Take a photo of a barcode or cover
calarco 's review for:
The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue
by V.E. Schwab
I hate to admit it, but there are very few stories that appeal to me when romance is the central plot. I really don’t know what it is, I do enjoy it when it is a part of a story, but I am typically way less invested when it is the end-all, be-all of a narrative. So, I was genuinely surprised by just how much I enjoyed V.E. Schwab’s [b:The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue|50623864|The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue|V.E. Schwab|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1584633432l/50623864._SY75_.jpg|46895612], and it invoked a great deal of self-reflection on my literary preferences.
In general, I think I don’t enjoy romance as the main focus of stories, because that usually means the main character’s driving goal or sense of self-worth is inevitably linked to their being desired by another individual. In particular, there are so many stories centered on women who feel they do not “win” or have value unless they are chosen by another person, man or woman. With few exceptions, I tend to find this tedious more often than not. So, when I enjoy a love story, it’s for damn good reason.
Schwab subverts the very nature of what a “love story” even is with Addie LaRue. Addie is born in provincial France in the 17th century, and as a young woman she faces the fate of having to marry a man she does not love, or like much for that matter. Desperate to retain her freedom, she makes a deal with a God in the forest to escape this fate. In exchange for her soul, she is granted immortality.
That said, be careful what you wish for, especially if the deal is coming from a shady omnipotent figure who feeds on souls. Each day Addie remains young, but the second she leaves someone’s sight—she vanishes from their memory. Not a soul can remember her, and her very identity is erased from time and space. That is until she meets a boy in present-day New York who does remember her. And this is the least surprising thing that happens in this novel.
This story is simply not what you think it will be. A 300-year-old person who has experienced centuries of tentative relationships (to put it mildly) is both a human with the same wants and needs as anyone else, and an entirely different being altogether. Addie is both of these contradictory things, nothing, and so much more all at the same time. What love even is to her is different than what it would be to a person with a normal lifespan, and the nuanced exploration of this concept is what makes this novel so divine.
I cannot say much more, because the less you know the better, but wow is this a great book. If you want a fun and heartfelt read then give Addie LaRue a chance; her name will be one that is hard to forget when all is said and done.
Rating: 4.5 stars
In general, I think I don’t enjoy romance as the main focus of stories, because that usually means the main character’s driving goal or sense of self-worth is inevitably linked to their being desired by another individual. In particular, there are so many stories centered on women who feel they do not “win” or have value unless they are chosen by another person, man or woman. With few exceptions, I tend to find this tedious more often than not. So, when I enjoy a love story, it’s for damn good reason.
Schwab subverts the very nature of what a “love story” even is with Addie LaRue. Addie is born in provincial France in the 17th century, and as a young woman she faces the fate of having to marry a man she does not love, or like much for that matter. Desperate to retain her freedom, she makes a deal with a God in the forest to escape this fate. In exchange for her soul, she is granted immortality.
That said, be careful what you wish for, especially if the deal is coming from a shady omnipotent figure who feeds on souls. Each day Addie remains young, but the second she leaves someone’s sight—she vanishes from their memory. Not a soul can remember her, and her very identity is erased from time and space. That is until she meets a boy in present-day New York who does remember her. And this is the least surprising thing that happens in this novel.
This story is simply not what you think it will be. A 300-year-old person who has experienced centuries of tentative relationships (to put it mildly) is both a human with the same wants and needs as anyone else, and an entirely different being altogether. Addie is both of these contradictory things, nothing, and so much more all at the same time. What love even is to her is different than what it would be to a person with a normal lifespan, and the nuanced exploration of this concept is what makes this novel so divine.
I cannot say much more, because the less you know the better, but wow is this a great book. If you want a fun and heartfelt read then give Addie LaRue a chance; her name will be one that is hard to forget when all is said and done.
Rating: 4.5 stars