The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by Victoria Schwab

A Deal with Darkness

We all dream of more time—to live, to love, to leave our mark on the world. But what if that dream became an eternity, and the price was to be forgotten by everyone you meet? Such is the Faustian bargain at the heart of V.E. Schwab’s enchanting novel “The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue.”

In 18th century France, facing an unwanted marriage, the spirited Addie LaRue makes a desperate prayer to the gods of the forest as night falls. A shadowy figure answers, granting her wish for freedom and time—but at a terrible cost. Addie will live forever, but she will be forgotten by everyone she meets. No one will remember her name or face. She cannot leave a mark or lasting trace on the world.

Thus begins Addie’s extraordinary 300-year journey across history, a bittersweet odyssey of love, art, and the struggle to make a life that matters when you cannot be remembered. Schwab has crafted a spellbinding tale that spans centuries yet feels achingly intimate, grappling with timeless questions of memory, legacy, and what it truly means to live.

A Tapestry of Time

The novel weaves between two timelines—Addie’s centuries-long past, and her present in 2014 New York City. We follow her from 18th-century France through revolutions and world wars, watching her learn to navigate a world where she’s instantly forgotten. She cannot keep possessions, have a job, or form lasting relationships. Her only constant companion is the devilish Luc, the dark god who granted her wish, appearing each year on her “deal-iversary” to tempt her to give up her soul.

Their cat-and-mouse game across the ages forms the backbone of the story, with Luc as both tormentor and twisted source of continuity. Henry, the boy in the bookstore who miraculously remembers Addie, doesn’t appear until nearly halfway through. This pacing allows us to fully inhabit Addie’s lonely immortal existence before hope arrives.

Schwab excels at bringing each era to life with vivid details, from the squalor of revolutionary Paris to the glittering salons of Belle Époque artists. Addie’s journey through history feels organic, her perspective shifting as she accumulates wisdom and heartbreak in equal measure. The non-linear structure keeps us off-balance in a good way, mirroring Addie’s timeless perspective.

The Art of Being Remembered

At its core, this is a story about art, memory, and legacy. Unable to create directly, Addie finds ways to inspire artists, becoming a hidden muse across centuries. Her freckles appear in Renaissance paintings. Her stories become the seeds of novels and songs. She leaves her mark in secret, fighting to be remembered in some small way.

Schwab weaves this theme through every aspect of the story. Each section opens with a work of art inspired by Addie—paintings, sculptures, photographs. We see how ideas ripple outward in ways their creators never know, how art becomes a form of immortality. It’s a love letter to creativity and those who inspire it from the shadows.

The prose itself is fittingly lyrical and image-rich. Schwab has a gift for evocative metaphors that linger in the mind:

“Memories are stiff, but thoughts are freer things. They throw out roots, they spread and tangle, and come untethered from their source. They are clever, and stubborn, and perhaps—perhaps—they are in reach.“

A Cursed Existence

Addie’s immortal life is as much curse as gift. She cannot form lasting bonds. She watches loved ones age and die while she remains unchanging. There’s a visceral loneliness to her existence that Schwab captures beautifully.

We feel Addie’s pain as she’s forgotten again and again, forced to introduce herself anew each day. There’s a particularly gutting scene where she returns to her hometown decades later, only to find her own parents don’t recognize her. The small cruelties of her curse are often the most affecting—she cannot even sign her name or be photographed.

Yet Addie endures. She finds joy in small moments, in art and music and the beauty of the world. Her resilience in the face of crushing loneliness is inspiring. As she tells Henry:

“It is sad, of course, to forget. But it is a lonely thing, to be forgotten. To remember when no one else does.”

Love in the Time of Forgetting

When Henry appears—the first person to remember Addie in 300 years—it seems her lonely curse might finally be broken. Their romance blossoms with the giddy joy of new love and the desperation of found connection.

