The invisible life of Addie LaRue

The story:

When Adeline (Addie) LaRue is married off in 1714, she begs everyone for more time. She wants to stay alone and enjoy the world for a while longer, but no one seems to grant her that. When she runs away the night of her wedding and prays to the ancient gods, one answers. Although Adeline had forgotten an important rule in doing so, never pray to the Gods who answer after dark. She strikes a bargain with the God and, as a result, regains her freedom, with eternal life included. Although there is also a price attached to this wish, no one will ever remember her. Addie embarks alone on a journey that spans several centuries and continents. Learning to survive everywhere, Addie sees people she has met disappear into the history books. She herself, however, remains unnoticed, day after day.

The characters:

The main characters in this story are undoubtedly Addie, Henry and Luc. Of course, Addie meets all different people throughout the story and has different adventures with those individuals, but they never remember her. That makes it a very one-sided relationship, so most of the characters don't need a major role in this book either. Things happen for Addie, but the other person will never remember.

Addie is a confident character who has learned to survive the hard way over time. She has had to adapt to all different lifestyles and moments of time and has learned all layers of civilization. She has seen time become more modern and, in the process, old acquaintances disappear into history books. Although it often bothers Addie that she cannot leave a trace of herself anywhere (although she has found some exceptions here and there), she makes the best of her life and loves to explore as much as she can.

Luc is the God with whom Addie made a commitment in 1714. Luc visits Addie once in a while to ask if she is not done with life and he can take her with him. That he can end her life on earth and take her to his home. Luc and Addie have a rather complicated relationship, as Addie takes great pleasure in making things as difficult as possible for Luc. Although a certain kind of love can be detected here and there between the two.

Henry you meet later in the story and from the first moment he turns Addie's life upside down and gradually becomes more and more important in Addie's life. He has stepped in and will never leave. Henry is someone who shows Addie a different side of life, whereas usually Addie was the one who let others live.

My opinion:

This book has really been on my tbr for an incredibly long time and now that I've read it, I wonder why I didn't pick this book up sooner. This story touched me so incredibly and I wish I could read this book again for the first time. The writing style grabbed me right away and I also loved the characters at the center of this book pretty quickly. I thought the concept was really super nicely conceived and expressed in a very nice way.

Here and there I thought the story got off to a somewhat stiff start at times and maybe a bit slow at times, but that completely changed when Henry came into the picture. I also believe it was somewhat necessary to give the reader a little more information about Addie and the life she is now living. I also didn't find it particularly exasperating and for the most part really enjoyed this book immensely.

I would also love to see a sequel with what plans Addie has come up with after this ending. I mean, wouldn't we all want to know. I have come to love Luc too after all. I just so want to know how things are going with Addie, Henry and Luc now. Of course, this ending was really perfect, I didn't see it coming like that, but it was so coolly done.

This whole book is in my heart and will definitely stay there for a long time. This book definitely belongs to the list of the best books I have read in my life. Everything about this I thought was just perfect and I came to love the characters so much. I have taken each and every one of them into my heart as well. So I am definitely going to reread this book again, maybe even more than once.

Conclusion:

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue is an incredibly beautiful and movingly written book for anyone who wants to read a totally different concept of a book. The story is incredibly original and also super well crafted. The characters are to love and as a reader it is hard to say goodbye to them after the last page.

Let's finish with one of my favorite quotes from the book:

"Three words, large enough to tip the world. I remember you."

- V. E. Schwab, The invisible life of Addie LaRue