Author: V.E.Schwab
Year: 2020
Pages: 541
ISBN: 9781789095586
Genre: Fantasy
Genre: Fantasy
Reading Time: 5 - 21 October
Binding: Waterstones Exclusive Signed HardbackBlurb:
FRANCE, 1714
A desperate woman makes a desperate seal in the dark - a bargain to live forever but be remembered by none.
So begins the invisible life of Addie LaRue, shadow muse to artists throughout history, forgotten friend, confidante and lover, slipping away with the morning light. Addie passes through lives, desperate only to leave a trace of herself. Until the day she walks back into a small bookshop in Manhattan and meets Henry, who remembers her.
After 300 years Addie's life is restarting, but the devil never plays fair. As Henry and Addie's lives start to intertwine, they must face the consequences of the decisions they've made and the prices to be paid.
The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue is a dazzling across centuries and continents, across history and art, about a young woman learning how far she will go to leave her mark on the world.
A desperate woman makes a desperate seal in the dark - a bargain to live forever but be remembered by none.
So begins the invisible life of Addie LaRue, shadow muse to artists throughout history, forgotten friend, confidante and lover, slipping away with the morning light. Addie passes through lives, desperate only to leave a trace of herself. Until the day she walks back into a small bookshop in Manhattan and meets Henry, who remembers her.
After 300 years Addie's life is restarting, but the devil never plays fair. As Henry and Addie's lives start to intertwine, they must face the consequences of the decisions they've made and the prices to be paid.
The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue is a dazzling across centuries and continents, across history and art, about a young woman learning how far she will go to leave her mark on the world.
Review:
What do you do when you see people singing and dancing about a book that hasn't come out yet? What happens when you see a very respected author bringing out a new book that means a lot to them? What do you do when you when you own several of these authors books (multiple copies of some) but have yet to read any of them? You order any special edition you can get a hold of and begin reading it whilst the conversation is hot!
This was a five-star read for me and it's mostly due to the fact that this is such a unique story. I've only seen it half approached in this manner before in The Age of Adaline starring Blake Lively, same name as well which is a wonderful little link. There are a few similarities such as the main character not ageing and experiencing those around her continuing to age thus making it difficult to maintain a relationship. Addie's curse creates an additional difficulty in that she cannot be remembered once she's out of sight. I never really thought of what kind of difficulties this would cause, the inability to hold down a job and thus have no income. Learning to become a thief would truly be the only way to live and it sounds exhausting.
This was a five-star read for me and it's mostly due to the fact that this is such a unique story. I've only seen it half approached in this manner before in The Age of Adaline starring Blake Lively, same name as well which is a wonderful little link. There are a few similarities such as the main character not ageing and experiencing those around her continuing to age thus making it difficult to maintain a relationship. Addie's curse creates an additional difficulty in that she cannot be remembered once she's out of sight. I never really thought of what kind of difficulties this would cause, the inability to hold down a job and thus have no income. Learning to become a thief would truly be the only way to live and it sounds exhausting.
Addie has experienced lifetimes of wonders and horrors through her years but is a lonely route to eternity when no one can remember you. There is the one constant in her life and that is the one that cursed her. His image is conjured from her own mind into a face once desired most. The monster beneath can still be seen lurking in his eyes and it takes many, many years for Addie to truly understand him.
When she meets Henry her world completely changes, he remembers her and that's all she's wanted in years. I admit that there were immediate hints that something was not quite right about him, nothing can be as simple as that. I didn't really read the blurb before going in to this book and I'm surprised at how much is given away.
Thinking back there are things I'd have liked to have been a little different. It was a slow burner but then it does span 300 years of history and I wish the travel spanned more than two continents. Times during the war could have been so much more interesting read about.
I really enjoy the writing, the structure keeps things interesting and the descriptions are a wonderful balance of settings and plot movement. We switch between the present story and Addie's history, often drawing parallels to the story or filling in flashbacks that explain Addie's reactions. I think it's a far more interesting structure than if it had been chronological. We largely experience Addie's point of view but also experience some from Henry. Not enough to become disorienting but enough to explain the emotions behind him. He's important to this story and really helps Addie finally achieve what she wants. It's a beautiful, fluffy yet bittersweet and sad story of love.
There are really important themes in the book. Wanting to be loved and remembered, I think they're such basic human needs that we don't want to talk about. Wanting to be loved has become a more explored idea in psychology over the years. The wish to be remembered is more often explored as a motivation for villains, but I think it's natural to be scared that you won't leave anything behind. We're so small and that's such a strange thing to try and come to terms with.
A lovely story that I didn't really want to end.
