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Being Invisible
Pushed around at work, deserted by his wife, and admonished by his sister, Fred Wagner is feeling practically invisible and wills himself physically invisible, with results both pathetic and hilarious
272 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1987
6 people are currently reading
124 people want to read
About the author
Thomas Berger
243 books140 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.
Thomas Louis Berger was an American novelist, probably best known for his picaresque novel Little Big Man, which was adapted into a film by Arthur Penn. Berger explored and manipulated many genres of fiction throughout his career, including the crime novel, the hard-boiled detective story, science fiction, the utopian novel, plus re-workings of classical mythology, Arthurian legend, and the survival adventure.
Berger's use of humor and his often biting wit led many reviewers to refer to him as a satirist or "comic" novelist, though he rejected that classification.
Thomas Louis Berger was an American novelist, probably best known for his picaresque novel Little Big Man, which was adapted into a film by Arthur Penn. Berger explored and manipulated many genres of fiction throughout his career, including the crime novel, the hard-boiled detective story, science fiction, the utopian novel, plus re-workings of classical mythology, Arthurian legend, and the survival adventure.
Berger's use of humor and his often biting wit led many reviewers to refer to him as a satirist or "comic" novelist, though he rejected that classification.
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Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
December 11, 2012
I used to write reviews fairly frequently. Now I'm somewhat invisible on goodreads except for when I from time to time pop up on one of Karen's review or AIFAF threads. Even though since certain events transpired a few months ago I haven't really had any interest in being involved in goodreads beyond the scant amount I am now, I still feel like I'm overly visible on the site just because there are so many pictures of me put up every week. It's like I'm here without having to put in any effort, and without opening myself up to any depressing interactions with other people.
Why am I writing a review for this book? I've been meaning to write a second review for 2666, and while reading the book I kept thinking of possible interesting things to say. But now writing a review that says much of anything seems beyond my abilities. I think I might be a bit dumber now then I was a few months ago. Or maybe just fed up.
Unlike if I tried to write a review for 2666 this is a fairly easy one to write. I didn't like the book. I've liked other Berger novels, some a little, some more than a little; but this novel I just didn't really get in to. Maybe the shitty holiday mood I've been in for the past week or so didn't let me appreciate the sort of light-hearted goofy sort of almost slapstick humor going on here. I think even if I was feeling like my usual self though, I still would have found the book to be kind of half thought out and episodic. I doubt anyone is going to get all up in arms that I didn't enjoy a minor work by a half-forgotten writer.
This is a book about a man who discovers he has the ability to become invisible whenever he wants. It is what happens after he starts to use this power, but instead of being able to do all the things you might think you would do if you were invisible his pathetic life just gets worse with this new found ability. But in sort of funny ways.
As a short story this could have been pretty good. As a novel it lacks the sort of trajectory needed to get the whole work to cohere. It was like the novel version of a zany 80's sitcom, something like Perfect Strangers, where the immigrant might discover he can be invisible for an episode, and some hilarity ensues, but it's ultimately as satisfying as the McDonalds dollar menu (this just popped into my head, and I have no idea if the food on the McDonalds dollar menu is satisfying, or what is even on that menu currently. About two years ago I ate a McDonalds cheeseburger off of the dollar menu, it was the first time I had eaten anything other than breakfast at McDonalds in years and years and it was a wholly unsatisfying experience. That's a lie. I enjoyed the slice or two of pickle on the burger but everything else about the cheeseburger was kind of shitty (maybe not the cheese either, but the cheese was adhered to the gristly meat and/or the stale tasting bun, the pickles on the other hand could be easily removed and enjoyed separately.)
That analogy sucks. This book was much better than that shitty cheeseburger. But I wouldn't recommend either to anyone. There is a lot more satisfying books and burgers out there.
Why am I writing a review for this book? I've been meaning to write a second review for 2666, and while reading the book I kept thinking of possible interesting things to say. But now writing a review that says much of anything seems beyond my abilities. I think I might be a bit dumber now then I was a few months ago. Or maybe just fed up.
Unlike if I tried to write a review for 2666 this is a fairly easy one to write. I didn't like the book. I've liked other Berger novels, some a little, some more than a little; but this novel I just didn't really get in to. Maybe the shitty holiday mood I've been in for the past week or so didn't let me appreciate the sort of light-hearted goofy sort of almost slapstick humor going on here. I think even if I was feeling like my usual self though, I still would have found the book to be kind of half thought out and episodic. I doubt anyone is going to get all up in arms that I didn't enjoy a minor work by a half-forgotten writer.
