The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue

by V.E. Schwab

A Sunday Times-bestselling, award-nominated genre-defying tour-de-force of Faustian bargains, for fans of The Time Traveler's Wife and Life After Life, and The Sudden Appearance of Hope.

When Addie La Rue makes a pact with the devil, she trades her soul for immortality. But there's always a price - the devil takes away her place in the world, cursing her to be forgotten by everyone.

Addie flees her tiny home town in 18th-Century France, beginning a journey that takes her across the world, learning to live a life where no one remembers her and everything she owns is lost and broken. Existing only as a muse for artists throughout history, she learns to fall in love anew every single day.

Her only companion on this journey is her dark devil with hypnotic green eyes, who visits her each year on the anniversary of their deal. Alone in the world, Addie has no choice but to confront him, to understand him, maybe to beat him.

Until one day, in a second hand bookshop in Manhattan, Addie meets someone who remembers her. Suddenly thrust back into a real, normal life, Addie realises she can't escape her fate forever.

• ISBN13: 9781785652509
• Publish Date: 6 October 2020
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: GB
• Imprint: Titan Books Ltd
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 560
• Language: English

Reviews

[Marissa Lupe Author]

You know a story is REALLY good.. when you can't 100% with absolutely certainty say it is just fiction. "The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue", by @veschwab was so true, so vibrant, and so full of life.. that it felt real. Addie sprang from the pages as though we were old friends and she was sitting on the sofa next to me, telling me her story.
Only when I read the acknowledgements, was I brought back into the real world, and submerged in awe at how enjoyable this book was. Highly recommend you pick up a copy!

[Inkslinger]

Nothing quite feeds the soul like a good Faustian bargain tale.

 

I know I'm very late getting to read 'The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue' by V.E. Schwab, but last year was a wild ride and though it remained top of the 'things I want to do' list.. it just didn't happen.  

 

Nonetheless, I'm glad I kept working toward having time for this read.  

 

You know.. it's funny, as a rule.. I'm not a fan of 'historical fiction,' but Schwab doesn't rely on the language of old to set the time period. She creates that through vivid imagery of the world around Addie.. both the visuals of those small towns and big cities.. and the textures of life within them.  

 

Deep down, I think Addie speaks to most of us. Whether we want to admit it or not, we know that path is short.. and often by circumstance, it's more limited in where it might take us than we would want it to be. I understand making hard decisions that lead to deeper struggle in order to step off those given paths and start creating one of your own. I understand the desire for legacy and all the ways one can mean that.

 

Throughout this story, Schwab does a beautiful job of dancing between eras. Shifting the narrative timeline effortlessly, she never loses the reader's interest or leaves you in a position where you need to go back and re-read to understand something. She leads you expertly along, developing every inch of her literary space. From Addie, to Luc and Henry, to Henry's friends and beyond.. the relationships are like the surface of a lake.. rippling ever outward from the core of her tale. All connected, all consistent, all consuming.

 

This was my first V.E. Schwab read, but it most certainly will not be my last. While the book felt dense, every few pages leaving me kind of exhausted.. it wasn't because it was slow. The pacing was perfect actually. There was simply so much emotional content to process, that it really took me to the mat.. so to speak.

 

I'm not sure I fell for the character that I was supposed to, but maybe I'm not alone out here. Addie was lovely in the way she constantly strived for more.. in the way she refused to back down.. and fought for what she wanted. Henry.. oh Henry was indeed a bit of a heartbreaker.. and those of you who have read the story know why. But Luc.. I am most sad and weary over Luc.. is that wrong?

 

Anyway, this beautiful book was worth every moment. It makes me glad I invested in.. oh I don't know.. probably 8-10 copies or so? Gallant.. here I come.

[lyx]

You know the feeling when you open a book, begin to read, and it immediately welcomes you into its world? When a few pages in you are certain that this is gonna be a new favourite of yours, you can already sense the re-read, are already looking forward to revisiting the story? I hope you do. If you're an avid reader I'm sure you know what I'm talking about. Well, this book was that. And so much more. This book reminded me of why I fell in love with reading, and that is perhaps the best compliment a reader can give to a book.

