The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue
By : V.E. Schwab
// Treading through darkness alone
She yearns for a home she’s never known
Loud and listening
Sceptically hoping
Praying to gods who are set on her ruin
Collecting scars in a battle she won’t win
She embraces the darkness that breaks her heart
The days swallowing her screams
She only allows herself to dream
In solitude and quiet
Her dreams, the only pulse in the dead of the night
They wander from her thoughts to his
She-the criminal, he-the accomplice
He, who she seems to know since the beginning of the start
He, who stayed dry in her storms
He, who swept through the petals to caress her thorns
He, who held all her dreams in his grey eyes
Whispering three words to compete with countless years of strife
Three words, so meaningful albeit so few
Three words- “I remember you” //
-Aanya Bhaduri
“ What is a person, if not the marks they leave behind “
In 1714 France, Adeline LaRue longs for freedom and a life of art and culture. Facing an unwanted marriage, she makes a desperate pact with a dark god, asking for time and freedom. He grants her immortality but curses her to be forgotten by everyone she meets. For 300 years, Addie lives invisibly, inspiring artists but leaving no mark of her own.
Centuries later, she meets Henry, a bookstore owner who, unlike others, remembers her. As they fall in love, Addie learns Henry made his own deal with the same god—wishing to be loved, he is seen as everyone's ideal. He can remember Addie because she desires most to be remembered. However, his wish is time-limited, with only 35 days remaining.
“ Books, she has found, are a way to live a thousand lives--or to find strength in a very long one “
Through this tale, the author reflects on the vital role of literature, art, and music in shaping narratives. They capture both peace and thrill, calm and storm, smiles and tears, offering solace to those burnt out by monotonous days.
“A dreamer,” scorns her mother.
“A dreamer,” mourns her father.
“A dreamer,” warns Estele.
Still, it does not seem such a bad word.
An underlying theme in this novel, peeking through the more obvious ones, but present nonetheless, is feminism. It is a tale of defiance and resilience, of refusal and most importantly of a feminine hunger to be more than just a domestic vessel.
“Three words, large enough to tip the world. I remember you.”
V.E. Schwab through this gripping novel explores themes of desire, human connection, love and loss. This book makes us truly wonder about who we would be if we were not bound by the very relationships that hurt and sting and make us want to rip our hearts out, and what would we do if we had true and utter independence?
It shows us human struggle in its most absolute form which is internal, the silence of solitude for centuries highlighting so impeccably that what every heart desires beneath the palimpsest of materialistic whims is just someone holding our hand, looking into our eyes, saying three simple words- “I remember you”.
-4/07/24
Awesome job
Awesome piece of literature