carrying a little black portmanteau in his thickly gloved hand. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
THE STRANGER came early in February, one wintry day, through a biting wind and a driving snow, the last snowfall of the year, over the down, walking as it seemed from Bramblehurst railway station, and carrying a little black portmanteau in his thickly gloved hand. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
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Most helpful customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
A classical "SURPRISE".....,
By
This review is from: The Invisible Man (Mass Market Paperback)
After viewing the Claude Raines 1940s movie version eons ago I was quite skeptical that this was simply another rendition of the tired 'good vs. evil' theme that the movie portrayed. If you simply read this novel quickly and do not notice the subtle change of viewpoint on the part of the author this, again, is all you will experience. While Wells does not go from the classical 3rd person omniscient to 1st person singular and back to 3rd person at the finale, he does change viewpoints in a very opaque manner. While the entire book can be viewed as 3rd person omniscient, the beginning and end of the novel are the viewpoints of Dr. Kemp and the rest of the terrorized public. The middle portion, however, is a total reflection of the world through the eyes of Griffin, the invisible man. Although the information that Griffin shares with Kemp about his condition, how his experiment was conducted and his actions since his transformation will all be used against him and lead to his capture, the stylistic writing viewpoint in the middle chapters is through the eyes of a single person; Griffin. As soon as Kemp's betrayal becomes evident, the viewpoint switches back to the view of the general public; fearful, cautious and unforgiving.While I can feel certain that HG Wells did not attempt to make a social statement out of this Sci-fi novel, a statement can be drawn nonetheless. Fear, lack of understanding and the unknown is what drives prejudice against a person(s). This is certainly the mood of the public and they see Griffin as nothing more than a threat to their safety with no understanding from the opposite point of view. Dr. Kemp, on the other hand, even though he is given an opportunity to break through this level of prejudice by coming to understand what Griffin is relating to him, refuses to do so. His mind was set in stone before Griffin uttered a word and he was not about to let the facts get in the way of his preformed thoughts. As the story ends, it is sad to once again see the person who is prejudiced against be destroyed while the rest of the vicious and non-insightful public undergo no change or growth whatsoever. The landlord, in the epilogue who has possession of the infamous three diaries, will never come to understand their meaning, nor will anyone else. They have killed the person who wrote them and, by doing so, have destroyed an opportunity they will never have again. This is a universal theme that shows why mankind has, and will, continue with its racial hatreds, prejudices and hatred towards its fellow companions simply because they fail to get beyond their own fears of that which is unknown.
4.0 out of 5 stars
What is unseen,
By E. A Solinas "ea_solinas" (MD USA) - See all my reviews (HALL OF FAME) (TOP 10 REVIEWER) (REAL NAME)
This review is from: The Invisible Man (Mass Market Paperback)
Imagine if you were invisible and could come and go as you pleased, with nobody able to see you. Cool, right? Well, not really. H.G. Wells' "The Invisible Man" has the sci-fi master exploring what would happen if a person took an invisibility elixir, and discovered too late that invisibility has some definite downsides. It's possibly Wells' funniest novel, but it also has some wonderfully chilling moments.A strange man arrives at a hotel in Iping, wrapped up in goggles, bandages, scarves, and heavy clothes. He spends most of his time hidden away in his room, doing odd scientific experiments, and avoiding contact with other people -- while still keeping everything except his nose hidden. Meanwhile, the local vicar and his wife are robbed by a mysterious thief... who is completely invisible. Well, you can guess what's up with the stranger -- he's an invisible man, and after a blowup with his landlady he reveals his true.... um, lack of appearance to the entire town. After a series of disastrous encounters, the Invisible Man encounters Dr. Kemp, an old friend to whom he reveals how he became invisible, and what he's done since then... as well as his malevolent plans for the future. H.G. Wells isn't really known for being a funny writer, but the first part of "The Invisible Man" is actually mildly hilarious. He writes the first third or so of the book in a fairly light, humorous style, and there are some fun scenes speckled through the story, like a homeless man dealing with the Invisible Man ("Not a bit of you visible--except-- You 'aven't been eatin' bread and cheese?"). But things get much darker after Mr. Kemp enters the scene, and we find out that the Invisible Man is... well, kind of malevolent and crazy. Very crazy. And as the plot grows darker and grimmer, Wells also inserts a clever (if far-fetched even by Victorian standards) explanation for how a person could become invisible, using a mix of science and fantasy. The plot hurtles through wild chase scenes and the occasional riot, and some moments of bleak tension ("When dawn came to mingle its pallor with the lamp-light and cigar smoke of the dining-room, Kemp was still pacing...") The Invisible Man himself (aka Griffin) is a pretty mysterious character for most of the story, since all we know about him is that he's invisible.... and also kind of a jerk. I mean, the guy constantly flies off the handle and even robs a nice little old vicar. And the more we find out about him, the more malignant and insane he turns out to be. Even if you had a way to become invisible, "The Invisible Man" would be a pretty effective way of dissuading people from using it. A deserving classic.
5.0 out of 5 stars
You can't see me,
By
This review is from: The Invisible Man (Mass Market Paperback)
I grew up on all the invisible man movies and still think of him as Claude Rains. I was surprised in the similarities and differences the book has to the movie. The scenes are rearranged from the book to make visual (or invisible) sense as a movie script.A man all warped up in bandages except for his large pink nose requires a room at the inn and pays well. Slowly the Innkeeper and her companions suspect there is more to his than just a man with bandages. Everyone in a while they glimpse light where there should not be. And the stranger is so cranky that the money may not be worth the trouble of keeping him. Soon there are strange happenings and the cat is out of the bag sort of speaking. The trail leads to murderer and a possible reign of terror. Read more to find out where the secret is reviled and how a man named Griffin got in this situation. If I had read this story a year ago I would have said it was a fairly well put together sci-fi story. I would just enjoy the writing and wonder how H.G. came up with the idea. However now after reading much of H.G.'s political writings I see that this is a thinly veiled social commentary. We find that unlike the movie where Griffin goes mad in the invisibility process, that in the book Griffin was always amoral and anything stressful could set him off. Also, somewhere out there is a couple of floating eyes that belong to a cat. Now one habit that .G. has in most of his tales is that just when you think he is finished on the subject, he will go off in another direction with some sub plot he has slipped in earlier. Therefore, what should have been a short story becomes a novel. Another good example of his witting style can be found in "The Food of the Gods."
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