Addie LaRue was born in a small town in France. Over 300 years ago. It’s 2014, and swhe now lives in New York and survives by lying, stealing, pilfering, and taking advantage of her unusual gift (or curse), she is forgettable. Not as in plain or nondescript. Rather, once she leaves someone’s sight, they forget her and meet her all over again. This is mildly inconvenient in shops and movies theaters, but it is tragic with lovers and friends. Imagine having a perfect day with someone, and once they fall asleep, you know they’ll look at you like a stranger, forgetting everything that happened when you were together.
Addie made a deal in 1714 with “the gods who answer at night,” and ever since, she’s been unable to make a mark on anyone or anything. She can’t write. She can’t draw. She cannot speak her name or tell her story. She can’t be photographed or filmed. She can’t use technology. So she wanders around until she meets another unusual person who changes everything. I’ll stop there to avoid spoilers, but this book is well worth it.
I kind of loved this book. At the beginning, it was a little slow because I didn’t know how long I could read about this woman’s tragic life, unable to leave a mark on anything or anyone. But I found myself entranced but the story, both the stories about the past and those about the present.
I’m kind of a sucker for stories that touch on multiple eras and reference artists, musicians, authors, and celebrities, and this is 300 years worth of running into interesting, notable people. Add to that a fiercely independent woman, an impossible love story, and a devilish antagonist, and I’m in.
This is definitely one of the longer books I’ve read in a while, and I couldn’t put it down.