The Invisible Life of Addie Larue

by V.E. Schwab

[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.