This is a book about a man who discovers he has the ability to become invisible whenever he wants. It is what happens after he starts to use this power, but instead of being able to do all the things you might think you would do if you were invisible his pathetic life just gets worse with this new found ability. But in sort of funny ways.
As a short story this could have been pretty good. As a novel it lacks the sort of trajectory needed to get the whole work to cohere. It was like the novel version of a zany 80's sitcom, something like Perfect Strangers, where the immigrant might discover he can be invisible for an episode, and some hilarity ensues, but it's ultimately as satisfying as the McDonalds dollar menu (this just popped into my head, and I have no idea if the food on the McDonalds dollar menu is satisfying, or what is even on that menu currently. About two years ago I ate a McDonalds cheeseburger off of the dollar menu, it was the first time I had eaten anything other than breakfast at McDonalds in years and years and it was a wholly unsatisfying experience. That's a lie. I enjoyed the slice or two of pickle on the burger but everything else about the cheeseburger was kind of shitty (maybe not the cheese either, but the cheese was adhered to the gristly meat and/or the stale tasting bun, the pickles on the other hand could be easily removed and enjoyed separately.)
That analogy sucks. This book was much better than that shitty cheeseburger. But I wouldn't recommend either to anyone. There is a lot more satisfying books and burgers out there.
January 9, 2022
I have mixed feelings on this one, but will start with the positive aspects - it's well-written, author especially strong at setting scenes. Story was far more enjoyable when the protagonist was involved in one of his invisible antics. That ability proved useful at times, but as they say of being rich, didn't solve his underlying issues (problems).
I had problems with the characters themselves. Protagonist came off as priggish and anti-social to me. I would've liked more from his estranged wife to indicate why the marriage didn't work for her, though I got it that some folks can be a friend, or lover, but not both. The office was a hotbed of pettiness, but often that's how it it is. The homophobic aspect, among women as well as men, seemed like something a generation earlier than 1987 NYC; I felt it made the story more unpleasant than it could've been. Overall, the book had the feel of the 1970s, or even late 60s, giving a "dated" vibe.
So, a tepid recommendation for a free or cheap copy, but going out of your way for it would a definite NO.
I had problems with the characters themselves. Protagonist came off as priggish and anti-social to me. I would've liked more from his estranged wife to indicate why the marriage didn't work for her, though I got it that some folks can be a friend, or lover, but not both. The office was a hotbed of pettiness, but often that's how it it is. The homophobic aspect, among women as well as men, seemed like something a generation earlier than 1987 NYC; I felt it made the story more unpleasant than it could've been. Overall, the book had the feel of the 1970s, or even late 60s, giving a "dated" vibe.
So, a tepid recommendation for a free or cheap copy, but going out of your way for it would a definite NO.
September 29, 2021
I feel the best I can say for this novel is that it's dated. The worst is that it missed a great many opportunities to say something important and capitalized on too many opportunities to make women look idiotic. Berger is a great writer. I read Little Big Man back while I was in high school, before the film version and found it laugh-out-loud funny and deeply touching. I am a little afraid of what I would think of it today.
The set-up has enormous potential: "His coworkers dominate him, his sister criticizes him, and his wife has just left him; Fred Wagner might as well be invisible. Fed up, one day he wills himself physically invisible, and the results are both sadly pathetic and hilariously funny."
There are many perhaps-gay and female characters, and that might be good news, but the point of view character thinks in cliché about sex, sexually, and women. The women are shrewish, domineering, sexually aggressive, and (except for his sister who seems to want to slap him) mysteriously attracted to Wagner—a man who is not wise or funny or particularly kind, decent at his job of writing advertising copy but seemingly without any sense of design or art or ambition, a man who has supposedly been writing a novel for years, has forgotten how many people he's told about this and not actually put word to paper in a very long time. He does not recall what he's writing about. Invisibility, he hopes, might be his unique gift.
