The story behind this book is one of my favorites for why I own a book. I was on a work trip in Pittsburgh and I’d decided that my treat for finishing the weekend was going to be walking to a small bookstore near my hotel and buying a book. I walked around the store for a half hour before I picked this up. My mom had just finished it and had good things to say so I figured I might as well. I had an absolutely amazing conversation with the owner when I checked out and also with the employee working the bar (yep, they had a bar that served beer and coffee). I read the first 30 pages or so in the store and thought I’d put it away for another day, but Reading Buddy and I were looking for something to read together so this jumped the line and here we are.
The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab
Other books by Schwab reviewed on this blog:
A Darker Shade of Magic
A Gathering of Shadows
A Conjuring of Light
Shades of Magic (graphic novel)
Summary from Amazon:
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 biggest complaint about this book was that it was just too long. The writing was beautiful and it made it move quickly, but not a lot happened for long stretches of the book. There was a lot of explanation of Addie’s influence in art and culture, but the story was her and Henry. A lot of the rest of it was fun and beautiful, but not part of the plot. I think I would have enjoyed it more if it was a bit shorter.
The character portrayal was wonderful, especially Henry. It’s hard to say how credible I felt Addie was since I’ve never met someone almost immortal before and seen how that affected their long life. I think Henry’s reactions to her and way of dealing with the limitations of her curse was really touching. And everything going on with Henry was very moving as well. He carried the book for me and I was glad when he was introduced and things seemed like they finally kept moving forward.
Luc was such a fun character. I liked how he became more of a central figure as time went on. I’d guessed the reveal in Part 6 (that I’m trying not to spoil) about New Orleans and I had fun watching their interactions play out over time. It’s not often the Devil (if that’s what he is) is a character in a book and I enjoyed seeing how Schwab wrote him.
V.E. Schwab Image via EW
I found Henry the most relatable character. Especially when he talked about feeling lost at Columbia and like his family never made him feel like he’d done enough. I think everyone feels that way at some time, unsure of their future and like they’re failing those around them with everything they try to do. I could feel the motivation in his wishes but I was stills ad for him.
I enjoyed seeing Addie’s influence on art throughout time. I thought it was fun how she always seemed able to pick out great artists in their prime and become a muse. You’d think someone would figure it out before they did! It was a fun touch.
I was a bit disappointed in the ending. Trying to avoid spoilers, I’ll just say I felt it was predictable and it seemed inevitable that something like that was going to happen. It took away some of the suspense for me as we were rushed toward the ending.
Addie wants to leave her mark on the world but can’t. I loved watching how she found her ways to do so. When she found Henry and he could do things for her, I think she realized how much things had changed. Doors opened up that had previously been so closely shut she never imagined she could peek inside again. It was really beautiful to see her able to create again with Henry around.
Writer’s Takeaway: It’s hard to write a book that jumps around in time. Schwab used two timelines that crashed together in the end to build tension. However, I feel like she got so caught up in the world building of the older timeline that it stretched the book to a point of bloat. The modern timeline was the one that mattered to me, even if the old one was interesting and fun. This structure can be so challenging to write and I’ve never attempted something similar. Now I’m wondering if I ever could.
A beautifully written, magical read, but one that dragged for me. Three out of Five Stars.
This book fulfills the 1700-1799 time period of the When Are You Reading? Challenge 2023.
Until next time, write on.
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