Five Unforgettable Quotes from "The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue" by V.E. Schwab

 

I'm absolutely *blown away* by how much I enjoyed "The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue"! I'm not typically a fantasy reader, which is usually Schwab's genre - but this book was a hit for me! Keep reading to see my favorite quotes from this genre-bending, unputdownable, reading slump breaker!

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue
by V.E. Schwab

France, 1714: in a moment of desperation, a young woman makes a Faustian bargain to live forever―and is cursed to be forgotten by everyone she meets. Thus begins the extraordinary life of Addie LaRue, and a dazzling adventure that will play out across centuries and continents, across history and art, as a young woman learns how far she will go to leave her mark on the world. But everything changes when, after nearly 300 years, Addie stumbles across a young man in a hidden bookstore and he remembers her name.

 

 

Quotes from 

"The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue" 

by V.E. Schwab

"You think it will get easier," he says. "It will not. You are as good as gone, and every year you live will feel a lifetime, and in every lifetime, you will be forgotten. Your pain is meaningless. Your life is meaningless. The years will be like weights around your ankles. They will crush you, bit by bit, and when you cannot stand it you will beg me to put you from your misery."

"The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue" follows a young woman who in a desperate attempt to escape her circumstances by making a deal with the devil. This first quote speaks to why this is SUCH a good book and also why as someone who doesn't usually read science fiction or fantasy often, I still really enjoyed the ideas explored in it. So much of "Addie LaRue" makes you question what gives life meaning, which is a huge thing for an author to tackle and V.E. Schwab does it so well. What hard things do you wish we could avoid - but ultimately without them, would life really matter? Because what meaning does your life have without other people? Addie is forgotten by everyone she knows making it impossible to form lasting bonds. Are those sometimes difficult bonds how we define our lives? And if so, what does it look like to develop a sense of truth and meaning without others? This book is a thriller ride, but also super deep and that depth added so much to my reading experience!

"It will take Addie years to learn the language of those eyes. To know that amusement renders them the shade of summer ivy, while annoyance lightens them to sour apple, and pleasure, pleasure darkens them to the almost black of the woods at night, only the edges still discernible as green."

"The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue" was much, MUCH creepier than I expected! The character of Luc,  in particular, gave me so many shivers while reading. His character and how vividly Schwab describes him is also one of the reasons I am so excited and intrigued to see how this novel will translate to a film adaptation. Addie would see flashes of Luc when she thought of him or when he wanted to appear to her, that just felt so eerie to me. I especially loved the nature metaphors Schwab uses throughout to describe him.

"her gaze is clear. a lighthouse through the fog, she smiles and Henry's world goes brighter. She turns away and it is dark again"

I didn't find the relationship between Henry and Addie to be especially swoon-y, but that really didn't take away from the book for me. I was super invested in Addie's character, so when the story would shift to Henry, I cycled between bored and frustrated. But, I did really enjoy this quote. Insta-love aside, a quote that can cut through even a lukewarm romance is definitely one to keep around.

"...but this is the difference between us Adeline" he whispers, fingers grazing her chin. "I will always answer."

Full disclosure, I had no idea what this book was about before I picked it up! It felt like everyone ever was reading it and the FOMO got to me. I really hadn't expected this book to have so much Judeo-Christian imagery. Had I known the plot it probably wouldn't have been a surprise at all, but it was an unexpectedly pleasant addition that really added a layer of complexity to the story! In this quote, Luc is telling Adeline that the difference between him and God is that "I will always answer". So creepy and so true. I think many people have experienced the frustration and pain of ardently praying for something only to feel those prayers are unanswered. Luc reminds us though that, on the other hand, if you seek out evil, it can always be found.

Oof - this is one of those quotes that is just so true that it stops you in your reading tracks! If you haven't gotten a chance to pick up "The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue", even if it is out of your usual reading comfort zone, I definitely recommend it! Comment down below with your favorite quotes and moments from the book. Thanks for reading, readers!