The writing in this is simply beautiful, not in a trying-to-be-pretty but in a resonates-within-your-soul type of way. The story is magical, but grounded, and not fantastical for the most part. It is fantasy, yes, but at its core, it's a story about life, about solitude and loneliness and interpersonal relationships, about what makes our time on this earth worth it, about what keeps us here. It's about hope, and pain, and grief. It is so heart-wrenchingly human. It's a faustian bargain done right. It's a work of art, it's a beacon of light, and I dare you to read it. Now. What are you waiting for?

Also, not necessarily relevant to the plot, but I love LOVE Henry's circle of friends, it's one of the most authentic portrayals of a queer friend group I've seen in a book, and we so f-ing love to see it.

Now while I adore this book, here's my few points of critique.
The last third of the book did get a bit slow at times and could have done with maybe a few pages less? It wasn't that big of a deal to me since I didn't really want it to end, but I get why it would be a bit more of a bother to other people. At a point, I was afraid I wouldn't be content with the ending, especially because I had already accepted it as a favourite, but luckily my worries were for nothing. I wouldn't call it the perfect ending, if there is such a thing, but it was certainly a good one. Some aspects and turns might have been a bit predictable, as it is the nature of these kinds of stories, but there were enough revelations to keep it interesting and keep you hooked. I also would have loved to see a bit more of Robbie and Bea, and maybe a bit more of backstory to Luc - tho maybe mystery is key here, I'm not entirely sure.
It's not their story tho, it's HERS.

Addie. LaRue. She's a great character and so is Henry, I loved them both and found myself and aspects of my own story in both of them, which is always nice.

I don't usually take notes while reading if it's not for class, nor write extensive reviews (or any tbh), but for this book, I couldn't help myself. I have about two pages of more personal notes and things I'll carry with me from this, which truly is the mark of a good book.

[Berls]

Every now and then I finish a book and I find it so spectacular I wish I could share it with everyone. This is one of those books. Sometimes I find myself wishing the book were a movie or a TV show so that I could share it with my husband (a non-reader, sadly). This is not one of those times. As much as I would like to share it with him, making this into a movie would undeniably leave me disappointed. I was too touched by the WAY the story was told and by Julia Whelan's narration to want to see it tarnished by any other medium.

Yes. I loved it that much. (As and aside... This is my 4th read by VE Schwab - I also read the Darker Shade of Magic trilogy and she is officially on my favorite author's/autobuy list now. I will be trying to read everything she's ever written shortly)

I think it hit me in all the right places. First of all, I am a historian deep down (and by training). So when a book drips with so much history - and not historical "facts" but imagined, lived experiences of moments, common people and they every day mixed with the special - it soothes a piece of my soul. This book did that splendidly.

And then there's the way it just makes you FEEL. For a good portion of the book I was just so sad, but in a hopeful way. And then there was the shock, the elation, the nervous happiness, the despair, the crying, the laughing, the hope. It made me feel the full spectrum of emotions. Because when a girl,desperate to escape a life of tedium and obligatory marriage, makes a deal that leaves her more alone than you could possibly imagine, how can you not hurt with and for her? And yet, you hope that the point of this book is to find her happily ever after, all the while remembering this is not a romance novel, but a fantasy and you are guaranteed no such thing.

It was a 17+ hour read (well I listened at 2x like I do most books) and I devoured it in 3 days. I take longer than that to read most 5 hours books. But I found myself sitting on the balcony in the sun to listen. And then again at the end of the day, back out again with a glass of wine to listen. The narration brought me in and the story held me there.

I have gushed so much and yet I realize I've said so little.The characters are few but complex. The story is about life and death and pain and love and art. And you should read it.

I loved this book so much. I loved the story, the characters, the writing. Beautiful from beginning to the very end.

