The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue Book Review (Extended Version)
The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab
To kick off my new blog posting format for book reviews, however, I decided that I would post a longer and unedited version of my review here!
Introduction
When I first started reading The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue (by V.E. Schwab), I'll admit, I was a bit confused as to what all the hype was about. It seemed a bit slow and prodding, with not much plot happening at the beginning. That isn't to say that I don't appreciate a really well done slow build-up to something, if it feels like it was earned by the end. When I was first getting into Addie, though, I wasn't really getting the impression that the slow pacing of the beginning of the novel was going to be worth it. I was also a bit put-off by Henry's introduction as a POV character because it didn't really feel like his perspective was necessary at that point. He felt like he was just the obvious love interest for Addie, and I wasn't sure what more he could add to the story. At that point, I really felt that the story was better off being left to just Addie's perspective. I was also very worried that Henry was going to become a stereotypical sad, emo-style character that would be more of a trope than an actual developed character. I was also very worried--as soon as it became clear that Henry wasn't affected by Addie's curse--that Schwab was going to try the soulmates trope in this story.
That all being said, once the story really got moving in full force, I'm so glad my first impressions didn't come true. I can even go back now and appreciate the earlier, slower exposition, knowing how it all ended. I can appreciate now what Henry's point of view brings to the story. Schwab clearly had one story in mind with a distinct beginning and ending, and she told it.
Summary & Review
Henry is, of course, in some aspects, a stereotypical sad character. He is, in some aspects, a trope. However, I think he developed into more than that as we got to know him through both his own eyes and through Addie's eyes. I didn't just empathize with him as his story went on, I really started to relate to him and the things that he was going through. This might be my personal life and struggles clouding my judgment, but I believe Schwab did a great job of integrating Henry as an integral part of the narrative. I went from not caring about Henry at all and stalling to read the chapters from his point of view, to genuinely liking his character, his relationship with Addie, and becoming invested in how his story would end. It was a wonderful shift in opinion to experience while spending time with his character.
I can also appreciate how contained this story was to the plot it was telling. Addie has lived for three hundred years--from the 1700s to the modern era. It would have been very easy for Schwab to get lost in all those years and meander her way through subplot after subplot about each era of history that Addie lived through. She didn't though; Schwab did an excellent job of keeping this story about the critical points in Addie's personal battle(s) against Luc, from selling her soul to him, to her relationship with Henry, and how those two things tie together in the end. The story started with Addie wanting to live her life and find real love, and she did that. Henry also wanted to find real love and a reason to keep living, and he did that.
That being said, the story isn't without its flaws for keeping so stringently to just this storyline without wandering a bit. I know, I know, I just said that Schwab did a good job of not getting lost in all the history, and I meant it. However, I think it could have benefited the story a little bit to at least acknowledge some of the world's major history and how Addie experienced it, without necessarily turning these world events into subplots to get trapped in. Two of those biggest sticking points for me were the French Revolution and World War II. Addie lived in France during both of these major wars, and they were both simply glossed over in one short chapter for each. It leaves me, as the reader, questioning how someone like Addie (who already struggles to get by sometimes, because of her curse) could have survived these wars.
It becomes an even bigger sticking point when discussing her experience in WWII. She told Henry, at one point, that perhaps she had been a spy at some point in her life, and she mentions in the WWII chapter that she had tried to help the war effort in whatever way she could. Yet, not only do we not see any of this play out, but Schwab never expands on any of it in detail. Maybe she was trying to avoid those pitfalls of too much subplot that I mentioned earlier, afraid that this would take too much away from the main narrative she was telling, but it could have been simple to at least have Addie tell Henry what happened instead of writing it in real time, just so readers wouldn't be left wondering what all this means.
Instead, the WWII chapter picks up with Addie being randomly arrested by Nazis, and she is thrown in a prison, forcing her to put on the ring and summon Luc. She never wanted to give in and summon him, but she had to, or else she risked spending eternity in that prison cell. This is huge, both plot-wise and in Addie's character development--that she was so determined, before this, never to summon Luc, but that this was her breaking point. This is the moment where her relationship with Luc all starts to twist because she was left with no choice but to cave in and summon him. Yet, we don't get to see anything that led up to this moment. It should have been a monumentally important and emotional moment of pure desperation that would also serve to prepare the reader for the ending. Without the proper tension and build-up to this breaking point for Addie, though, the moment fell flat.
