Reviews with content warning for Misogyny - The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue

Reviews tagging 'Misogyny'

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab

88 reviews

stwriter92's review

emotional hopeful mysterious sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This book broke my heart in such an amazing way. I have adored everything I have ready by V.E. Schwab and this was no exception. She has such a fantastic way with words and has a knack for always finding the exact right one. I don't know how she does it, but there it is!

The book itself centers on the eponymous Addie (Adeline) LaRue. Her story begins in eighteenth century France, where she lives in the small village of Villon with her parents. She grows up wild, unruly, and untamable. While this is seen as tolerable when she is a child, it quickly becomes less so when she grows into a young woman. To escape what she sees as a horrible fate of being forced into marriage and then buried in the same ten meter plot as the rest of her village, she turns to the heathen gods, begging for an escape. However, she forgets that one must never pray to the gods that listen at night. One swoops down and gleefully grants her freedom in return for her soul. However, there is a caveat. Addie LaRue will be forgotten by everyone, thus severing any and all bonds that might tie her down to one particular place. She will leave no mark and will not even be able to say her own name. That privilege will remain with the god that granted her her cursed freedom. However, three hundred years later, she stumbles upon a young man, Henry, who can remember her. Thus, the game between her and the devil grows new and terrible dimensions as she fights to keep her love and regain true freedom.

The story itself is so unique. I don't think I've ever really heard of a story like this one before. Of course there have been stories told about deals made with devils and trickster gods and monkey's paws for centuries. This was one iteration of that old story that I have not heard before, which was incredibly refreshing. I felt completely immersed throughout the entire story and found myself physically reacting to the events of the book. This story gave me hope for humanity, which is incredibly hard to come by. In all her years of loneliness, Addie never once gave up hope. She came to love humans, while Luc only saw them as playthings to be tossed at a whim. She saw that human beings are messy but redeemable. In her three hundred years, she did not become jaded. She learned, yes. She went through hardships and saw wars begin and end, empires rise and fall, kings come to power and die in rags. Instead of seeing humanity as a transient thing, to be watched from a distance in a bored manner, she sees something worth saving and loving. When Luc asks her what she sees in Henry and humanity in general and she responds, "You see only flaws and faults, weaknesses to be exploited. But humans are messy, Luc. That is the wonder of them. They live and love and make mistakes, and they feel so much. And maybe--maybe I am no longer one of them" (Part 6 Chapter 13, p. 407). In all her years, she has not grown bitter and hateful.

Even the ending,

while heartbreaking, still kept a kernel of hope alive. While she might never be able to see Henry again, she still has a plan to get out from under Luc's thumb. I think that was what I loved so much about her. There is not a single moment in which she loses all hope and gives into Luc and his demands. The book ends on an open note and we are left to wonder whether or not she will finally get out from under Luc's control and power. This ends much in the same way that Henry's novel under the same name ends. It's not a true ending because we will never truly know. I think that's how I ended the book. A goodbye, but a goodbye as described in the book. "Not a period, but an ellipsis, a statement trailing off, until someone is there to pick it up. It is a door left open. It is drifting off to sleep" (Part 6 Chapter 16, p. 419).

Some Quotes I Loved:

"What is a person, if not the marks they leave behind?" (Part 1 Chapter 1, p. 15)
"March is such a fickle month. It is the seam between winter and spring--though seam suggests an even hem, and March is more like a rough line of stitches sewn by an unsteady hand, swinging wildly between January gusts and June greens. You don't know what you'll find, until you step outside" (Part 1 Chapter 2, p. 20).
"Stories are a way to preserve one's self. to be remembered. And to forget. Stories come in so many forms: in charcoal, and in song, in paintings, poems, films. And books. Books, she has found, are a way to live a thousand lives--or to find strength in a very long one" (Part 1 Chapter 7, p. 35).
"Day breaks like an egg yolk, spilling yellow light across the field" (Part 1 Chapter 8, p. 40).
"The day passes like a sentence. The sun falls like a scythe" (Part 1 Chapter 8, p. 41).
"Every day is amber, and she is the fly trapped inside. No way to think in days or weeks when she lives in moments. Time begins to lose its meaning--and yet, she has not lost track of time" (Part 2 Chapter 4, p. 114)
"But this is how you walk tot he end of the world. This is how you live forever. Here is one day, and here is the next, and you take what you can, savor every stolen second, cling to every moment until it's gone" (Part 3 Chapter 8, p. 202)
"Belief is a bit like gravity. Enough people believe a thing, and it becomes as solid and real as the ground beneath your feet. But when you're the only one holding on to an idea, a memory, a girl, it's hard to keep it from floating away" (Part 7 Chapter 2, p. 437)