[Molly J(Cover To Cover Cafe)]

Wow! I have never read this author before but I’m so glad I did! It is most definitely a captivating read and will leave you wanting more! Thank you, Bookstagram, for rec’ing Addie Larue! Four stars!

[Witty and Sarcastic Bookclub]

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue is a conglomeration of several ideas: there’s the Faustian concept of selling one’s soul to the Devil, of course. There’s also history told ostensibly as a supernatural tale, very reminiscent of Anne Rice. There’s even the relationship outside of time, which reminded me a little of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (an excellent movie, by the way). The problem is, because there were so many elements from other stories, I was unable to just fully sink into this one.

The elements of Faust were expected. The main character, Addie LaRue, trades her soul to the devil for freedom from obligations (see: forced marriage) and all the time she desires. She will only die and lose her soul when she folds and tell the Devil she’s done with life. The catch – there’s always a catch when the Devil’s involved – is that she won’t be remembered by anyone. Ever. She’ll slip out of sight and immediately out of mind the second a door closes, or a person turns away. She is essentially a ghost. After 300 years, Addie has grown used to it. Until one day she meets a bookseller and he remembers her.

Up until the meeting, Addie’s life is told in terms of her testing her boundaries. She dances in and out of history, seeing but unable to leave a mark. This removed view of different historical times felt a little Anne Rice to me. I happen to love how Anne Rice is able to use her dead characters to bring different times to life (bad pun intended). Unfortunately, as good a writer as Schwab is, her strength is not in this sort of writing. It felt forced and, honestly, did not interest me all that much. There were several descriptions of one-night stands (either physically or emotionally) and they became rather redundant after a while.

More interesting was Addie’s inner dialogue. She was very concerned with leaving her mark and wondering whether a person really exists if no one ever remembers them. The solitary inner dialogue of the book was periodically broken up by visits from the Devil, in which he tried to coerce or scare her into giving up. She comes close, but the man who remembers her changes everything. Enter Henry.
Henry is a bookseller who, instead of forgetting Addie as everyone does, remembers her. I won’t explain the why and spoil it, but it was interesting, though expected. I found his character to be much more interesting and three dimensional. His fear of not experiencing everything which leads to an anxious energy, combined with the feeling of not ever being enough, was something I think everyone relates to in the smaller sense.

Addie and Henry start a relationship, but I feel like she is only attracted to Henry because he remembers her. It has nothing to do with who he is, which bothered me. She is more interested in what he can do for her than in what they can do together. I did like their sense of urgency, neither of them knowing how much time they’ll get together before things come undone. Here is where it felt a little reminiscent of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind: the reader sees what a relationship looks like in snapshots, knowing that it doesn’t last.

The ending was good, if expected. Really, there was no other way for it to end. It got a little schmaltzy, but not to the point that I couldn’t stand it. To be honest, I liked the book, but I didn’t love it. I feel like Schwab does better with ideas that offer a little more freedom to exercise her creativity. Instead of doing a unique twist on the “deal with the devil” idea, her talents might have been better displayed in a different setting. Don’t get me wrong: in no way was the book bad, it just didn’t grab me the way I hoped it would. This would be a good one to read after finishing a doorstop of a novel, or as a breather after reading an emotionally exacting book.

Have you read this book? What did you think?
https://wittyandsarcasticbookclub.home.blog/2020/12/13/the-invisible-life-of-addie-larue/

[empressbrooke]

I really enjoyed VE Schwab's Shades of Magic trilogy, but Addie LaRue is on an entirely different level.

[chrssym]

I’m so stuck on rating this. It was a 4.5/5 star read for me. I didn’t go in with very many expectations but this was exactly what I needed right now.

[writehollydavis]

Wow, just wow. This story was mysterious and hauntingly beautiful. Victoria continues to blow me away with each and every book she writes! Addie LaRue is filled with her signature poetic and refined prose, characters you feel for, and heart breaking stories. This book was everything!!