Spoiler-Free Review

This is one of those books that has been on my shelf for a long while, so I finally checked out the audiobook to get ‘er done. If you like stories with dual timelines, interesting time/immortality elements, and deals with the devil, you’ll like The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue.

What’s The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue about?

A young woman makes a deal in 1700s France for freedom and immortality, with the consequence that everyone she meets will forget her as soon as she’s out of sight. In 2014 NYC, for the first time, someone remembers her – and she doesn’t know why.

This is a perfect character-driven story.

Every now and then, something slower and more character-focused hits just right, and this was one of those times.

This was a unique take on the “deal with the devil” concept. Addie asks for freedom, but of course, wording is everything. Instead of just freedom from her impending arranged marriage, Addie is cursed to be forgotten and to live forever, with the caveat that she will give her soul to the devil when she’s sick of living.

The ramifications are immediate. Yes, she’s free from the marriage. But also, her own parents have forgotten her. Her dearest friends don’t recognize her. And now, she can’t even leave a mark on the world. She can’t write, she can’t build anything, she can’t earn money. All she can do is steal to survive.

I hadn’t considered this, but my husband made a great case for an interpretation of this story as an allegory for persevering against depression or suicidal tendencies. Obviously since the devil wants Addie’s soul, he continuously reappears throughout her life to whisper in her ear to “just give up” and give her soul to him. And yet, in the face of unimaginable difficulty, Addie keeps refusing him. Instead, she replies with things like, “I saw an elephant today.” And that can be a powerful statement about how, despite the darkness, there’s still so much life to experience. Survive out of spite, if that’s what it takes.

By the year 2014, Addie LaRue is nearly 300 years old – and she felt like it to me. I think many authors do immortals an injustice by making them seem like they’re still young and immature (one of my biggest qualms with SJM’s books). But Addie never comes across that way. I could feel her world weariness, her realism, but also her humanity. While such a long existence is clearly exhausting for her, she still has an indomitable spirit and strong will.

This story also analyzes the differences between love as generosity and love as possession, and I think it does that well.

The audiobook is narrated by Julia Whelan, and she nails it. She was the perfect choice for this read, and I thought she added a lot of depth, especially since she included a French accent when Addie spoke.

Should you read The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue?

I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys character-driven stories that balance the past and the present. You’ll like it if you enjoy low fantasy, magical realism, and both historical and contemporary settings. It has a dual timeline aspect that adds a lot of intrigue: you get to see both how Addie’s situation came to be in the past, and how she deals with the present. It has a somewhat open ending that I thought was perfect for the story being told; I’ll be interested to see if VE Schwab ever continues it.

This is also very different from A Darker Shade of Magic by the same author. I didn’t like that one at all, but loved this one. I’ll have to try some of her other works to decide which of these two was the unusual one.