It's a bit cheeky to call The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue Faust for romantic bisexual goths, but it's not wrong ... Addie and Henry are both bi in a way that feels refreshingly casual for fiction, and other queer characters surround them. Each relationship is unique and beautifully painted ... But I think the most unique and interesting thing about Addie LaRue is its relationship to art. In a very clever touch, the different sections of the book are broken up with works of art and the sort of descriptive text that would accompany them if they were being sold at an auction ... I loved that as Addie LaRue unfurls its final pages, we discover that we've been a part of her story all along without even knowing it.
I don’t want to say this book exemplifies a writer at the top of her game, because anyone who’s read Schwab’s other books knows, she just hits peak after peak. It feels unfair to relegate any of her other masterpieces as a part of an ascent, and I so look forward to her future work already. But Addie does feel like a career triumph. Like an author stretching out, exhaling, expanding, taking the scope to tell a different sort of story. You don’t need to have read Schwab’s other books to enjoy Addie—it’s a great introduction to her work—but the many fans who go into this book with expectations will find them thoroughly met and more. Her propulsive, lyric prose is here, her morally complex, entrancing characters, her unique shape of magic, all wrought within this entirely fresh premise that will no doubt become a long-lasting favorite ... weaves wonderings of art, of influence, of storytelling and legacy and the question of what we are to each other, all within a deliciously haunting queer fairytale ... defies genre, blending romance and history, fantasy and monstrosity, cresting through peaks of time, centered on a young (and also, technically very old) woman with both less and more agency than anyone alive ... romantic, ambitious, and defiantly, deliberately hopeful. Epic and intimate at once, it asks what art is. What it can be, what it saves, what it distorts, what it inspires, and what it can’t capture ... V.E. Schwab is simply one of the most skilled writers working in her genre. This is a clever premise, executed brilliantly. The feat of this book is frankly awe-inspiring. She renders our world so clearly we recognize it, and then fills in the corners, the cracks, so that it feels as if the very air around us brims with her own specific magic, and we might just see it if we know where to look. I am a lifelong New Yorker, and the way she writes my city makes me see it in an entirely new, wondrous light. That’s what she does—she shows us our world, tells us there’s curses and magic written within its very making, that there’s meaning to our myths and our gods, and I believe her ... This book feels timeless.
... it’s rare to encounter a character as stunningly, fiercely written as Addie as she grows and changes over a span of 300 years. She is a high wire act of a character in a high wire act of a story, neither of which—despite the devil’s best efforts—I am likely to forget ... I am pleased to say that much of what has made Schwab’s previous work so successful can also be found in The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue ... the scope of Addie is unlike anything Schwab has written before—epic yet intimate, sweeping but not sprawling ... Because Addie covers so much ground, it can be disappointing when stories are hinted at but never manifest ... But though Addie’s world may be vast, it is depicted with careful attention to detail, like the changes in her vocabulary that subtly signal time’s passage ... has a lot to say about how connection and love are always possible even in the face of isolation, how we inevitably leave our mark in the world and on the people who cross our paths, even in the unlikeliest or most fleeting of circumstances. It is easy to feel that in the absence of traditional, tangible moments of connection, no such connection could exist, no mark can be made. And yet, as an acquaintance advises Addie, 'there are many ways to matter.' If Addie shows anything, it’s that the impact of our actions and interactions can be vaster and longer-lasting than we can predict. Much like the seven freckles that sprinkle Addie’s face, we create our own constellations, and as we live through these darkened days, I feel brighter for having added Addie to mine.
...the latest tour de force from fantasy master V.E. Schwab ... Addie’s earliest days — friendless, sad and solitary — are the hardest to get through, but Schwab’s tantalizing flashes forward and back in time create questions that need answers ... one of the most propulsive, compulsive and captivating novels in recent memory.
Schwab’s writing is warm and intense, and the passages set in the past often make you feel as if you’re reading by candlelight ... The book is an elegant comment on the erasure of women from recorded history, but not a pointed one; you never feel that Addie LaRue is a metaphor.
... isn’t just an amazing book for its genre; it’s an amazing book, full stop. I have no doubt that if she wanted to, V. E. Schwab could write a 784-page coming-of-age doorstop about a young man whose in-the-moment decision to steal a valuable painting shapes the rest of his life, or an epic yet intimate exploration of the intertwined dysfunctions of a troubled Midwestern clan, or a novel of irrepressible grief and longing narrated by more than 150 voices, most of them dead. But those books have already been written. How lucky we are that, instead, Schwab decided to write this one ... doesn’t just traffic in beautiful sentences, though it has those a-plenty ... You can relax into your enjoyment of the story and trust that she knows what she’s doing, because she does. Once it’s finally revealed why Henry remembers Addie when no one else does, the reason makes sense; Schwab is an author who understands the importance of both subverting and satisfying reader expectations ... If you already know Schwab for her previous work, reading this stand-alone will feel both familiar and new; if this is the first novel of hers you’ve read, no context is required. Schwab is an inclusive, ambitious, and exacting writer, and she doesn’t let either her characters or her readers off the hook. You’re in good hands.
