The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab

V.E. Schwab, the author of City of ghosts and Gallant among others, takes her story writing to memorable levels with her adult tale of Addie LaRue, a young woman living in France in 1714. Desperate not to enter a soul-destroying marriage trapped in a small country town, she makes a deal with the Devil – she will live forever, but everyone she meets will forget her. Schwab takes her readers across three centuries and continents as Addie faces many adventures and meets many people, none of whom can remember her name. Her loneliness is devastating. Then in New York Henry, a young bookseller, sees her and remembers her name and she takes desperate measures to remain seen by him.

With Addie’s adventures Schwab delves into history and art. The reader becomes immersed in Addie’s life as she tries to survive on her own, first poverty stricken and later as a muse for artists, but always isolated and lonely. When she meets Henry, she hopes that things will change and their love story resonates on many levels, with hope that this time Addie will not have to repeat the same first meeting over and over again.

This is a very memorable fantasy (Locus Award Nominee, Best Fantasy Novel (2021), Goodreads Choice Award Nominee, Fantasy (2020)) which has been written for an older and more mature audience than her previous books. Readers who enjoyed The Time Traveler’s wife and The night mobile by Audrey Niffenegger may like this as well.

Themes: Fantasy, Devil, Future life, Demons.

Pat Pledger