Calling Invisible Women

Note: This is the first of what we hope will be regular book reviews from Library Staff members.


Calling Invisible Women by Jeanne Ray tells the story of Clover Hobart, a middle-aged wife, mother, and journalist, who wakes up one morning to discover she's become invisible. And I don't mean invisible in the metaphorical sense, but actually, clothes-floating-in-space invisible. While her best friend notices right away that Clover's appearance has changed, Clover's own family doesn't notice that anything is different.

Her new condition, along with her family's indifference sends Clover into a state of depression, until the day she reads a notice in the local paper calling all invisible women to meet at the Sheraton Hotel.  There, Clover discovers a support group for other invisible women who eventually decide to take action - to use their invisibility kind of like a super power- to right wrongs, including taking on the big pharmaceutical company  believed to be responsible for their invisibility.

When I read the review of this in Library Journal, I was intrigued, but skeptical.  I'm not a fan of fantasy and thought this might be too fantastic for my taste.  But, I was surprised. Despite its premise, it was grounded in realism, and Ray obviously spent a lot of time thinking about the problems that invisibility would cause, and how to overcome them. The characters are likable, and Ray manages to inject humor into the situation.  And even though Clover's invisibility was an actual physical manifestation, the author does cause the reader to think about invisibility in the larger, metaphorical sense. I found Calling Invisible Women to be a light, enjoyable way to spend a summer afternoon.


This book is not yet available at the Wells Public Library but may be requested from another library through the MINERVA online catalog.