Reading
#ClassicandContemporary book challenge: March
#ClassicandContemporary book challenge: Wuthering Heights and The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue
The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue
Author: V.E. Schwab
Genre: Fantasy
Publisher: Titan Books
Year: October 2020
Rating: 
I am blown away by this book! The story is so original, so clever and engrossing, I admire V.E. Schwab’s talent to come up with such intricate plots, developing them on so many levels and building the characters’ inner worlds with so many details. You get to know them in and out and it feels good to be part of the story, you want to be part of it.
The best thing about this book is that it is no black or white. It tells you the world doesn’t exist in monochrome colours, and it is not meant to be. People are nor solely good or bad; they are both. We see this in the characters’ actions, in their thoughts, but most of all, in their wishes, in their desires. In the deals they make in/with the darkness. We often don’t think about the consequences and we wish we were somewhere else, with someone else, we wish we were different people. But do we think of the price? Do we stop and think about what we need to sacrifice in order to get what we want? It is often the case that people are still unhappy when they get what they want, simply because happiness is not a destination, it doesn’t have a final aim. Life is full of moments, it is a journey and it is our job to make that journey count, to make each moment count.
I loved all the dialogues. When I was reading, I remember thinking ‘Finally, a book with clever dialogues!’. The conversations are so meaningful, I wanted to underline each sentence or even whole paragraphs (as I often did, actually, my eBook is full of highlights). This is so rare to find in a book that when you finally do, you appreciate them and just let yourself enjoy the witty remarks(exchanges) and the playfulness they bring. I loved every single word V.E. Schwab wrote, and I think she carefully chose each word, that is why. The concept is very well thought out and the writing is precise, flawless.
Addie is one of the best-described characters I’ve met in a book. She is so full of live, of dreams and curiosity. I really, really liked her and the way she thought about the world. She often had doubts but not once did she ever surrender or give up. V.E. Schwab crafted her characters so carefully, with so much attention to details: to their inner worlds, their clothes, the background stories, all the different settings. And the way she included art, in any form, into every aspect of Addie’s life, was remarkable. It was hidden, dispersed throughout her entire life, but also always present. That was just another gem of this incredible book that I will not forget. I will remember.
I can write so much more about this book, as it really left a mark on me, which I think Addie will be happy to know. But I can’t tell a lot without giving anything away and the best way to enjoy it is to dive in with no previous clue about what is going to happen. Just experience it, you will not regret it, I guarantee! I’ll leave you with the blurb:
‘When Addie LaRue makes a deal with the devil, she trades her soul for immortality. But the devil takes away her place in the world, cursing her to be forgotten by everyone. Addie flees her tiny home town in 18th-Century France, beginning a journey that takes her across the world, learning to live a life where no one remembers her and everything she owns is lost and broken. Existing only as a muse for artists throughout history, she learns to fall in love anew every single day. Her only companion on this journey is her dark devil with hypnotic green eyes, who visits her each year on the anniversary of their deal. Alone in the world, Addie has no choice but to confront him, to understand him, maybe to beat him. Until one day, in a second hand bookshop in Manhattan, Addie meets someone who remembers her. Suddenly thrust back into a real, normal life, Addie realises she can’t escape her fate forever.’
Wuthering Heights
(mini review)
Author: Emily Brontë
Genre: Classics, Gothic, Tragedy
Publisher: Thomas Cautley Newby
Year: 1847
Rating: 
This book was definitely disturbing and heavy in terms of themes, as there was a lot of violence, swearing, darkness and injustice. I felt sad for some of the characters, like Hareton Earnshaw, and others I couldn’t understand, like Heathcliff. Catherine Earnshaw and her daughter, Cathy, both acted pretty selfishly, and their behaviour was quite infantile at times.
Nevertheless, the love that permeates through the novel is pure, honest and extremely strong, even though it didn’t seem like it at times. In the end you realise the impact it has upon Heathcliff and Catherine, and it all makes sense. With this Gothic tragedy, Emily Brontë shows the dark side of love, what happens when it becomes an obsession, and how much it can drive you crazy.
These are my favourite love quotes from the book:
It would degrade me to marry Heathcliff now; so he shall never know how I love him: and that, not because he’s handsome, Nelly, but because he’s more myself than I am. Whatever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same; and Linton’s is as different as a moonbeam from lightning, or frost from fire.
My love for Heathcliff resembles the eternal rocks beneath: a source of little visible delight, but necessary. Nelly, I am Heathcliff! He’s always, always in my mind: not as a pleasure, any more than I am always a pleasure to myself, but as my own being. So don’t talk of our separation again: it is impracticable; and…
Be with me always – take any form – drive me mad! only do not leave me in this abyss, where I cannot find you! Oh, God! it is unutterable! I cannot live without my life! I cannot live without my soul!
In case you need me… #owlbeereading!