Yeah, it should be hysterical, but ultimately not even quite "sadly pathetic." Wagner is crushed by the desertion of his wife, who inherits money and abruptly leaves him. He uses his new-found talent of invisibility to take thousands of dollars directly from a bank teller's drawer, and then, realizing the teller will be held accountable, goes through agonies to put the money back. He does a lot of this, and "accuses" people of wanton acts and then has to backpedal. I smiled a few times. Might have chuckled? But ultimately, I felt Wagner was accurately judged by his sister and then a girlfriend, who insists he's not living up to his potential. I too wonder, "how could it be that she had willingly surrendered her virginity, if not downright imposed it upon him?" The pursuit of multiple women of this nebbish seemed wishful thinking, a contrivance designed to lead to slapstick humor, which did not quite fly. And what to say about "until he penetrated her, [she] had been a virgin"? There's a lot of that deflowering language. Cringe-worthy at times.
It ended well, and again, Berger is a fine writer, but for me the best part of the end was that I could read something else.
The set-up has enormous potential: "His coworkers dominate him, his sister criticizes him, and his wife has just left him; Fred Wagner might as well be invisible. Fed up, one day he wills himself physically invisible, and the results are both sadly pathetic and hilariously funny."
There are many perhaps-gay and female characters, and that might be good news, but the point of view character thinks in cliché about sex, sexually, and women. The women are shrewish, domineering, sexually aggressive, and (except for his sister who seems to want to slap him) mysteriously attracted to Wagner—a man who is not wise or funny or particularly kind, decent at his job of writing advertising copy but seemingly without any sense of design or art or ambition, a man who has supposedly been writing a novel for years, has forgotten how many people he's told about this and not actually put word to paper in a very long time. He does not recall what he's writing about. Invisibility, he hopes, might be his unique gift.
Yeah, it should be hysterical, but ultimately not even quite "sadly pathetic." Wagner is crushed by the desertion of his wife, who inherits money and abruptly leaves him. He uses his new-found talent of invisibility to take thousands of dollars directly from a bank teller's drawer, and then, realizing the teller will be held accountable, goes through agonies to put the money back. He does a lot of this, and "accuses" people of wanton acts and then has to backpedal. I smiled a few times. Might have chuckled? But ultimately, I felt Wagner was accurately judged by his sister and then a girlfriend, who insists he's not living up to his potential. I too wonder, "how could it be that she had willingly surrendered her virginity, if not downright imposed it upon him?" The pursuit of multiple women of this nebbish seemed wishful thinking, a contrivance designed to lead to slapstick humor, which did not quite fly. And what to say about "until he penetrated her, [she] had been a virgin"? There's a lot of that deflowering language. Cringe-worthy at times.
It ended well, and again, Berger is a fine writer, but for me the best part of the end was that I could read something else.
March 21, 2016
This is an interesting, quirky book. The humor is dry, in much the same tone as British humor. Based on the title and the beginning of the book, I expected the main character's ability to become invisible would be the main conduit of the story. Instead, its relegated to just another quirk that comes into play as he moves through his life. In fact, the ability to become invisible is the thing people notice the least about him.
Saying any more would give away too much of the story. I'll simply say that after thinking about it for a day or two, I can see an irony in the story that I wasn't aware of when I first finished. And isn't the ability to keep you thinking about it after you have finished a distinctive characteristic of a good book?
Saying any more would give away too much of the story. I'll simply say that after thinking about it for a day or two, I can see an irony in the story that I wasn't aware of when I first finished. And isn't the ability to keep you thinking about it after you have finished a distinctive characteristic of a good book?
July 2, 2020
A great addition to the Berger canon. His turns-of-phrase are always amusing and he clearly laughed to himself as he wrote this, a farce that runs its course in just the right amount of time. If you don't know Thomas Berger, you're missing a lot.
May 9, 2012
Deus ex retchina.
May 2, 2021
Should be 3.5. I discovered Berger through Neighbors, which I read over 30 years ago (and was the basis for a Dan Ackroyd/John Belushi comedy). He truly has a gift for comedies of manner, timing, and language, and all are well accounted for in Being Invisible. Makes me wonder why it took me so long to get to this one, but I’d like to revisit Neighbors soon too.
Want to read
April 3, 2018Previous: Nowhere
Next: The Houseguest
Next: The Houseguest
February 21, 2023
Possibly the worst book I've ever read.
Grotesque "protagonist"; ludicrous, mean, and unreal view of all the female characters; absurd plot with giant gaps and incomprehensibly incomplete scenes; ridiculous dialogue.
Pointlessly and terribly done. Ugh.
Grotesque "protagonist"; ludicrous, mean, and unreal view of all the female characters; absurd plot with giant gaps and incomprehensibly incomplete scenes; ridiculous dialogue.
