Book Review: Calling Invisible Women by Jeanne Ray
by Alaena Hope [December 12, 2020]
Calling Invisible Women by Jeanne Ray was recommended to me a while ago when I was looking for something funny. I didn’t get around to reading it until recently. It was indeed pretty fun, but, more than that, it was also meaningful.
The story begins when Clover, wife to a successful (and therefore very busy) doctor and mother of two, wakes up one morning and discovers that she is invisible. One would think that this would cause a ruckus. However, it doesn’t. In fact, almost no one around her even notices that anything has changed. Fortunately, she is not alone. There are other invisible women out there. They even have a support group.
Her invisibility starts out as a source of both grief and outrage for Clover. However, at the same time, it is a blessing. Because of her invisibility, Clover is forced to reevaluate her life and rekindle her own passions.
The parallels between the invisible women’s physical invisibility and the metaphorical invisibility of middle-aged women (and all those other people we might be taking for granted) was interesting. Even closer to home for me was the similarity between being invisible and becoming disabled. For instance, there was the way many of the characters were uncomfortable with talking about or otherwise dealing with Clover’s invisibility at times even when they were sympathetic to her situation. However, there was also the freeing aspect of the change—how the sudden disconnect from regular society allowed Clover to break free of many of the concerns and fears that plague the people around her.
I could go on, but it would take too long. In short, this is a great book with a lot of humor and food for thought.