In 1714, young Adeline (Addie) LaRue makes a pact with a dark god to live a life greater than her destiny in a provincial French town. She gains, with her new freedom, a lack of identity. People cannot remember Addie for a long period of time, certainly if they lose sight of her for over a minute. This allows Addie to travel and thieve her way across geography and time. But it’s a lonely life having someone you’re attracted to forget you in the morning. Adjusting to her situation, she exists through history without living in it, until one day she meets someone who remembers her.
The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue is written by author V. E. Schwab who also wrote The Darker Shade of Magic trilogy and Vicious/Vengeful duology. Both sets of novels are high marks in the realm of modern fantasy and science fiction. Ms. Schwab is talented, and any of her novels receive instant notice. A standalone like Addie is no exception.
This novel has such an inspired premise that could explore so many different themes: how women have been overlooked over time, how much identity plays a role in loneliness, the entire question of what it means to be mortal and what it means to be a god. Plot-wise, the novel could have delved into historical fiction, or leaned more to the fantastic. While all those elements exist (e.g. the rules around Addie’s freedom are a pleasure to discover, which is something at the heart of an urban fantasy), this story is mostly about how women deal with anonymity both in the past and now—a worthy theme.
Again, the premise is entertaining. Some have criticized Schwab’s style as she departs from more conventional prose to a lyrical way of relating the story. For this reviewer, it works and puts the reader in Addie’s head, allowing said reader to not only know all her strengths and foibles, but feel them as well. The historical fiction element of the story is well-researched, bringing to life such things as the French Revolution. The supporting characters serve their purpose, with two of them having more substance than the rest. Many readers will likely get lost in Schwab’s voice as they live life through Addie’s eyes.
However, in Schwab’s list of novels, this novel is my least favorite and one I will never return to. The anonymous theme supports a rather drab plot for many pages. This is a great 275 page, possibly 300 page novel, but theme and idea cannot support the 442 pages. I found the narrative dragging, not advancing to the back jacket’s description for over 100 pages. Why? Too much back story, too much description of how Addie survived and thrived through history. The interesting story line is in the present, but too little time is given to that thread and too much to the past. To make it worse, Schwab decides to delve into the past of a secondary character halfway through the book, repeating the issue at the start. So many passages could have been cut without harming the theme or plot. Addie, to me, is a clear case of an author falling in love with their material too much, and an editor allowing the author to do so to sell a larger book.
Another twist at the end between Addie and a powerful character also didn’t ring true to this reviewer. While she redeemed it, it seemed like an unnecessary plot element and uncharacteristic of Addie. For once, I was upset at her. I understand Schwab’s decision to include the plot device, but again thought it would have been a better choice to have cut it.
This book didn’t hook me at the beginning. I started enjoying it about 150 pages in, but then had to push through another backstory. But the end can make or break a plot. Schwab masterfully sets up impossible odds, proving once again how talented she is. And yes, she pulls off an ending that is both plausible and pleasurable.
I believe many will find The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue a delightful read, but between a slow start, an unnecessary backstory to a minor character, and a twist that didn’t work, I find this one hard to recommend.