Content Warnings

nightfell's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

The storytelling of The Invisible Life of Addie Larue is so rich and engrossing, and is the main draw of the book for me. The concept of Addie having immortality but being forgotten is an interesting concept, and I think the author partially developed this idea, however I just wish it had more emotion. There were definitely times when I felt her sadness and joy but it all felt like the author wrote the book, and turned down the emotional intensity. It was referenced multiple times throughout the book that Addie had gone mad during her very long life and I would have loved to see flashback chapters showing that, I would have loved to see her screaming and crying and yelling and breaking stuff and just showing the emotions which I felt warranted the situation, however she didn't have many reactions to anything, which really limited the depth the book could have had. There were times when she reacted, and thought events over ect however it all just felt very detached from the situation. I know this is because in the present day chapters everything happened centuries ago for her, and that may be why, but in the flashback chapters It felt muted where it could have been more emotional. The story really had the potential for that emotional depth but I didn't feel it reading.

A lot of people say that the book is slow paced and the first half is hard to get through, but for me that was the best part of the book. You witness Addie's fear of dying before she has lived and experienced everything, her meeting Luc which is one of the most magical parts of the book. Then her struggles living in Paris, and the flashback chapters in the first half are so turbulent. The angst of her present situation paired with her struggles in the past makes the first half so interesting.

However, once Henry was introduced the book dragged a bit for me. This man is one of the most boring, dull, stale love interests I have ever read. He brought nothing to the table and every chapter I had to read in his pov had me questioning if I even like the book to begin with. During his 'backstory' when you learn more about him and why he can remember Addie, I did relate to him on some level but he was still boring and I just didn't care about him.

Addie and Luc's relationship throughout the book is definitely the main reason I gave this book 4 stars. They had good chemistry, and there is something so deep about their bond that goes beyond romance. The fact that he was the only person who remembers her for 300 years and despite her hatred and resentment of him, she was relieved everytime he showed up gave so much complexity to their relationship beyond the standard 'enemies to lovers' which I don't really see them fitting into that category, as they are so unique. I know they are toxic and some of the stuff he said/did or didn't do was questionable, however I just love the fact that for better or for worse he remembered her, and saw her (mostly) every year.
There is a line that goes something like "perhaps an enemy's company is still better than none" and I just think that perfectly sums up the complexities of their relationship.

Towards the end I kept getting whiplash, because one minute I'd be reading Addie and Luc is some mysterious location saying some dramatic dialogue, then I'd turn the page and see Henry asking Addie if she was to go to the Ice Cream Factory, like??? People who ship Addie and Henry do so in spite of the people who ship Addie and Luc, because there is no other explanation that can justify liking them. Not even in comparison to Addie and Luc. I feel like the Henry stans need to hear that they don't have to ship anyone with Addie, because they were so boring I swear. Or just ship Addie and Sam, they were cute.

I wish Addie had fallen in love with a girl (like Bea) instead of Henry, because then maybe I would have rated this a 4.5/5. Ik everyone was crying over the ending but....it wasn't that sad, if anything it felt like it ended on a cliffhanger and I wish there was a novella.

Overall, I enjoyed this book, I just wish it had more emotion and depth. Addie and Luc carried this book. Also why was Luc more of a comedic relief in this book than Henry and his friends. I knew the stuff he was saying was hurtful to Addie ect but I was laughing (not at the possessive stuff though that kinda gave me the ick).

Henry, no one likes you. He didn't deserve the paycheck he got from ADDIE'S story. The fact that Addie left Henry for Luc so true.

Content Warnings