464 pages
English language
Published Dec. 15, 2023 by Doherty Associates, LLC, Tom.
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.
Amazing story with masterful writing. Loved the characters, exploration of difficult or philosophical questions, and was absolutely absorbed in the journey. Beautifully written.
Very nicely written. Good story. A bit fairytale, YA.
Magical!!
"Be careful what you wish for" is a common Faustian moral, but Addie Larue expresses this classic story in beautiful new ways without turning into a mere morality tale. Not content with tricky fae folk, or a deal with the devil at the crossroads at midnight, Schwab's "gods who answer after dark" are a much more subtle and terrifying expression of our own misunderstandings, and her story telling across centuries make for an extremely compelling narrative. This is easily one of the best books I've read in a long, long time, and the ending turns the entire archetype on its head in a way that is absolutely inspiring!
did not like writing style, did not like characters. will confess i skipped ahead and read a significant section of the end bc i wanted to see if it was worth continuing on. decided no.
I'm continuously impressed with V.E. Schwab's ability to write such engaging characters AND engaging worlds! She's quickly becoming my favorite author.
Addie's relationship with Luc is such a better telling of a Beauty and the Beast type tale. You're never quite certain of Luc's motivation, or at least I wasn't ever convinced. I do feel bad for Henry, I was always getting the vibe that he was a pawn in Addie and Luc's game. This tale does make you think a lot about what "love" really is. Would Addie have loved Henry any more if he wasn't the exception to the rules? Did she love him any more than her other lovers over time? Or did she just love that she could tell her tale through Henry more so than she ever could through anyone else?
Can't say how much I loved this book!
There aren't enough words to describe how much I love this book, so I won't even try ❤️
I liked this book at first but pretty soon I grew pretty ambivalent about it and I really disliked the ending. She's staying with him as long as he wants and then she'll leave? That hardly seems like a punishment. Not to mention it just seems so petty in the context of her entire existence. What's-his-name didn't even seem like a good match for her; it really just seemed like she loved that he could remember her, not that she loved him, per se, so I don't even really buy that she was so hurt by that bargain. I'd seen a lot of hype so maybe that's why I was disappointed by this book. If I had no expectations maybe I would've enjoyed it more.
Bit of a slower pace than I prefer, but an excellent plot. The characters and the story kept me coming back for more. I’ll be recommending it to family and friends for sure.
Better than it had to be. Good book that uses a woman's personal story as the history of women writ large. A woman literally makes a Faustian deal for freedom but cannot be remembered or leave any sort sign that she lived her life.
It really brings home the idea that historically - and to this day - women strive for recognition and to leave independent lives.
characters felt kinda one-dimensional and also why didn’t we get to learn more about the why and how of luc’s existence??? i just feel like this book could have done some good progress if the more “supernatural” aspects of the world building were more developed… but anyways not gonna rant about this, i’ve learn my lesson and i’ll stop taking recommendations from booktook, from now on i’ll only listen to the girlies on dark academia tumblr and the old guy from my local bertrand
Reading [a:V. E. Schwab|21785271|V. E. Schwab|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png]'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], which I did in less than a week (rare for me for a book 442 pages long) was nothing but fun, but I don't mean that it was shallow entertainment. The best way to describe its genre is quote a short blurb on the jacket flap and say that it's a "genre-defying tour de force." The fantasy genre might come closest, but I don't gravitate toward that genre, so I'm hesitant to call it that.
Most of takes place in Brooklyn in 2014 and most of the characters are in their twenties, but it would be wrong to describe it as a novel about East Coast millennials. Its origins are in early eighteenth century France.
There is magic to this evening.
A defiant pleasure in a simple act.
Addie spends …
Reading [a:V. E. Schwab|21785271|V. E. Schwab|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png]'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], which I did in less than a week (rare for me for a book 442 pages long) was nothing but fun, but I don't mean that it was shallow entertainment. The best way to describe its genre is quote a short blurb on the jacket flap and say that it's a "genre-defying tour de force." The fantasy genre might come closest, but I don't gravitate toward that genre, so I'm hesitant to call it that.
Most of takes place in Brooklyn in 2014 and most of the characters are in their twenties, but it would be wrong to describe it as a novel about East Coast millennials. Its origins are in early eighteenth century France.
There is magic to this evening.
A defiant pleasure in a simple act.
Addie spends the first hour holding her breath, bracing for catastrophe, but somewhere between the salad and the main course, between the first glass and the second, she exhales. Sitting there, between Henry and Elise, between warmth and laughter, she can almost believe that it is real, that she belongs, a normal girl beside a normal boy at a normal dinner party. She and Bea talk about art, and she and Josh talk about Paris, and she and Elise talk about wine, and Henry's hand finds her knee beneath the table, and it is all so wonderfully simple and warm. She wants to hold the night like a chocolate on her tongue, savor every second before it melts.
Smartly followed premise, a life remembered woven into thoroughly challenging questions about love and morality. If you spend your life trying to spite death, you risk losing your humanity.
I feel like the author was trying to follow the pattern of the classic writers to create a long literary work. However, it ended up being a very long story with tangents that don't contribute much value to the story line or character development. I found that despite the length, main characters are not fully developed emotionally, they lack depth and believability. Also, unlike the classics, this book doesn't provide much social commentary. Its redeeming value is that it does cause a reader to ponder what is the value and the meaning of a life and how one chooses to live it.
The first third of the book is good and engaging. But then it goes even slower and by the second third I was ready to give up. However, I was a bit invested into the story and was bored enough to continue listening; I'm not sure if I …
I feel like the author was trying to follow the pattern of the classic writers to create a long literary work. However, it ended up being a very long story with tangents that don't contribute much value to the story line or character development. I found that despite the length, main characters are not fully developed emotionally, they lack depth and believability. Also, unlike the classics, this book doesn't provide much social commentary. Its redeeming value is that it does cause a reader to ponder what is the value and the meaning of a life and how one chooses to live it.
The first third of the book is good and engaging. But then it goes even slower and by the second third I was ready to give up. However, I was a bit invested into the story and was bored enough to continue listening; I'm not sure if I had continued if I was reading the book.
In many instances, the author uses a multitude of words where one will do. Some scenes repeat with variation of details. Others are alluded to a few times, and only later the full story is told. It can be viewed as a creative expression, but to me, it was overly verbose and unnecessary.
If you like a long long long long and slow journey feel free to dive in. The premise of the book is good, but as many other critical reviews mention, it doesn't live up to the potential offered.
I’m calling it! This is my favorite book of 2021. Maybe even of the 21st century. So beautiful and original.
