By V. E. Schwab
I think the best part of this novel is that it cannot fit a mold, and I truly have not read anything like it. It doesn't fall in a specific genre or intended audience, the writing is almost poetic and the story is timeless, both literally and metaphorically.
Addie LaRue was born in France at the finish of the seventeenth century — however, nobody recalls that. Nobody, that is, aside from Addie herself and the mysterious figure she makes an arrangement with to get away from an undesirable marriage and painfully mundane life. Addie exchanges her spirit and soul for immortality, without realizing the cost would be her legacy. As everyone she ever meets is destined to forget her soon after. “...it is sad, of course, to forget. But it is a lonely thing, to be forgotten. To remember when no one else does.” What follows is a constant battle between Addie and her curse with Addie constantly finding ways to immortalize herself in music and art. There is tension, sorrow, laughter, growth but always with the echo of solitude. That is until someone remembers her.
“Three words, large enough to tip the world. I remember you.”
The romance that inevitably blossoms is beautiful and wholesome but I think the most prominent relationship is with Addie and life itself. Her unquenchable thirst to experience everything and simply live is thrilling to read. “There is a defiance in being a dreamer” Her desire to make an impression and to just feel is what makes her character so unique. The story also highlights so many important concepts such as art, heritage, mortality and destiny. “What is a person, if not the marks they leave behind?” Addie's irrefutable presence in art over the years is incredibly portrayed and shows us her need to be remembered in a tangible way. “Because visions weaken, and voices wither, and talent fades... Because happiness is brief, and history is lasting, and in the end... Everyone wants to be remembered” The circumstances surrounding her meeting someone that remembers her are a beautiful twist of fate and make us question how the universe works.
The relationships and characters in the book are exceptionally nuanced and purposeful. Addie’s relationship with Henry, the man who remembers her and the mysterious bargainer made of night highlight the struggle between the exciting draw of the unknown and the comfort of trust and solidarity. Addie’s journey explores identity and what that entails along with the age-old question: “how can a thing be real if it cannot be remembered?” The ending of the book was frustrating but in the best way possible. The story, filled with contrast and juxtaposition, made sure Addie's invisibility made her unforgettable in my mind.
“And there in the dark, he asks if it was really worth it. Were the instants of joy worth the stretches of sorrow? Were the moments of beauty worth the year of pain?
And she turns her head, and looks at him, and says 'Always.”
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