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A review by maisierosereads
The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab
adventurous
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
I impulsively borrowed the audiobook of Addie LaRue from my library (while desperately hunting through their available fiction audiobooks on overdrive late at night, because most audiobooks were temporarily unavailable on Scribd UK)
I haven't read any of V.E. Schwab's other books, but I have listened to other books narrated by Julia Whelan (unsurprising, if you've seen the sheer number she's narrated!) and she did as good a job as always.
I enjoyed the concept behind The Invosible Life of Addie LaRue, and V.E. Schwab's writing style. There were some details in the plot which I particularly appreciated too - though I was able to predict most of the reveals, there was enough mystery to keep me interested.
One of the things I was really excited about was this book having two bi MC's - their sexuality isn't explored in a lot of detail, but it is very much canonical. Although it isn't necessarily a problem, I think Addie's sapphic identity/relationships could have definitely been explored in more detail given the length of her timeline, or at least touched upon more than once or twice since this novel is primarily driven by her as a character. As it is, we are only told (briefly) about one of her female lovers in the contemporary part of the timeline, and this lover had a much smaller impact on her character than any of her on-page male love interests. It is implied that she had slept with other women - surely at least one of them had a significant impact on her life?
It is also worth noting that this book is very white. In a 300 year narrative, only one of the book's original characters wasn't white, and pretty much the only famous historical figures she comes across were white men (some of whom were undeniably racist in reality, though this wasn't touched on in the book). Addie plays a small part in some historical events, e.g. briefly helping to work against the Nazis in WW2, but seemingly only when those events were affecting Addie herself and not when marginalised groups were being systematically oppressed alongside her.
My other issue was understanding the relationship between Addie LaRou and Luc. I understand her need to hear her name and not be forgotten, butLuc literally tortures her at one point in the book and I don't know how she could ever look past that!
Overall, I didn't hate this book and enjoyed several aspects of it, but feel that more could have been done in terms of diversity and character development.
I haven't read any of V.E. Schwab's other books, but I have listened to other books narrated by Julia Whelan (unsurprising, if you've seen the sheer number she's narrated!) and she did as good a job as always.
I enjoyed the concept behind The Invosible Life of Addie LaRue, and V.E. Schwab's writing style. There were some details in the plot which I particularly appreciated too - though I was able to predict most of the reveals, there was enough mystery to keep me interested.
One of the things I was really excited about was this book having two bi MC's - their sexuality isn't explored in a lot of detail, but it is very much canonical. Although it isn't necessarily a problem, I think Addie's sapphic identity/relationships could have definitely been explored in more detail given the length of her timeline, or at least touched upon more than once or twice since this novel is primarily driven by her as a character. As it is, we are only told (briefly) about one of her female lovers in the contemporary part of the timeline, and this lover had a much smaller impact on her character than any of her on-page male love interests. It is implied that she had slept with other women - surely at least one of them had a significant impact on her life?
It is also worth noting that this book is very white. In a 300 year narrative, only one of the book's original characters wasn't white, and pretty much the only famous historical figures she comes across were white men (some of whom were undeniably racist in reality, though this wasn't touched on in the book). Addie plays a small part in some historical events, e.g. briefly helping to work against the Nazis in WW2, but seemingly only when those events were affecting Addie herself and not when marginalised groups were being systematically oppressed alongside her.
My other issue was understanding the relationship between Addie LaRou and Luc. I understand her need to hear her name and not be forgotten, but
Overall, I didn't hate this book and enjoyed several aspects of it, but feel that more could have been done in terms of diversity and character development.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Blood, Death, Drug use, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, Torture, and Violence