This novel is about one life lived over the course of 300 years. Adeline LaRue (Addie) was born at the end of the 17th century in a little village called Villon-sur-Sarthe, but she is still alive in New York City in 2014. This novel is about Addie’s fateful deal with a mysterious dark force and the consequences that follow. It’s a novel about independence, love, death, sacrifice, memory, and the muse that inspires art.
As a child, Addie was close to her father and to a villager named Estelle, an old woman who lived independently and knew about the old gods. Addie, encouraged by her father, learned to draw and enjoyed trips to the city market with him. Yet it was expected that Addie, like other girls in the village, would one day marry and have children. This was not what she wanted and as she grew, she frequently implored whatever gods that be to grant her wish to be independent. It seemed as if they were listening until July of 1714, when her parents arranged Addie’s marriage to a widower. Addie, in desperation, makes a supplication that is heard by the wrong kind of god, the kind that listens in the dark. Addie’s wish for independence is granted by this dark force, which looks very much like her own drawings of a young man she has imagined. The deal is that Addie will be independent but that her soul belongs to this god. What she doesn’t understand until it is too late, is that “independence” means no one knows her, recognizes her or remembers her. Her parents and Estelle do not know her. She cannot say her own name out loud or leave any kind of mark or trace behind — no writing or drawing. She cannot make anything but she can steal. And even after people meet her, if they leave the room or fall asleep or in any way are out of her presence, they immediately forget her. The “god,” whom Addie calls “Luc” returns to visit Addie every year on the anniversary of their deal, hoping that Addie will surrender and yield her soul to him immediately. He expects that the loneliness will break her spirit and make her wish to die. While Addie mourns the loss of those she loved, she is also stubborn and refuses to cede victory to Luc. Even when he interferes and moves her to other cities in other countries, she does not despair. If anything these new environments pique Addie’s curiosity. It is a hard life and not being known or remembered, especially by lovers, is hard, but Addie learns new languages, learns to read, and inspires artists throughout time. She also never ages or physically changes, and she happens to be a lovely woman.
Addie is more or less resigned to this life after 300 years, and in 2014 she is living in New York, a city that is full of fascinating experiences and people. She has had a few lovers who happen to be artists, and she is quite good at stealing whatever she needs to survive when she enters a used bookstore, meets a guy named Henry, and everything is turned upside down. Henry has secrets of his own, and once we get to this part of the story (narration moves back and forth between modern day NYC and Addie’s past in France, Italy and elsewhere), we learn, piece by piece, about Henry. We also learn more about the relationship between Addie and Luc.
I was fascinated by this novel. The idea of “selling one’s soul” is certainly not a literary innovation but VE Schwab makes it new by creating this unusual relationship between Addie and Luc. I’ve read Schwab’s Villains Book 1 and Book 2, and it seems to me that she is fond of these sort of dark, brooding anti-heroes who having troubling abusive relationships with female protagonists. Emotional abuse/manipulation are front and center. I would also note that this novel includes references to suicide/suicidal thoughts, in case that might be triggering. As I got nearer to the end of this novel, I really was on the edge of my seat, wondering what was going to happen. And I do feel like the ending was pretty great. Schwab isn’t going to give readers the easy, happy ending, but it wasn’t miserable either.