Being Invisible - Hardcover

Thomas Berger

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0413169707 ISBN 13: 9780413169709

Publisher: Methuen, 1988

Synopsis

Fred Wagner, who longs to be a best-selling novelist, meanwhile earns his livelihood writing mail-order catalogue copy that hawks obscene beer mugs, ballpoint pens that double as flashlights, and calendars that not only identify National Scalp Care Week but also feature a special inspirational message for each day of the year. His beloved wife has just left him to pursue her own career as art-gallery owner and to traffic with an obnoxious sculptor named Siv Zirko, and his peevish sister is a constant correspondent, writing regularly to remind him of any failures he might have forgotten.Alone in his apartment, standing naked before a full—length mirror, Fred observes that he is simultaneously losing weight and developing a paunch, and he just wishes... And as he wishes, starting with the feet and gradually working upwards, Fred becomes invisible.Once he overcomes his amazement, he begins to practice, and with practice comes perfection. Soon he and whatever he touches — his own clothes or someone else’s money — can be made to disappear and reappear at will, and though it is not without a host of new challenges, two of whom are feminine and have plans for him, his life acquires a miraculous character and is perhaps even on its way to being legendary.Being Invisible, a blending of Berger’s extraordinary psychological insights and mastery of the English language, is a tour de force. It might even be his response to Sartre’s Being and Nothingness.

About this title

From Library Journal

Things are not going well for Fred Wagner, a typical Berger victim. His wife has left him, his job as a catalog copywriter is becoming increasingly unsatisfying, and his novel, after six years, has not progressed beyond the opening pages. Wagner discovers, however, that he does have a talenthe can make himself invisibleand the novel recounts his struggle to make the best of this unique gift. But surprisingly, Wagner finds that whether he is trying to bypass a long line, steal from a bank, or avoid his co-workers, invisibility has its drawbacks; rather than improving his situation, each invisible adventure leads to a further mishap. In subject and tone, Berger's novel is similar to Charles Simmons's Powdered Eggs (1964), but it is less innovative in style and narrative technique. Recommended for larger fiction collections. William Gargan, Brooklyn Coll. Lib., CUNY
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Publishers Weekly

Fred Wagner, a would-be novelist who writes ad copy, has the ability to make himself invisible, but "proves unequal to his creator's admittedly intriguing premise. . . . These hijinks fall flat," stated PW, adding that "Berger's (The Feud) generally energetic prose is trite."
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: Methuen
• Publication date: 1988
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0413169707
• ISBN 13: 9780413169709
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 288