The invisible life of Addie Larue

Author : V.E.Schwab 

We read a very fine book in our book club this month . It follows the life of a young girl whose ambitions and desires take her life through an unusual path . Adeline( Addie) Larue is born in France country side in 1700s when women are not allowed much freedom . Her parents are simple country folk who live a mundane life . Adeline wishes to live a free life , she wishes to experience a lot of things , anything other than normal mundane stuff . So when she is on the verge of a forced marriage , she prays , she prays to the Gods , desperately to get her out of the situation . One God answers her prayer , but he is darkness himself , a devil, evil , sinister. He grants her wish , but at a price , she will live forever freely but will be forgotten by everyone. Addie struggles to live through this invisible veil , whoever she meets forgets her after the encounter is over . She is chased away by the same person who welcomed her into his/her home in the first place. She is forgotten by her lovers after the night is spent . Her family and friends forget her , without a trace . Like a ghost , she moves places and continents for centuries. Eventually, she learns to bend the curse and use it to her advantage . She makes a mark in the world in her own way . Throughout her long invisible life , she has just one companion , the darkness . But one fine day , her life turns upside down when a man in a bookstore remembers her name , the next day and the day after that . How could it be possible ? Addie is not used to this treatment , to be remembered ,to be acknowledged. Now things have changed with this one human . Will Addie be able to handle it ??

This book is a classic , and we could draw parallels to the Greek mythology , where women were cursed by Gods and lived in exile for long time , like Calypso or Circe . Addie is a very strong woman , it’s been a while that I read a book which has such a strong female lead . It is her journey from being a vulnerable human , who got stabbed by a God , to a Goddess who knows how to play with her powers . As readers , it is impossible not to get attached to Addie and feel sad for her lonely plight . Her initial struggles are heartbreaking .

If there is a flaw in the book , it is that it is too lengthy. It could have been easily a 100 pages shorter . Many authors are very creative with their language of late , so the narrative is very good but not unique .

But the plot is mind blowing and the central characters are exceptional . I thoroughly enjoyed reading this beautiful piece of literature .

Rating: 👍👍👍👍

Buy the book online at