Pointlessly and terribly done. Ugh.
January 19, 2018
This was a good - great - book at the start, but got stranger and stranger. It was a great start but the 1980's vibe about homosexuality started to really bother me.
May 1, 2019
Imagine a sexually explicit Hollywood screwball comedy with a Walter Mitty-ish main character set in the offices of Mad Men. Not a single laugh.
October 21, 2019
A classic novel in the Phillip Roth tradition of middle-aged, middle income White men being the most oppressed in the nation. Though this one can turn invisible (a trick not fully utilized here).
September 17, 2022
Some of the humor was pretty funny but the characters were super hard to get behind especially Fred. I do wish his invisibility was used more throughout the book.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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March 13, 2025An all time favorite!
October 4, 2025
The author does an amazing job making you both pity and despise Fred. The book seemingly ended in the middle of a thought.
November 26, 2016
Although this is a better book in many ways than Berger's other output during the 1980s, it still suffers from a textual and ontological uneveness: it's like Berger could not quite decide (or mount the will to master) which of several narrative moves he wanted the book to take. The central conceit (Fred Wagner's discovery of his ability to become invisible at will) is a promising one, and the first half or so of the novel is an entertaining satire on social and literal invisibility. All well and good . . . until the idea is seemingly dropped for time while Wagner becomes sexually involved with two women (the virgin/whore dichotomy, sadly, though this probably should be taken with a grain of salt because the narrative voice is filtered through Wagner's consciousness, and Wagner, despite his pretensions to intellectualism, is kind of a dumb ass). Here Berger seems to lose sight (ironic, n'est-ce pas?) of invisibility and to become more interested in sex and intimacy in the 1970s-1980s. He also loses the "realism" that much of the rest of the text is careful to maintain (the backbone of satire), with certain things seeming to appear and disappear without logic or reason (though perhaps, after writing that sentence, I am now conscious that this may be part of a deeper metanarrative moment than I had given Berger credit for while I was reading the text). Given the seeming promise of the first half of the novel, the end is quite a letdown (no spoilers; just don't be surprised if you are disappointed in the last ten pages or so). This is a strange, hybrid work, a mix of the best and worst tendencies in Berger's writing: perhaps worth reading, but not necessarily worth rereading.
July 23, 2020
Having held this book captive on my bookshelf for two and a half years, it turns out to be a disappointment. Given the possibilities of the ability to become invisible, it's a shame that these weren't used to their best advantage by the spineless Fred Wagner. None of the characters was in the least bit likeable, and the humour isn't enough to redeem the book from mediocrity, as despite the claim on the front cover, I would never describe it as hilarious. I found it rather pedestrian and uninspired. I also felt uncomfortable about the underlying belief that homosexuals are "unnatural" and many other such euphemisms, and it made me wonder when political correctness and equality legislation came into force; in this book the highest insult was to be declared "queer", and despite his unprepossessing exterior (when visible!) and unassuming character, Wagner seems to have no trouble attracting women and immediately jumping into bed with them. Wishful thinking, methinks!
August 23, 2013
There are a number of very funny sequences in this book - namely when Wagner walks invisibly through the art gallery and is disgusted by what he sees - but the novel is not that well put together. It offers the fluid language and inexhaustible vocabulary of Berger's best works, but the plotting is sloppy, and Berger does not take advantage of his character's gift of invisibility. Rather he puts him in yet more awkward sexual situations with random women, as Berger seems prone to do almost by default. It's worth reading for the laughs it does generate, but don't get your hopes up.
January 28, 2018
I was surprised that it has a somewhat incongruous happy ending tacked on with all previous threads resolved, which was weak. The plot device that I liked was still there: the fact that you don't have to explain how he goes invisible. He's still quite good with the sociopaths. It might be his specialty.
July 18, 2012
Read Berger on the recommendation of a friend- Interesting but didn't like it all that much, although I should say that it was a different Berger book that he recommended. Initially drew me in, unique story- but lost me with its outlandishness as the book progressed.
August 4, 2008
being an invisible man..
December 22, 2012
The story stunk. It had potential but never materialized. Writing should be showing but this was always telling. There were good characters but they never really did anything interesting.
February 13, 2017
Berger is a black humorist in the same league as Barth, Coover and Heller. And, like Peter DeVries, even his lesser novels are delightful.
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews