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The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab
Genre: Fantasy | My Review Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥
444 Pages | Published: October 6, 2020 by Tor Books
Book Jacket Synopsis
A Life No One Will Remember. A Story You Will Never Forget.
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.
Favorite Quotes
- What is a person, if not the marks they leave behind? p.1
- A story is an idea, wild as a weed, springing up wherever it is planted. p.440
- You have to let them see you as you are. You have to find people who see you. p.429
Review & Thoughts
Themes, Elements & Review Notes:
What would you do if you knew you would live forever? How would you survive knowing that you would never make a mark or be remembered? On the flip side, what would you do and want to experience if you knew that your days were numbered, down to your last moment?
This was an incredible novel! It had a strong emotional connection to the human existential crisis that comes with being human and knowing that we will all die one day. There was thought-provoking consideration of the importance of one’s life if they are not able to make a mark on the world and on the lives of those they touch. This novel stressed the importance of words and ideas and the importance of stories in our lives. Can you find meaning in life without lasting human connection?
Fun Fact: This book brought on a bought of ugly tears about 90% of the way through.
This was my first book read by this author but it certainly won’t be the last. This is my winner for January book of the month and most certainly will be a book of the year contender.
In a Nutshell: This book 100% lived up to the hype for me, it was fantastic! Beautifully written, thoughtful, intriguing, and emotionally jarring.
Book Format & Source: Hardback purchased from Book of the Month
About V.E. Schwab
From the Author’s Amazon page: V.E. Schwab, also known as Victoria Schwab, is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of more than a dozen books, including the acclaimed Shades of Magic series, This Savage Song, Our Dark Duet, and Vicious. Her work has received critical acclaim, has been featured in the New York Times, Entertainment Weekly, Washington Post, and more, has been translated into more than a dozen languages, and has been optioned for television and film. When she’s not haunting Paris streets or trudging up English hillsides, she lives in Nashville and is usually tucked in the corner of a coffee shop, dreaming up monsters.
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