Book written by V.E. Schwab, published in 2020.
“Do you think a life has any value if one doesn’t leave some mark upon the world?” Adeline LaRue is a young French woman who feels trapped by small-town life. When she is faced with an arranged marriage to a widower father of three, she makes a deal with a god of darkness to keep her life as her own and be free. Addie can live as long as she wants and only belongs to herself, but she soon discovers the darker side of the deal: she cannot speak her name, and once she is out of sight, nobody will remember her. She moves through the world alone for three hundred years, until one day, she meets someone who remembers her.
I had trouble sticking with this book. It is a great premise and I enjoyed the flashbacks, but I think that the story could have happened a little more quickly. I was drawn in by the beginning and enamored at the end, but what's holding me back from full adoration of this book was the long and drawn-out portion in the middle. Though, I'm not sure what I would cut out because it all serves a purpose in illustrating Addie's loneliness for three hundred years. Even with all of that, I saw it in a bookstore and ran my finger down the spine with fondness, so I will probably read this one again eventually.
Both of the characters that we follow are bisexual, but surprisingly not announced in so many words; rather, we are simply told about their past relationships. Right as I was thinking to myself that I was appreciating the relative cleanliness of the book, we switch viewpoints to Henry and that's where the language and drugs appear. It is a very wise style though, as it defines the differences between the characters and the centuries between their upbringings. There is brief on-screen sex throughout the book.
Unfortunately, these words aren't cursed to be forgotten, so you will remember these spoilers if you peek before you're supposed to.
"It is sad, of course, to forget. But it is a lonely thing, to be forgotten. To remember when no one else does. I remember, whispers the darkness, almost kindly, as if he’s not the one who cursed her."
I'm not sure that making Addie bisexual made sense to me at all, simply from the standpoint that not only was she old-fashioned, but that society and her life for two and a half centuries would be adamantly against same-sex relationships, religious views or not. I would expect that this particular social movement would have been shocking to her. This novel also made me wonder about women in the late 18th century compared to women now. There's no denying that Addie is a bold woman, and there were societal expectations that she really didn't want to conform to. But she didn't seem to change much throughout her 300 years, being stubborn yet self-sufficient and she seemed to fit more in modern times, rather than a character that has to adapt to social modernization.
I really enjoyed watching Addie push the parameters of her curse. I cringed when she spilled wine on James' white couch without care, but that's when we see that she can't leave a mark on the world. The way that Addie is described with her beauty and freckles, I imagined her as a brunette Blake Lively. Which I found kind of ironic, considering Lively's role in the movie The Age of Adaline and the nearly identical storyline (as well as the exact same name, so maybe not a coincidence??). Schwab's tale has the addition of Addie being forgotten, and all the practical difficulties that come with that, like having a job and a home, right? It seems like a terrible existence to me, but I did appreciate her stubbornness against Luc and not letting him take her easily like he hoped after adding his twist.
As far as Henry, obviously, there is discomfort while reading his story, but I really can't help but feel for the guy. Everyone needs to be loved, and it's so very discouraging when you feel alone and unwanted by basically everyone in life...true or not...but I think he comes to realize the importance and magnitude of the rarity that is genuine love. What he once desired, he found repulsive because it wasn't the truth. His friend Bea tells him, "You can’t make people love you, Hen. If it’s not a choice, it isn’t real."
Schwab has left more than a few gems of phrase in this book that are beautiful. For example, "It will take years to learn the workings of this city... learn to survive, and thrive, in the spaces between other people's lives, make a place for herself among them." Or this one, "Henry wonders, as they wait in the queue, if some people have natural style, or if they simply have the discipline to curate themselves every day." There is no doubt that this book is beautifully written; you just have to sift through some fluff to find it.
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