But Henry harbors his own dark bargain. The bittersweet nature of their relationship—Henry remembering while everyone else forgets—creates interesting tensions. Can you truly know someone in the space of days? Is a fleeting connection worth the inevitable heartbreak?

Schwab resists easy answers. The love story is touching but complicated, raising questions about the nature of memory and intimacy. It’s refreshing to see a YA-adjacent novel tackle romance with such nuance.

A Faustian Fable for Our Times

While set across history, Addie’s story feels remarkably relevant to our social media age. In a world of fleeting viral fame and digital footprints, her struggle to be remembered resonates. The book grapples with very modern questions: How do we make our mark in a noisy world? What parts of ourselves do we curate for others? What does it mean to truly know someone?

Addie’s immortality also allows Schwab to explore how societal attitudes shift over time. We see changing views on women’s autonomy, on queerness, on art. Addie herself evolves in her understanding of gender and sexuality across the centuries. It’s a deft way of examining social progress through a personal lens.

The Good:

• Lyrical, evocative prose
• Cleverly structured plot spanning centuries
• Nuanced exploration of art, memory, and legacy
• Complex, flawed, but deeply sympathetic protagonist
• Avoids YA romance clichés for something more bittersweet

The Not-So-Good:

• Pacing lags slightly in the middle
• Some plot threads left unresolved
• Henry’s character feels less developed than Addie’s

A Story to Remember

“The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue” is a rare gem of a novel—epic in scope yet deeply intimate, tackling big ideas through the lens of one unforgettable character. Schwab has created a modern fable that will linger in readers’ minds long after the final page.

Like the art Addie inspires across centuries, this is a story about the power of ideas to transcend their creator. It’s about the small ways we touch others’ lives, often without realizing. It’s about resilience in the face of crushing loneliness, and finding beauty in fleeting moments.

Most of all, it’s a reminder that to live is to leave a mark, however small. In Addie’s words:

“Books, she has found, are a way to live a thousand lives—or to find strength in a very long one.”

Schwab has given us one of those rare books that becomes a part of you, changing how you see the world. Addie’s story will stay with you, like a half-remembered dream or a snippet of melody just out of reach. And isn’t that the truest mark of great art?

For Fans Of…

If you enjoyed “The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue,” you might also like:

• “The Time Traveler’s Wife” by Audrey Niffenegger – Another genre-bending love story that plays with time and memory.
• “The Night Circus” by Erin Morgenstern – For more lushly written historical fantasy with a dash of romance.
• “Life After Life” by Kate Atkinson – A different take on reliving history through one woman’s many lives.
• “The Starless Sea” by Erin Morgenstern – Another love letter to storytelling with intricate worldbuilding.

About the Author

V.E. Schwab (also published as Victoria Schwab) is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of more than twenty books, including the acclaimed Shades of Magic series, the Villains series, the Cassidy Blake series, and more. Her work has received critical acclaim, been translated into over two dozen languages, and adapted for television and film. When she’s not haunting Paris streets or trudging up English hillsides, she lives in Edinburgh, Scotland, and is usually tucked in the corner of a coffee shop, dreaming up monsters.

Other notable works by Schwab include:

• The Shades of Magic trilogy
• Vicious and Vengeful (Villains series)
• This Savage Song and Our Dark Duet (Monsters of Verity duology)

Final Verdict

“The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue” is a masterful blend of historical fiction, fantasy, and philosophical musing that will appeal to a wide range of readers. Schwab’s gorgeous prose and intricate plotting create a world you’ll want to get lost in.

While the pacing occasionally lags and some plot threads are left dangling, these are minor quibbles in an otherwise extraordinary novel. Addie’s journey through history is by turns heartbreaking and inspiring, a testament to the human spirit’s resilience and our deep need for connection.

This is a book that will make you think, feel, and perhaps see the world a little differently. It’s a story about stories, about the power of art and memory to shape our lives. In short, it’s unforgettable.