I got this book months ago but I was discouraged by the length. I’m not a fan of big books and I tend to prefer to listen to them as audiobooks as opposed to reading physical copies. I picked this up in October but couldn’t finish it as a lot came up towards the end of the month. The invisible life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab is a book I won’t be forgetting anytime soon.
Synopsis
”France, 1714: in a moment of desperation, a young woman makes a Faustian bargain to live forever and is cursed to be forgotten by everyone she meets.
Thus begins the extraordinary life of Addie LaRue, and a dazzling adventure that will play out across centuries and continents, across history and art, as a young woman learns how far she will go to leave her mark on the world.
But everything changes when, after nearly 300 years, Addie stumbles across a young man in a hidden bookstore and he remembers her name.”
My thoughts
The best decision I made was going into this blind – Not reading reviews/synopsis. Feel free to ignore this review if you want to experience it the same way but proceed if you don’t mind a spoiler free review.
Set between 1714 France and 2014 NYC, we follow the life of Addie LaRue a young girl whose life changed the night she made a deal with a ‘demon’ and was cursed. She wanted freedom but what she got was being forgotten.The curse is simple. No one remembers Addie. They meet her but forget her the minute she’s out of sight. Addie is 323 years old but doesn’t look a day over 23. This book takes us through Addie’s journey as she navigates life as a forgotten woman.
The invisible life of Addie LaRue was such a beautifully written book. I loved the romance and love triangle the author put in. She writes in such a way that you won’t even realize how invested you are until you wake up and can’t seem to get Addie LaRue out of your mind. Even the unlikeable character becomes endearing.
I was so impressed by the storytelling. In my opinion, it was almost flawless. The way the author describes the European cities and New York City makes you feel like you’re walking right beside the character and getting a first hand view of everything. Often with books with alternating timelines, it gets a bit cumbersome and tedious to keep alternating from one timeline to the other but in this book, it worked. It’s a big book with different parts but it’s so easy to read and progresses nicely. I also really liked the idea of putting an artwork at the beginning of each part with descriptions that links it to the story. The pacing was a bit slow in the beginning but as you read on, you’ll realize how necessary it was to properly give us a back story.
I finished this book and was trying to find out if there is a tiny chance Addie LaRue is based on a true story. I wanted more. As I read the last line, I knew I wouldn’t be forgetting it anytime soon.
Themes
The invisible life of Addie LaRue explores love, grief, heartbreaks, curses, family, immortality, relationships and pain!
Rating
“Small places make for small lives. And some people are fine with that. They like knowing where to put their feet. But if you only walk in other people’s steps, you cannot make your own way. You cannot leave a mark.”
“You put them on such a pedestal, but humans are brief and pale and so is their love. It is shallow, it does not last. You long for human love, but you are not human, Adeline.”
I absolutely loved this book. It’s a big one so take your time. It’s available on scribd. I definitely will be reading more of V.E.Schwab’s books
You will like this if:
You enjoy historical fiction.
Books that span centuries interest you.
You like a bit of mystery.
Check out quotes from this book here.
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