While short in length, it doesn't shy away from immersing the reader into the lives of individuals plagued with society's reaction to their unique identities. From Tourette's syndrome to alopecia and hemangioma, the author creates characters to try to examine what living with each condition feels like. I really enjoyed the way it read like nonfiction as well. I hope more books continue to inform about all the unique ways of existing as humans to normalize all experiences and push society to reevaluate how we all approach the unknown to show more compassion and less judgement.

Invisible is a fictional account of several people that live with different conditions that result in harsh judgement from the outside world. Adam, the main narrator, has Tourette's syndrome. Anna has a facial hemangioma, Marta has alopecia, and Eva has vitiligo. We get a glimpse into the barriers and difficulties each person faces not only from the outside world, but also their internal struggle.

Although this book is a short read, it is a powerful reminder to express kindness and empathy to others. I really appreciated the representation within this book, especially since this is a reflection of the authors real life experience, and the people he has met.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher, Guernica Editions, for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This short story was a very interesting read based on the author’s life experiences of living with Tourette’s and also the lives of the people he meets at a support group who also struggle with their own challenges.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Was unable to read via kindle so I will have to wait until I actually purchase the book …………………………………………………………….,…………..,,,,,,….

Four people, slightly unconventionally othered by society. Short (too short), well-paced, but somehow a little too innocent ... I felt as if I was reading a YA, although I don't think this qualifies. Perhaps it was the translation.

Even though the book (In)visible is a fiction book it reads like a memoir told from the perspective of four different people. Through their eyes you are able to see how their disabilities effect their daily thoughts.

This book was impressive and memorable. I am sure that I will read it again one day.

first of all, i want to thank netgalley for bringing this book to my attention. i would like to think myself as a harsh reviewer - it is not often that i give a book five stars. and the fact that i knew this book was five stars from the very first chapter is MASSIVE.

the writing of this book is impeccable, despite it being translated, and allows you to dive into such an immersive voice of a few individuals in this book who face discrimination and judgement from others. the fact that the narration allows to see that it is not the conditions of the characters (tourettes, vitiligo, alopecia and hemangioma) as a problem, but the reactions of others, is amazing. i have a disability myself and i found that i related to some of the things that were shared across this book - i, too, find myself limited by others rather than myself.

this book highlights how important education is when it comes to these important subjects as those who experience them are incredibly vulnerable. the pain that each character faces generates a journey and i love to see that this book reminds people that inside we are all the same.

this book may be short, but it is definitely mighty. it is honestly one of the most beautiful books i have ever read. i want to thank ivan baidak for writing this and for representating neurodivergent and disabled people. the world needs more books like this.

(In)Visible by Ivan Baidak starts with a scene at a family dinner where a young Adam is berated by his father for his tics. He has Tourtette’s Syndrome, and despite his father demanding that he just stop, he can’t. Cut to sometime in the future and Adam introduces himself as a graphic designer, he’s now twenty-six, he loves watching TV, and he hates shopping. He informs us he has Tourtette’s Syndrome.

There’s a short break before the book begins as the author introduces himself as Ivan and as having Tourtette’s Syndrome. He talks about when he first realised he was different and explains that Adam’s story is not his own, it’s not a story of his own life, however, “there’s a lot of truth in it” he points out. He also emphasises that this book is not about negative things and describes it as a “silent coming to terms with my own lived experience”.

I liked the author’s note being at the start of the book, and it’s placement after the “prologue” (it’s not given a title, but that is what it feels like to me) fits nicely with the flow of the book. (In)Visible is a book of stories, told through four different narratives as Adam, Anna, Marta, and Eva tell us about their conditions and their lives. It’s centred around a support group for “people with challenges”, that’s where Adam meets Anna who invites him to move in with her and Marta, someone she also met at a support meeting. Eva is another member of their support group who lives nearby who they become friends with.

