History Literature / MemoirsOfAnInvisibleMan

Desperately hunted by amoral {{CIA}} agent David Jenkins, Nick seeks to build a new life while avoiding becoming a scientific guinea pig stuck in a lab until he dies... or forcibly recruited into being a black ops specialist.

* TheFilmOfTheBook

* [[spoiler: BabiesEverAfter: Implied with Nick when he wonders what his and Alice's kids will look like. Played straight during the credits when we see Alice with a baby bump.]]

Nick Halloway was a fairly ordinary stock analyst until he fell asleep in the building of Magnascopic Laboratories, a company for which he represented shareholders. The building is seemingly destroyed, but people wonder why there's no debris. It turns out that due to a FreakLabAccident, the entire building and everything inside -- including Nick -- has been turned invisible.

* PersonalityPowers: It's [[LampshadeHanging even noted]] when the CIA goes over his file: "He was invisible even before he became invisible."

* InvisibleStomachVisibleFood: Applies to Nick. In the movie, there are several scenes in which Nick chews gum, drinks liquid, or otherwise ingests food and we see it hovering in air. In fact, the first time he notices is when he "sees" himself in the mirror, only to find digesting food. [[VomitIndiscretionShot We hear the sound of vomiting]] and the food arches into the air and off-screen. He ends up switching to an all-clear foods diet so that he can't see the half-eaten food in his stomach. Later, as he attempts to hide from the BigBad, he refuses to eat so that he remains invisible.
* InvisibleStreaker: {{Averted}}-Nick has one outfit that was rendered invisible along with him, so he can wear that when he wants to remain invisible.

* NoPlansNoPrototypeNoBackup: The scientist who is responsible for the accident that makes Nick invisible started on research related to nuclear fusion, but went off on a tangent, and barely talked to anyone, even his assistants, about what he was doing. He dies in the accident that turns the entire building invisible, any notes are unreadable, and Nick burns it down anyway to help his escape.

* {{Handwave}}: The book gives an explanation for why some of the issues that would eventually get Nick in trouble don't, specifically dust and other small particles that should adhere to him and make him easier to "see". The book explains that the process that made him invisible also made it more difficult for other objects to form mechanical bonds with him, so not only does dust not stick to him, but water beads and runs off him almost immediately. However, it forgets that this should make normal walking surfaces more slippery due to the reduced friction.
* NoPlansNoPrototypeNoBackup: The scientist who is responsible for the accident that makes Nick invisible started on research related to nuclear fusion, but went off on a tangent, and barely talked to anyone, even his assistants, about what he was doing. The accident turns the entire building invisible, so any notes could not be read, and Nick burns it down anyway to help his escape.

* Determinator: Jenkins absolutely will not give up on finding Nick, and though Nick despairs a few times, he refuses to give up hope for a more normal life without Jenkins in it either.
* Handwave: The book gives an explanation for why some of the issues that would eventually get Nick in trouble don't, specifically dust and other small particles that should adhere to him and make him easier to "see". The book explains that the process that made him invisible also made it more difficult for other objects to form mechanical bonds with him, so not only does dust not stick to him, but water beads and runs off him almost immediately. However, it forgets that this should make normal walking surfaces more slippery due to the reduced friction.

BadassNormal: Although being invisible means he really isn't normal, Nick is ''really'' badass. He plans for the future quickly and efficiently once he realizes his situation, makes good decisions about how to initially survive, plans for the long-term, and especially when he realizes that Jenkins simply won't give up, acknowledges that he is much too reactive, and plans and executes a way to turn the tables. Even when things go wrong with this plan, he improvises on the fly, and it works out. As Jenkins says in one of their phone conversations, Nick probably would have made a good field agent even if he weren't invisible.
CrazyPrepared: Nick does this when escaping the invisible building. Jenkins has the entire area sealed off, but it's too large to effectively box Nick in quite yet, so they go about the business of identifying the dimensions of the walls and floors with tape and string. While they work, Nick gets together everything he can that is invisible, and builds a "ladder" of invisible tables to get him and his possessions out without being immediately noticed. A lot of it comes in handy later, especially the cloth, which he is eventually able to make extra clothes out of.
Determinator: Jenkins absolutely will not give up on finding Nick, and though Nick despairs a few times, he refuses to give up hope for a more normal life without Jenkins in it either.
Handwave: The book gives an explanation for why some of the issues that would eventually get Nick in trouble don't, specifically dust and other small particles that should adhere to him and make him easier to "see". The book explains that the process that made him invisible also made it more difficult for other objects to form mechanical bonds with him, so not only does dust not stick to him, but water beads and runs off him almost immediately. However, it forgets that this should make normal walking surfaces more slippery due to the reduced friction.
NoPlansNoPrototypeNoBackup: The scientist who is responsible for the accident that makes Nick invisible started on research related to nuclear fusion, but went off on a tangent, and barely talked to anyone, even his assistants, about what he was doing. The accident turns the entire building invisible, so any notes could not be read, and Nick burns it down anyway to help his escape.

