Being Invisible displays Thomas Berger's vision of a world dominated by rudeness and vulgarity. The protagonist, Fred Wagner, is a gentlemanly fellow out of step with the times, whose kindness, naive idealism, and traditional values have made him a convenient victim for his more ruthless contemporaries. Longing to become a novelist, he toils at a secondrate job, writing advertising for a mail order catalog company. His aggressive colleague Jackie Grinzing has, despite lesser talents, climbed above him to become his supervisor. Even Wagner's charming wife, Carla, who still feels some affection for him, has recently left to start her own art gallery.

It seems that Carla may be seduced by Siv Zirko, an arrogant sculptor, whose success is due more to overwhelming self-assertion than to talent. Zirko's sculptures, which boldly celebrate his sexuality, are admired in a world that ignores Wagner's greatest achievement—his development...