Book review (Invisible men by Ralph Ellison)/ Ogled knjige ( Ralph Ellison, Nevidljivi čovjek)

What can one say about masterpiece that hasn't been said before? That is the question I asked myself when I wanted to write this review but than I realized that there is always more to say, there is always something we can add. That is in fact one of the qualities that make a masterpiece what it is. Every time we read it, we can read something new from it. There is always a message within a message, a meaning within a meaning. In every masterpiece we will find a quality that is timeless and that makes it ever relevant. Furthermore, reading a book is often a personal experience, so that is another angle we can take when we are wondering what to say about a particular book that hasn't been said before.

Što se može reći o remek djelu da već nije bilo rečeno? To sam se pitala kada sam željela napisati ovaj ogled, ali onda sam shvatila da se uvijek može reći više, da uvijek postoji nešto što se može dodati. To je zapravo jedna od kvaliteta remek djela. Svaki put kada ga pročitamo, možemo u njemu pročitati nešto novo. Uvijek postoji poruka u poruci, značenje unutar značenja. U svakom remek djelu možemo pronaći kvalitetu koja je bezvremenska i koja ga čini uvijek relevatnim. Nadalje, čitanje knjige je često osobno iskustvo pa je to još jedan način za reći ono što nije rečeno, posebno kada se pitamo što bismo mogli reći, a da nije već kazano.

 From a personal perspective, I can say that I really found myself in this book. I think most of us try to discover who we really are and many of us end up in some wrong alleys at some point of our lives. It is life, always more complex than it seems and always open to new interpretations. It is easy to get lost in life, easy to forget who we really are…and perhaps the most important thing to remember is that we ourselves are ever changing just as the world itself.  Moreover, most of us feel invisible at some point of our lives. Why it is so is an important question. Wouldn't you agree? This novel does such a wonderful job of following the inner life of its young protagonist but it does much more than that. It shows us how many of us are indeed invisible. There are many ways to be invisible.

Iz osobne perspektive, mogu reći da sam se doista pronašla u ovoj knjizi. Mislim da većina nas pokušava otkriti tko doista jesmo i puno nas završi na nekim krivim putovima u nekim razdobljima svoga života. To je život, uvijek puno složeniji nego što se čini i uvijek otvoren novim tumačenjima. Lako se je izgubiti u životu i zaboraviti tko jesmo, a možda je najvažnije zapamtiti da se i mi sami mijenjamo, kao i sam svijet. Nadalje, većina nas se osjeća nevidljivim u nekom razdoblju svojih života. Zašto je tomu tako je važno pitanje. Zar se ne biste složili? Ovaj roman tako dobro prati unutrašnji život svoga mladog protagonista, ali je u isto vrijeme i puno više od toga. Pokazuje nam kako je puno nas zapravo nevidljivo.  Puno je načina za biti nevidljiv. 

headband/traka za kosu: DIY
coat/ kaput: vintage
dress/haljina: CNdirect (here/ ovdje)
bag/torba: dresslink: (here /ovdje)
sneakers/tenisice: umbro

I’m not sure have I mentioned it but this was my first novel by this author. I did read a fragment (infamous Battle Royal) of this novel back when I was at the University. I remember being moved by it back then. However, reading Battle Royal as a part of this novel was a completely different experience. From the very first opening paragraph, I connected with this novel. So, when it came to Battle Royal, it seemed so real to me. After I finished reading it, I set the novel down. I felt like my soul was torn in two like a piece of paper. I felt psychically ill.  It took me a few days to pick up the novel again but I’m certainly glad I did. From that point on, there were many instances when this novel left me feeling emotionally exhausted. Even on intellectual level, I sometimes struggled to follow it. I made sure my mind was fresh when I was reading it. I feel like a made a significant investment in terms of energy when it comes to reading this novel and it was a very good investment because I feel blessed (I really can’t think of another word) that I had the time to read it carefully.  

