An unnamed man, while attending a college in Alabama, is encouraged to move to New York (Harlem) to find work, and...a lot of things happen that will surprise you. We get to witness our unnamed protagonist struggle externally and internally with his place in the world as an adult.

Ellison's writing is incredible. His diction, imagery, and symbolism are hard to match, if they can be matched. Many of the things he's doing in this work are done for the first time here, and his voice and reasoning are very clear. There are a lot of "trigger warnings," but I would say it's still a book you need to experience for yourself. We need to be exposed to hard things to cause change, and I think that was exactly Ellison's intention - to make us realize that inside all of us there is a restlessness and a desire to change things from how they are currently.

As a caucasian woman, it is easy for me to say that this book is about more than race. But it *is* also about race and a difficult time in our country's history. A difficult time that, unfortunately, is still happening. I'm thankful for people like Ellison who are able to speak in ways to make those of us with privilege listen and try to understand (though we cannot understand fully).

Read this book. Read it. Yes, it was written a long time ago. It is still relevant. We need to be reading books like these. We need to be producing books like these.

pairings: Heart of Darkness. The Bluest Eye. Things Fall Apart. So many.