The book goes through each character’s narrative, continuing with Adam’s as he tells us his story. He talks about how Tourtette’s Syndrome effected his life, how it prevented him from finding a job and effected his relationship with his father. He also introduces us to his friends and talks more about the support group.

The four narratives are spread out between Adam’s chapters. For the most part his narrative remains in the present, taking us through their support group meetings, talking about their friendship and related events such as Eva’s photo exhibit. He keeps everything tied together, and in the chapters in between his friends tell their stories. First is Eva who developed vitiligo at eight years old, then Marta a presenter who has alopecia and then Anna who has a haemangioma, a benign tumour, on her cheek which can not be surgically removed because a carotid artery runs directly through it.

Each of their narratives are different, unique, and yet tell similar stories. They are about learning to accept their illnesses, how their bodies are and dealing with how people react to their appearances, to their differences. They all have that moment when they realise that they are different, but they also have that moment when they find support, friendship and themselves.

The book starts with the beginning of their support group and ends with it. The four characters are all very different people by the time the group has ended. It’s not completely due to the support group though, and the reason why I’ve not given this a five-star rating is that I felt some of the messages from the support group were particularly toxic. At one point the group therapist, David, tells the group that they need not be so hard on others because they might need “more time to get used to you”. As a disabled person I felt extremely angered by that, and while Eva shared that response, I felt that Adam’s response to it was particularly condescending. He mentions that this “ruffled Eva’s feelings” and although he shares what Eva has to say about it, he offers no response himself.

I found the wording of the support group being for “people with challenges” to be odd. However, I recognised that this may be due to a difference in languages and cultures as there are translators listed at the end of the book.

It’s difficult for me to put into words how emotive (In)visible was for me to read. While I identify as multi-disabled, all of my seven chronic health conditions are non-visible. Yet I’ve had someone stand and yell “diseased” at me like some of the characters of (In)visible. My heart broke so many times reading this book, and at the level of ignorance that I knew was not fiction. I’m very grateful to Baidak for writing this novel, for writing about his experience of Tourtette’s Syndrome as I know a young woman who has it. We need more books with disability representation full stop, but after what happened earlier this year at the Oscars I’m very glad to see alopecia representation in a book.

(In)visible is a great read that fits so much into such a short space, which makes it wonderfully accessible too!

This book is a piece of fiction that reads as a non-fiction account of a social support group. Each of the characters have different stories about how they came to wish they were invisible and how they have hidden from life because of the fear of how others will experience their disability. Adam has Tourette's syndrome, Anna has facial hemangioma, Marta has alopecia and Eva has vitiligo. Together they journey through their past and pain to reach a place of understanding and happiness (well as much happiness as humans can attain, life still throws curve balls to everyone). This book is a beacon to the world for welcoming differences, and a reminder that some people wear their differences on the outside. We all struggle and many of us shut down for periods of our life because of those struggles. It is love for ourselves and from others that often pulls us out of the world of isolation and self-pity. This is a beautiful, quick, heartfelt story of how our hearts can save the world and how we are all stronger than we think we are.

I loved (In)visible so much. It tells us about four different people. A guy with Tourette syndrome, a girl with vitiligo, and two women with alopecia and hemangioma. I've never read stories about these things before, so it was an interesting experience. This book perfectly shows us that everyone is fighting with some inner demons and you should never judge any person by their appearance. I really liked how readers come to know that people with these conditions are more limited in their actions not because of those conditions, but because of the other people's reactions. I'd like everyone to read (In)visible to educate themselves on such an important subject of people's vulnerability.

Written with a direct and immersive voice, Baidak lets the reader slip into the lives of several people who've had to endure an onslaught of judgement every time they walk outside. From the narrator's Tourette's syndrome to the make-up artist with vitiligo, the reader feels firsthand that it's not the alopecia or Tourette's that creates the barrier, but the reaction of others. Uplifting and transformational, (In)visible is about the vulnerability that we all wish to hide and how empathy can repair so much hidden pain.