I understand that it is already a 540 page novel, but I would have gladly sacrificed some of the chapters of Addie seducing artists throughout history (who never make second appearances in the story), doing cute things with Henry, or Luc trying to convince her to surrender repeatedly, just to add a few chapters to the WWII storyline. I don't believe this would have turned into a pointless, meandering subplot (as mentioned earlier), because this is the plot point that leads to Addie's utter breaking point. This is the plot point that leads to her summoning Luc, which is what fuels the rest of the story from this point. It's not a subplot at all. It's a critical part of her character development that was lost and condensed into a very brief chapter for the sake of making room for more chapters of Addie and Henry being lovey-dovey, which there were already plenty of to sell the relationship.
There's also the matter that Henry is Jewish, and Addie lived through WWII, but they never talk about it. You would think when Henry is writing Addie's life story for her, that this would warrant some kind of conversation about the Holocaust and Henry's religion, but it never does. To me, it felt like a plot-hole created because of the fact that Schwab glossed over the WWII chapter. We couldn't have any meaningful conversation between Addie and Henry about the details of it because they were never written.
There are technical things that I could nitpick, such as Addie not getting enough time with Estele early on to make their bond more meaningful, or her desire to never get married (which is the catalyst of the entire story) is something that is told to the reader instead of being shown, and of course, there were certain aspects that were a bit contrived. I think any reader realized pretty early on that Luc allowed Addie and Henry to meet and fall in love as a means to try and break her. It was obvious. In the long term of the entire narrative, these things don't really bother me. The predictability and contrived parts were handled well, and it took Schwab a good amount of time as it is for the story to really start moving. Prolonging the plot any longer to establish more to Addie's backstory or Estele probably would have been too long of an exposition.
I was slightly annoyed at first that we didn't get more closure with Henry and the various people in his life by the end of the novel. The last time we see him with someone else, it's only Bea. We don't see Robbie or his siblings, who had been a source of anxiety in his life. Reflecting on this ending, however, I actually like this. Addie's last request of Henry before giving herself up to Luc is that she wants him to spend time with the people who love him for who he truly is. Throughout the novel, I had the inkling that (aside from Addie) the only person who really cared about Henry was Bea. His relationships with Robbie or his family never felt genuine. Having it end for Henry then, with him and Bea having a real moment between them, feels like he's fulfilling that promise to Addie. Schwab doesn't acknowledge the toxic relationships in Henry's life at the end because Henry isn't acknowledging them anymore. It's beautiful, and I love it.
I also love the last chapter we get of Addie and Luc, in which Addie explains that she hasn't given up to him completely. She's simply learned his tricks, and she's learned how to use them against him. She's playing the long con with him until she is free again. It's the perfect ending for her character, who had been built around never wanting to give him the satisfaction of surrendering herself, and just when you think she finally did... she didn't! Addie has learned since her last deal with him, that the wording is everything, and she didn't make the exact same mistake a second time. This time around, she chose her words more carefully. It's an open-ended enough ending that there could theoretically be a sequel, but I really hope there isn't. I think any future novel or further stretching of this story would struggle to capture the magic of this one. The ending was too perfect for this story to try and add anything more to it. As Addie herself said, her life has always been left with ellipses, never real endings.
Ultimately, I really enjoyed this book. I think Schwab really thought through the confines of Addie's curse and the place where it had give. She genuinely understood all the characters and kept them consistent throughout the entire novel. The story was also well contained with some flaws, but what story doesn't have its flaws? The biggest compliment for me was the ending. Oftentimes, I find the endings of fictional stories to be the weakest point of the story, and I don't always find them satisfactory. That isn't an issue with The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue. My biggest complaint is just that the book doesn't address the historical parts as much as I think it should.
Final Thoughts
Originally, I gave this novel a rating of 4.5/5 stars. I think I was still not far enough removed from finishing it to give it an accurate rating. Reflecting on the aspects I liked, the flaws, and the overall style of the writing, I think a more accurate rating would be 4.0/5 stars, which is still a great rating!
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