The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue
Author: V.E Schwab
Genre: Adult Fantasy
Rating: 5 / 5 stars
I went into The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue with extremely high expectations based on the thousands of raving reviews it received and keeps receiving up to this very day and now I’m so happy to say that it did not only meet the hype but absolutely exceeded it. My mind is blown by how beautifully written this book was. V.E Schwab has created a tale which completely swipes you off your feet and gets you to experience her magical world.
I do not want to belong to anyone but myself. I want to be free. Free to live, and to find my own way, to love, or to be alone, but at least it is my choice, and I am so tired of not having choices, so scared of the years rushing past beneath my feet. I do not want to die as I’ve lived, which is no life at all.
This is a story about longing, loneliness and dreams. A story where we get to travel through time along the main character as she struggles to live a rather complicated life. Her journey starts in Villon, France in 1714. Being born in a small village, Addie’s everyday life is rather ordinary and dull but that does not stop her from dreaming of just being… free. Until one day she is forced into marriage to a man she doesn’t love. In her attempts to escape the harsh destiny, Addie starts praying to the Gods. Her prayers go unanswered and minutes turn into hours until darkness gathers around to answers her desperate calls. The man in front of her is no God but the devil himself. He offers Adeline a way out, a sought-after opportunity to be finally free in exchange for her soul. Having no other choice, Addie accepts his deal. However, making bargains with the devil always comes with a cost and soon after she will discover the foolish mistake she has made. Yes, Adeline will live forever but in exchange for that no one will remember her. No one but the darkness himself.
We follow her hardships and struggles while she is battling the curse. We see her own family rejecting her as if she were a stranger. Her friends looking at her with distrust and suspicion. Her lovers not remembering her in the morning. Her harsh reality of making a deal with the devil. However, Adeline is determined and will not wield to the darkness. No matter how hard it gets, she will not surrender and give the satisfaction of victory to the one who cursed her. This goes on and on for centuries, the two of them playing the game of cat and mouse while we witness some of the most important events in history unfolding- the French Revolution, the First World War, etc.
Until one day she meets a boy. And the boy tells her the three words she longed to hear for over 300 years:
I remember you.
Henry Strauss. A boy who works in a NYC bookstore. A boy who looks at her as if she is real and not just a ghost. A boy who remembers. But why? But how? The story continues for a couple of chapters from Henry’s perspective. We learn about his life and his internal struggles to live while there is a raging storm in his mind. We learn about what makes him the exception to the rule. Why he is the only one to remember. And that’s exactly the moment my heart shattered into million pieces.
I need you to remember.
The ending is something which I saw the moment Henry walked into the scene. It was inevitable but that did not make it hurt any less. V.E Schwab managed to write it in such a moving way that will forever haunt me.
Here are some last words- every single element was so well thought off that at the end I started to question what is real and what is fiction. The characters were perfectly crafted that you get to experience every single emotion together with them. And finally- the writing. I don’t remember the last time I’ve read something so beautifully written. V.E Schwab and Addie LaRue have definitely left their mark on me and one thing is for sure – I will remember this story for a very long time.
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