Hardcover, 448 pages
Published Oct. 5, 2021 by Tor Books.
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 ❤️
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.
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’m calling it! This is my favorite book of 2021. Maybe even of the 21st century. So beautiful and original.
am i going to get back the four months it has taken me to finish this book?
yeah, thought so.
very long intricate book about Addie LaRue, who makes a deal with Luc (the devil?) so she can escape an arranged marriage in the early 1700s. In exchange for her soul at some time in the future, Addie become forgettable. No, I mean really well and truly forgettable - as soon as she is out of sight of a person, she is completely forgotten. And also, she is immortal.
So the story follows Addie into the present, with many flashbacks and flash forwards. Luc periodically shows up to ask for her soul, but she refuses to give in.
A very interesting conceit, pretty well pulled off. It is kind of funny how she gets by. Even going to sleep will make some forget her, so she gets the "who are you?" treatment from the morning after quite often.
So I liked it but thought it went on extra long. Probably …
very long intricate book about Addie LaRue, who makes a deal with Luc (the devil?) so she can escape an arranged marriage in the early 1700s. In exchange for her soul at some time in the future, Addie become forgettable. No, I mean really well and truly forgettable - as soon as she is out of sight of a person, she is completely forgotten. And also, she is immortal.
So the story follows Addie into the present, with many flashbacks and flash forwards. Luc periodically shows up to ask for her soul, but she refuses to give in.
A very interesting conceit, pretty well pulled off. It is kind of funny how she gets by. Even going to sleep will make some forget her, so she gets the "who are you?" treatment from the morning after quite often.
So I liked it but thought it went on extra long. Probably could have done with far fewer vignettes of her life across the centuries. It was well written, with some pretty turns of phrases. Addie herself was a dynamic starring character, although I still really have no idea who "Luc" is and what he finds in Addie.
Couldn't put it down (or in this case, stop listening). I'm a sucker for a book that follows a character through their life. Without too many spoilers, this isn't exactly that, but has the same feel of watching a character grow and develop over a long period of time. I'm not sure if I liked the ending, but I didn't hate it and it didn't make me love the book any less.
I also recommend the Audible audio book, the reader is fantastic.