Ne znam jesam li to spomenula, ali ovo je prvi moj roman ovoga pisaca. Pročitala sam fragment (poznati Battle Royal) kada sam bila na sveučilištu i sjećam se da me tada dotakao. No, čitati ga kao dio ovog romana bilo je posve različito iskustvo. Od prvog paragrafa ovog romana, osjetila sam povezanost sa njime tako da kada je došlo do Battle Royal, sve mi se činilo tako stvarnim. Kada sam pročitala Battle Royal, spustila sam roman na stolić. Osjetila sam da mi je duša pokidana na dva dijela kao komad papira. Bilo mi je slabo. Trebalo mi je par dana dok nisam ponovo uzela roman u ruke, ali mi je svakako drago da jesam. Od tada pa nadalje, u puno navrata me je ovaj roman emotivno iscrpio. Čak i na intelektualnoj razini, nekada sam se borila da ga pratim, pa sam nastojala da mi je um svjež kada ga čitam. Osjećam da sam napravila znatno ulaganje energije u samo čitanje romana i mislim da je to bilo dobro ulaganje jer se osjećam blagoslovljeno (doista ne mogu naći bolju riječ) što sam imala vremena pročitati ga pažljivo. 

headband/traka za kosu: DIY
coat/ kaput: vintage
dress/haljina: CNdirect (here/ ovdje)
bag/torba: dresslink: (here /ovdje)
sneakers/tenisice: umbro

What is Invisible Man? Is it a portrait of a young African American man? Is it a warning about deeply routed problems of the modern world? Is it a testimony of the struggles and challenges of an African American man?  Is it a book about exploration of oneself? Is it a novel about identity? Is it a critique of communism? Is it a critique of capitalism? Is it a study of a modern society? Is it an exploration of the inner self? In my opinion, what makes it such a superb piece of writing is that it is all of that and more. The way it manages to join so many important issues, questions and challenges together and still be a wonderful narrative is simply astonishing. At times I caught myself wondering how to describe it. It is scientific or is it mystical? It is both. Is it spiritual or is it intellectual? It is both.

Što je Nevidljivi čovjek? Je li portret mladog američkoga crnca? Je li to svjedočenje o borbama i izazovima mladog crnog muškarca u Americi? Je li to upozorenje o duboko ukorijenjenim problemima modernoga svijeta? Je li ta knjiga o istraživanju sebe? Je li to roman o identitetu? Je li to kritika komunizma? Je li to kritika kapitalizma? Je li to studija modernog društva? Je li to istraživanje unutarnjega sebe?  Po mome mišljenju, ono što čini ovaj roman tako vrhunskim djelom je to što je sve to i više. Način na koju uspijeva povezati toliko važnih pitanja, problema i izazova i još pri tome ostati divna priča je stvarno zadivljujuće. Na trenutke sam se uhvatila u propitkivanju kako da ga opišem. Je li znanstven ili mističan? Oboje. Je li duhovan ili intelektualan? Oboje.

On every level I can think of, this novel is a complete success. I started this review wondering what I can say about it that hasn’t been said before but now I realize that I could talk about this book forever. I’m sure I could write ten posts about it, I’m absolutely confident that I could go on an on about it for days and that in my opinion makes it an exceptional piece of literature. I will stop myself now and instead of writing an endless review, I will just say: this novel is absolutely one of those life changing books. 

Na svakoj razini koje se mogu sjetiti, ovaj roman je potpuni uspjeh. Počela sam pisati ovaj ogled pitajući se što mogu reći o njemu što nije već rečeno, ali sada shvaćam da bi mogla zauvijek pričati o ovom romanu. Sigurna sam da mogu napisati deset ogleda o njemu, posve uvjerena da bi mogla o njemu pričati danima, a po mome mišljenju to je ono što ga čini posebnim književnim djelom. Sada ću se zaustaviti i umjesto da napišem beskrajno dug ogled, reći ću samo ovo: ovaj roman je apsolutno jedna od onih knjiga koje mijenjaju život.