Handwave: The book h

!!Tropes used in the novel:

!!Tropes used only in the movie:

* IJustWantToBeNormal

* {{Invisibility}}

* PowerIncontinence

* InvisibleStomachVisibleFood: Applies to Nick. In the movie, there are several scenes in which Nick chews gum, drinks liquid, or otherwise ingests food and we see it hovering in air. In fact, the first time he notices is when he "sees" himself in the mirror, only to find digesting food. [[VomitIndiscretionShot We hear the sound of vomiting]] and the food arches into the air and off-screen. Later, as he attempts to hide from the BigBad, he refuses to eat so that he remains invisible.

Originally a 1987 ScienceFiction novel by H. F. Saint, it was adapted into a 1992 movie directed by Creator/JohnCarpenter, and starring Chevy Chase and Creator/DarylHannah. The book analyzed what effects invisibility would have on an average person who kept his morality, and the movie tried to do the same. The book was a small success; the movie was considerably less well-received.

* InvisibleStomachVisibleFood: There are several scenes in which Creator/ChevyChase chews gum, drinks liquid, or otherwise ingests food and we see it hovering in air. In fact, the first time he notices is when he "sees" himself in the mirror, only to find digesting food. [[VomitIndiscretionShot We hear the sound of vomiting]] and the food arches into the air and off-screen. Later, as Chase's character attempts to hide from the BigBad, he refuses to eat so that he remains invisible.

-> "I want my molecules back!"- '''Nick Halloway'''\\

* TomHanksSyndrome: Attempted by Chevy Chase here, who only gets a couple of one-liners, no more than any other actor would expect. Didn't work out so well for him, though.

* FridgeHorror: The invisibility is spreading: the food Nick eats turns invisible, and we see parts of the Magnascopics building where Nick was sleeping that are visible briefly, then it spreads to the parts of the building that remain visible. We never see the area where the building is after that scene, but it can be assumed (since there is no evidence to the contrary) that the invisibility will continue to spread, not just on the surface but into the earth's crust. And the one person that was in the best position to put a stop to it was murdered by Jenkins.

* InvisibleStreaker: Averted -- Nick has one outfit that was rendered invisible along with him, so he can wear that when he wants to remain invisible.

* RequiredSecondaryPowers: Part of Nick's problem is that he has only some of these related to invisibility. His food isn't actually invisible until some time after he digests; he vomits the first time he sees himself in the mirror as he's digesting. The only thing that he can put on that's similarly invisible is the outfit he wore when rendered invisible; any dust that lands on him is visible. He can still see just fine, however.

* TomHanksSyndrome: Attempted by Chevy Chase here, who only gets a couple of one-liners, no more than any other actor would expect. Didn't work so well for him, though.

* TomHanksSyndrome: Attempted by Chevy Chase here, who only gets a couple of wan one-liners, no more than any other actor would expect. Didn't work so well for him, though.

Originally a 1987 ScienceFiction novel by H. F. Saint, it was adapted to a 1992 movie starring Chevy Chase and [[{{Creator/DarylHannah}} Daryl Hannah]]. The book analyzed what effects invisibility would have on an average person who kept his morality, and the movie tried to do the same. The book was a small success; the movie was considerably less well-received.

-> "I want my molecules back!"- Nick Halloway\\