The plot may not be original, having been done many times before in various forms, but V. E. Schwab’s version is definitely a unique and inventive derivation. It will be obvious after the first chapter that this is another version of Faust, but it is also a love story, as evidenced by the near-lyrical, sensual descriptions of Luc’s interactions with Addie ... a gender-flip version of Faust, and also a haunting love story that will linger.
... beautiful ... It is to the author’s credit that Addie does reflect on whether or not she truly loves Henry, or if she is just giddy about the fact that he remembers her. But even with these doubts and the darkness constantly lingering at the edges of their story, their love stands true. Both of them must ask themselves how far they would go for the other. What do we sacrifice for the ones we love? What shapes our identity? How do we want to be remembered? Addie LaRue asks these questions in a poignant way, revealing depths to the characters that make them feel real and true to life ... The way Addie’s story unfolds through memory is beautifully executed, much like everything else in the book. And the funny thing about memory is that sometimes you read a book and forget all about it. Sometimes you read a book and it sticks to your insides, rattles around in your brain and won’t let you forget it. The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue is a book that you’ll remember long after the story is over. It is a magical journey to the deepest and darkest places in the heart and it was definitely one of my favorite books of the year ... a gorgeous, haunting tale that is bittersweet and evocative. The lyrical prose paints lush and vivid pictures of life and the way time wreaks havoc on it. It asks deep questions about the nature of humanity, memory, and identity. In a world where standalone fantasy novels are rare creatures, The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue is one of the best standalone fantasy novels that I’ve had the pleasure of reading in recent years. It also stands as Schwab’s best work in her career so far, which is saying a lot coming from me who deeply loves the Shades of Magic series. V.E. Schwab is one of the best fantasy authors of our generation, and this novel only reinforces that fact.
... slower, more methodical and romantic than {Schwab's] previous books, yet still bears her touch of magical realism that has gained her a devoted fan base ... Schwab beautifully explores what it means to be alone for so long that it's jarring and terrifying once you are finally seen. The book's queer representation is also a plus. Although the main romance is between a man and a woman, both of the main characters have had relationships with people of the same sex. This isn’t addressed in a way that feels tokenized but normalizes queerness in opposite-sex couples. ... However, the book has its downsides. The pacing is slow, and it takes a while for the main characters to finally meet. A lot of establishing is done in the first quarter of the book that feels tedious and sometimes forgetful. But once these characters meet, the pace picks up ... At the end of the day, this is a romance that centers on Adeline. I did wish at times that the book would explore more of her relationships with other women and how she used them to survive ... Nevertheless, Addie is still an independent and fascinating character who manages to make her mark in spite of the odds.
This is a character-driven story, focused on Addie and her life through the centuries ... Through these two characters, V.E. Schwab manages to explore nuances of loneliness in human society in a poignant way, re-evaluating what it means to be seen and remembered, and how it affects the way we perceive ourselves and move through life. The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue is a slow story, taking its time to explore the repercussions of events and the impact of small moments on the characters more than most books we tend to review on here. But that doesn’t mean it is any less compelling and dark – you have your looming antagonist, your morally grey characters and your world working against the heroes.
Schwab deftly weaves time and place, flitting between Addie’s frantic past and her grounded present while visiting intermittent July 29ths in between. Narratively, this is a whirlwind—deeply romantic, impossibly detailed, filled with lush language, wry humor, and bitter memories. This often startlingly raw story begs the questions: what is a soul? What does it mean to be remembered? And what prize is worth giving those things up?
Featuring both Addie’s and Henry’s points of view, this story takes readers through centuries of history, as viewed through the eyes and soul of an incredible and indelible heroine ... Schwab returns with another epic story of love and remembrance that probes deep into history while also penetrating profound matters of the heart.
Schwab crafts the tale of one woman’s desperate drive to be remembered into a triumphant exploration of love and loss ... The first half of the book––as Addie learns the limits and loneliness of her curse––is as devastating as it is prescient in these self-isolating times. Which makes Addie’s eventual meeting with Henry, the first person to remember her in some 300 years, all the more joyous. This sweeping fantasy is as much a love story as it is a tribute to storytelling, art, and inspiration. Schwab’s diverse cast is beautifully rendered, and the view of human connection on offer is biting and bitter, yet introspective and sweet. This ambitious and hopeful work is a knockout.
This is the kind of book you stay up all night reading—rich and satisfying and strange and impeccably crafted ... Spanning centuries and continents, this is a darkly romantic and suspenseful tale by a writer at the top of her game.
