“Blink and you’re twenty-eight, and everyone else is now a mile down the road, and you’re still trying to find it, and the irony is hardly lost on you that in wanting to live, to learn, to find yourself, you’ve gotten lost.” – V.E. Schwab, The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue
We are embarking on this journey with an excellent start. The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue is one of my most favorite books of all time, and it is also the book that introduced me to author V.E. Schwab, who has rapidly ascended my list of favorite authors.
At first, when I read this book, I thought I loved it so much because of the writing style. Granted, Schwab is an outstanding writer and I adore all of the books she has written just because of how beautifully she writes, but there was something a little deeper involved. The real reason I connected with this book was because I understood the main character, Addie LaRue. As silly as it seems, Addie feels trapped by the idea that she has only one lifetime to live on this earth. One lifetime may seem long, but it becomes miniscule in the face of everything Addie wants to do with her life, and everything that she wants to be. To be trapped by the limits of time is her greatest fear, and in the book, she manages to work her way out of those bonds, but at a cost. In order to have all of the time in the world, she is cursed to be forgotten by every person she meets. And yet despite this, she is determined to explore every inch of the world she had been granted an all-access pass to. For 300 years, she travels and makes her mark on the world, until she meets someone who finally remembers her.
Henry was tired of being overlooked. He was of people not really truly loving him. So, he struck a bargain. He asks for love in exchange for his soul, and he gets it. His exes ask for him back, the people he knows only see him in a positive light, and he’s offered jobs that he is absolutely unqualified for. Everyone loves him, except for Addie.
He remembers her, and she isn’t immediately compelled to adore him. Thus, their story begins.
Now this is where I provide you with a short playlist of songs that I thought of while I was reading this book. Some have a clear connection, and others are there simply because they felt right. Enjoy!
“What is a person, if not the marks they leave behind?” – V.E. Schwab, The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue