Title: THE INVISIBLE LIFE OF ADDIE LARUE
Author: V.E. Schwab
My Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 all the stars!
Book Description:
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 musings:
Five star reviews are the hardest to write, because
how could I possibly do a book justice which touched my heart on all levels and
totally captivated me from beginning to end? These types of stories don’t come
around very often, and I am eternally grateful for my book buddies who talked
me into this one. “Magical realism isn’t really my thing”, I can still hear
myself say. And hear the devil laugh. Which is a bit of poetic justice because
this is a book about a pact with the devil. “A pact with the devil?” I hear you
say, and yes, I get it, because I thought it would be a bit strange as well.
But wow, what a wonderful read this book turned out to be!
Meet Adeline (Addie) LaRue, a young
girl living in the 18th century who is being forced by her parents
into a marriage with a boy from the
village. In a desperate plea to escape this fate worse than death, Addie makes
a deal with the devil. But her wish for freedom will have unforseen
consequences, because the devil is clever and cunning and you should be careful
what you wish for. Because now Addie may have her freedom, but she is also
unable to leave a mark on the world, and everyone who sees her will instantly
forget her again. Across the ages, a beautiful young woman called Addie LaRue
will remain a shadow, flitting in and out of people’s lives, of history, but
never leave as much as a footprint behind. Until in 2014, she meets a young man
called Henry in a bookstore, and he remembers her name ...
Playing out in parallel timelines
exploring both Addie’s life in the past as well as the present, the book
explores what it means to be human. There are so many themes in this story to
be discussed and explored that this would make for the perfect group read. I was
lucky to read it as part of a buddy read and we brought up some of life’s
essential themes: what is more important, to live a good life or to leave a
mark when you’re gone? How important are human relationships in our life, and
can we live a life free of attachment and be happy and fulfilled? At what
points in your life have you been so desperate that you would have happily made
a deal with the devil to get you out of a situation? I could go on and on
because there was just so much to talk about.
But let’s forget about meaning and
just talk about the sheer entertainment value of the book. It had a bit of
everything: some historical fiction, adventure, a strong female lead, a bit of
romance, a villain you still can’t help but root for, and some truly painful
moral dilemmas. I was utterly consumed by the story and couldn’t tear myself
away. Let me also mention that the audio narration was fantastic and well worth
the 15 hours of listening.
To
cut a long story short, THE INVISIBLE LIFE OF ADDIE LARUE has earned
itself a spot on my all-time favourites shelf. It had everything I look for in
a book and totally swept me away in its fantasy world. My words will never do
it justice, so go and see for yourself how brilliant this book really is!
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