Book Club Discussion: The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue

[ufcasey]

It's the last Wednesday of the month, so it's time for our monthly book club discussion! This month's book is The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab. As always, feel free to answer any, all, or none of the questions or just put your general thoughts about the book.


Optional questions (found from the internet):

1. What is the emotional toll of being unable to imprint herself on the heart and mind of another person? 
2. Living without a bank account or a phone or an address, Addie is reduced to pilfering and theft to quell her physical suffering. Is it a blessing or a curse that she only has to worry about momentary suffering, not survival?
3. How do Addie’s and Henry’s deals with Luc compare to each other? Which curse would you rather have?
4. Do you think Henry and Addie were truly in love? Or were they bonded by their circumstances?
5. Who made a more interesting love interest, Luc or Henry?
6. Henry has only a year to live. But Addie makes a deal with Luc to keep Henry alive. Did you see this turn coming and did you agree with it?

[ufcasey]

Tagging people who may have read this book:
gummybear, dontlook, InBetweenDays, brandy0331, mrspez07, dancingirl21, abs, meowmaps, krystee, TR, rootbeerfloat, travella, aurora, toepick, estrellita, lavender444

[brandy0331]

It’s been a while since I read this one so the details are fuzzy at this point. I just remember being disappointed in it and I kept wanting more out of it.

[meowmaps]

I attempted this one earlier in the year or late last year (?) and just couldn’t get into it.

[aurora]

I just finished it this morning so it's fresh in my mind! I liked it. I can't imagine living 300+ years myself and watching everyone I love sure and everything I know change. I think Addie was brave not to give in to Luc long ago, and was happy that she managed to outwit him in the end.

I know it was explained, but still I thought the rationale behind Henry being able to remember Addie was weak. That was my most significant critique, though.

[dontlook]

I LOVE this book. It’s refreshing and different from anything else I’ve read which I appreciate.

I loved reading about Addie and Luc. Their chemistry was interesting and fun to read. I don’t know what to make of Addie and Henry because she didn’t have a chance to build a relationship with anyone else so of course she stuck with him.

I will try to answer more if the questions but I wanted to chime in my with love for this book. It’s one of those I wish I could read for the first time again.

[aurora]

Re. the questions:

1. What is the emotional toll of being unable to imprint herself on the heart and mind of another person?

I think facing indifference and invisibility would be even harder than facing hatred. Addie seems to weather it pretty well, though, given how long she has managed to thwart Luc.

2. Living without a bank account or a phone or an address, Addie is reduced to pilfering and theft to quell her physical suffering. Is it a blessing or a curse that she only has to worry about momentary suffering, not survival?

Seems more like a curse to me. It might not be hard to come to terms with stealing in her situation, but living with horrific memories of her experiences in war without anyone to lean on would be hard.

4. Do you think Henry and Addie were truly in love? Or were they bonded by their circumstances?

Are the two mutually exclusive? They are certainly living love (the verb) even if circumstances first brought them together.

6. Henry has only a year to live. But Addie makes a deal with Luc to keep Henry alive. Did you see this turn coming and did you agree with it?

It was clear she was planning something with Luc (we read earlier about her failed attempt to deal with him). That she was able to save Henry at the same time as creating an off ramp for herself was clever.

[travella]

2*. I agree with Brandy, I wanted more from this book. Adeline lived for so long and lived all over so she should have been an interesting character, but she wasn't. She was really dull. It was like she didn't grow or do anything at at all during those 300 years. Supposedly she ran because she wanted an adventure, but it doesn't show in her character.

Do you think Henry and Addie were truly in love? Or were they bonded by their circumstances?

No, I felt they were bound by circumstances. They never worked as a couple. This was a way for them both to not be lonely.

Who made a more interesting love interest, Luc or Henry?

I don't think there was a true love interest. Henry felt like he was in her life because she was excited just to have someone remember her. Luc wasn't a love interest either, it was a power struggle/a battle of control.

What did you think about the ending? What will happen between Addie and Luc? Will she ever break free?
I don't think she'll get away. While I liked that idea that she tricked him, I don't think Luc is that stupid. Now, he might have given in to those terms because he wanted her so badly, but it was his choice not because he was duped. So, I think they will be having this power struggle forever. He'll choose to have her by his side out of spite if nothing else.

[rootbeerfloat]

I liked the premise and the prose. But I didn't like Addie or Henry. Henry was boring. It made sense that he and Addie would form a relationship due to circumstances and loneliness.

Addie struck me as self-absorbed, even in the beginning, though I'm sure that helped her survive centuries of solitude. I get that she wanted to be remembered and that art is important, but I feel like immortality could give you the opportunity to change history in a meaningful way, and she didn't do much of anything. Her saving Henry redeemed her for me a bit.

[abs]

This was a DNF for me. It started strong but I quickly lost interest and found it quite boring. I think I made it to the 60% mark before calling it quits.

[estrellita]

It's been a little bit since I read this, but I really loved it!

1. What is the emotional toll of being unable to imprint herself on the heart and mind of another person?
I would think that would be so hard, like was shown in the book. I did like how she tried to leave her mark where she could. But constantly being forgotten would be horrible in most circumstances.

2. Living without a bank account or a phone or an address, Addie is reduced to pilfering and theft to quell her physical suffering. Is it a blessing or a curse that she only has to worry about momentary suffering, not survival?
Physically, it's nice to know that pain is temporary. But not having a home, savings, etc would make things hard of course. I don't feel like the freedom of not being "tied down" would outweigh not being able to make or save money easily.

3. How do Addie’s and Henry’s deals with Luc compare to each other? Which curse would you rather have?
I thought it was interesting how they overlapped like that. I don't think I can choose but if I had to, probably Addie's.

4. Do you think Henry and Addie were truly in love? Or were they bonded by their circumstances?
I think it was the circumstances. I wondered this a lot too. Would they have loved each other if they hadn't been who they were? I feel pretty confident this would have been a similar story no matter who the other person was.

5. Who made a more interesting love interest, Luc or Henry?
Henry, IMO. Luc took advantage of Addie, and I felt like their relationship was kinda weird.

6. Henry has only a year to live. But Addie makes a deal with Luc to keep Henry alive. Did you see this turn coming and did you agree with it?
I didn't see it coming but I think it made sense. It was a tough choice, but she gave Henry the chance to live.

[expectantsteelerfan]

I was in the disappointed camp for this one. It was such a unique and interesting premise, but I also found it boring and dragging. I don't remember many of the details, but in reading other's thoughts, I do remember thinking Addie was selfish and that she and Henry were only together because of their circumstances. I don't remember what happened at the end at all.