The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab
Synopsis
The year is 1714, and a young woman named Addie makes a deal with a sinister god named Luc, who frees her from the confines of her hometown in France. Addie becomes immortal, but as with any trade with the devil, there are consequences. Although Addie can go anywhere she wants, she is unable to leave a trace of her existence, and no one will remember who she is, not even her family. Unable to put down roots or form lasting relationships, Addie is determined to live a fulfilling existence, especially when her soul is at stake. Throughout the narrative, Luc periodically drops in on Addie to persuade her to yield. Three hundred years later, she is still alive and living in New York City, only still living as a mere shadow. Addie has already lived through wars and met countless numbers of people throughout the centuries without being remembered. That is until she meets a bookseller named Henry who changes Addie’s life. V.E. Schwab’s The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue essentially provides a unique take on immortality with a twist to Faustian themes.
Importance of Storytelling
I tend to love stories that deal with themes of immortality and death. They generally tend to lead to conversations about the importance of storytelling. One of which involves the idea that preserving one’s life means becoming immortalized through books, photography, sculpture, etc. Even Addie is somewhat able to accomplish this through her interactions with various artists throughout the years. It becomes a loophole in her dark deal with Luc, which was initially meant to be impossible. The importance of storytelling is also presented through Addie’s love for books and reading, mainly because no one can ever remember her.
“What she needs are stories. Stories are a way to preserve one’s self. To be remembered. And to forget. Stories come in so many forms: in charcoal, and in song, in paintings, poems, films. And books. Books, she has found, are a way to live a thousand lives -- or to find strength in a very long one.”
The power of words also becomes a force within the novel as the deals people make with Luc are bound by specific language uses. It becomes a way for the dark god to establish limitations that make it easier for him to capture people’s souls. In her interactions with Luc, Addie learns to be wary of the language she uses with him, but she is also aware of Luc’s rhetoric which becomes crucial later on in the story.
Notions of Death
There is no way to have a conversation about immortality without addressing death. Schwab is essentially able to take a complex and challenging subject and make it absolutely beautiful.
“No one is ever ready to die. Even when they think they want to. No one is ready.”
No one is ever ready to face death, and everyone wants more time in the end. While some resist, others more willingly accept their fate, but neither do so without fear of the unknown. I think it is a meaningful discussion to include, given Addie’s immortality and the restrictions placed on her life as a result.
Photo by Chris Buckwald on Unsplash
Final Thoughts
I’m not going to lie, it’s taken me months to finish The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue. I started in March and barely finished at the end of July, but I’m glad I didn’t give up on it. Overall, I just wasn’t very excited to pick it up. A large portion of the novel involves backstory and only begins to gain momentum after Addie meets Henry. Even then, I didn’t find Henry an interesting character, and his relationship with Addie feels forced and not natural. I was more enthralled with the interactions between Luc and Addie, given how complex and intense their dynamic is. Schwab’s writing style is also stunning, with subtle moments of reflection that helped motivate me to continue reading. I will say I’m so glad I persevered through the slower points because the ending did not disappoint!
“They teach you growing up that you are only one thing at a time -- angry, lonely, content -- but he’s never found that to be true. He is a dozen things at once. He is lost and scared and grateful, he is sorry and happy and afraid.”
In the end, what Addie teaches us in her three hundred-plus years of living is that we are everything and nothing all at once. Various versions of ourselves could exist, each waiting to be discovered, even if some never are.
How will you be remembered?