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A review by pictvresque
The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab
5.0
First of all, I gave this five stars and the last time it happened was about 25 books ago, and even comparing to that book Addie LaRue deserves 7 stars. But goodreads won't let me do that so here we are
Below is just a copypasted essay I wrote for my english class to make up for missed attendance points because my teacher is great and lets us just write a review to get extra points and doing that is my second nature. (It has minor spoilers)
I found out about this novel the same way I usually find new books to read: from a post on Instagram. When I’d read the quotes, I immediately felt the urge read it, but I also immediately realized it wasn’t going to be a happy book. At a time (three or four months ago) I was not in a mood for books without a happy ending. But I kept seeing and hearing the mentions of this book, including the news about some studio buying the rights to create a movie adaptation, so, in the end, I gave in.
This story follows Addie LaRue, young woman born in a small French village in 1691 and who for the next three hundred and twenty-three years leads the “invisible” life. She is cursed, and because of that is not able to die, but also not able to leave a mark in history. She can’t write, can’t draw, her footprints disappear, the things she breaks piece back together, she can’t start a fire. She can’t even say her own name. But most of all, she can’t be remembered by anyone, because the moment she is out of person’s sight, they forget her, as if she was never there. Addie lives like that for three centuries until she meets Henry — someone who does remember her.
What I loved about this book the most is how everything happens for a reason. Henry being able to remember Addie isn’t just a glitch in the matrix, as there is a perfect explanation for that. I love how there is a reason why they fall in love with each other. It is not just chemistry or blind fate, like it happens in many romance books. They fall in love because Addie sees Henry for who he really is and because Henry remembers her, because he helps her find ways to be remembered by the world.
The story itself is filled with loneliness and sadness, which made it hard to read in one sitting. It’s impossible not to feel the despair and hopelessness while reading Addie’s and Henry’s stories. Both of them are lonely, yet the loneliness each of the feels is different. Addie is tired of being forgotten, she misses human connection, aches for it. Henry failed to find his place in his life, and wants to belong, wants to be enough. Both of them have this intense longing to be seen, to be loved. And they find that in each other, even if not for a long time.
One of the details, I particularly enjoyed, was the fact that Addie does indeed behave as a person who lived for centuries. Quite often in books, characters who are impossibly old, yet look young act like their personality stopped aging with their bodies. But not Addie. Her thoughts, her emotions, her actions — all of this show how wise she is. Her decisions show that she is much older than twenty-three, even if she still looks that way. Especially in the end, the way she talks about love versus obsession, about souls, about art remind you that she lived longer than any other human being. And when she wonders if she’s still human after all this time, makes the story even more real.
I did not expect this novel to affect me this much, to be as good as it was. I would add it to the list of my favorite books, but I love to reread my favorite novels, and I’m not sure I’ll be able to go through this constant hopelessness again. But maybe I will return to Addie and Henry, when the movie is out.
The ending was indeed sad, just as I knew it would be, but I wouldn’t have it any other way, because just as everything in this story it made sense. Any other conclusion to this story was not possible.
Below is just a copypasted essay I wrote for my english class to make up for missed attendance points because my teacher is great and lets us just write a review to get extra points and doing that is my second nature. (It has minor spoilers)
I found out about this novel the same way I usually find new books to read: from a post on Instagram. When I’d read the quotes, I immediately felt the urge read it, but I also immediately realized it wasn’t going to be a happy book. At a time (three or four months ago) I was not in a mood for books without a happy ending. But I kept seeing and hearing the mentions of this book, including the news about some studio buying the rights to create a movie adaptation, so, in the end, I gave in.
This story follows Addie LaRue, young woman born in a small French village in 1691 and who for the next three hundred and twenty-three years leads the “invisible” life. She is cursed, and because of that is not able to die, but also not able to leave a mark in history. She can’t write, can’t draw, her footprints disappear, the things she breaks piece back together, she can’t start a fire. She can’t even say her own name. But most of all, she can’t be remembered by anyone, because the moment she is out of person’s sight, they forget her, as if she was never there. Addie lives like that for three centuries until she meets Henry — someone who does remember her.
What I loved about this book the most is how everything happens for a reason. Henry being able to remember Addie isn’t just a glitch in the matrix, as there is a perfect explanation for that. I love how there is a reason why they fall in love with each other. It is not just chemistry or blind fate, like it happens in many romance books. They fall in love because Addie sees Henry for who he really is and because Henry remembers her, because he helps her find ways to be remembered by the world.
The story itself is filled with loneliness and sadness, which made it hard to read in one sitting. It’s impossible not to feel the despair and hopelessness while reading Addie’s and Henry’s stories. Both of them are lonely, yet the loneliness each of the feels is different. Addie is tired of being forgotten, she misses human connection, aches for it. Henry failed to find his place in his life, and wants to belong, wants to be enough. Both of them have this intense longing to be seen, to be loved. And they find that in each other, even if not for a long time.
One of the details, I particularly enjoyed, was the fact that Addie does indeed behave as a person who lived for centuries. Quite often in books, characters who are impossibly old, yet look young act like their personality stopped aging with their bodies. But not Addie. Her thoughts, her emotions, her actions — all of this show how wise she is. Her decisions show that she is much older than twenty-three, even if she still looks that way. Especially in the end, the way she talks about love versus obsession, about souls, about art remind you that she lived longer than any other human being. And when she wonders if she’s still human after all this time, makes the story even more real.
I did not expect this novel to affect me this much, to be as good as it was. I would add it to the list of my favorite books, but I love to reread my favorite novels, and I’m not sure I’ll be able to go through this constant hopelessness again. But maybe I will return to Addie and Henry, when the movie is out.
The ending was indeed sad, just as I knew it would be, but I wouldn’t have it any other way, because just as everything in this story it made sense. Any other conclusion to this story was not possible.