The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V. E. Schwab is a masterfully crafted and genre-defying novel that explores the intricate interplay of love, time, and memory.

In the vein of beloved novels like The Time Traveler's Wife and Life After Life, this story follows Adeline "Addie" LaRue, a young woman in 18th-century France who, in a desperate attempt to escape a forced marriage, makes a Faustian bargain. She trades her soul for immortality, but the cost is steep: she is cursed to be forgotten by everyone she meets, leaving no trace of herself in the world's memory.

Fleeing her provincial life, Addie embarks on an extraordinary journey through the ages and around the globe, spanning centuries and continents. She learns to live an ephemeral existence where every relationship is fleeting, and every belonging slips through her fingers. Despite her cursed solitude, she becomes a spectral muse for various artists, musicians, and writers, leaving an indelible mark on their art while remaining an enigma to society.

Her sole constant is the darkly enchanting being who cursed her – an enigmatic devil with mesmerising green eyes who visits her each year on the anniversary of their ill-fated deal. Their annual encounters are fraught with tension, complexity, and a strange interplay of power and vulnerability as Addie seeks to outwit or understand him.

After nearly 300 years of being invisible to the world, Addie's life takes an unexpected turn in a second-hand bookshop in Manhattan. There, she meets someone who mysteriously remembers her name and recalls their past encounters. This twist of fate catapults Addie into a whirlwind of emotions and dilemmas as she grapples with the possibility of reclaiming a semblance of a normal life while understanding that escape from her pact may still be impossible.

Reading Group notes available here.