Shadow and ACT

Withthesameintellectualincisivenessandsupple,stylishprosehebroughttohisclassicnovel"InvisibleMan,"RalphEllisonexamineshisantecedentsandinsodoingilluminatestheliterature,music,andcultureofbothblackandwhiteAmerica.Hisrangeisvirtuosic,encompassingMarkTwainandRichardWright,MahaliaJacksonandCharlieParker,"TheBirthofaNation"andtheDante-esquelandscapeofHarlem--"thesceneandsymboloftheNegro'sperpetualalienationinthelandofhisbirth."Throughout,hegivesuswhatamountstoanepisodicautobiographythattraceshisformationasawriteraswellasthegenesisof"InvisibleMan."Oneverypage,Ellisonrevealshisidiosyncraticandoftencontrarianbrilliance,hisinsistenceonrefutingbothblackandwhitestereotypesofwhatanAfricanAmericanwritershouldsayorbe.Theresultisabookthatcontinuestoinstruct,delight,andoccasionallyoutragereaders.