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A review by louiza_read2live
The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab
2.0
Unpopular opinion: A missed opportunity for V.E. Schwab to have written a contemporary masterpiece.
This book started as a very good 4-5 stars reading, but after the 150th page went downhill very fast, earning for itself a generous 2 stars (for the brilliant idea of the topic, a strong beginning, a good ending), and the "honors" of been the most disappointing book that I have read so far this year. The idea of the story is brilliant and most of the writing very good, besides becoming repetitive the further we read; however, the execution kept going down, down... I have never read the other works of V.E. Schwab because I know her works are probably not my cup of tea, but this was supposed to be different. It sounded like a modern tale, completely different, but reminiscent of Dr. Faust's deal with the devil by the excellent works of Goethe and Christopher Marlowe. I could write at least a dozen things and some more that are wrong with the execution of this book, but I won't write them in detail here as some could also be spoilers. This could have become a modern classic and one of my favorite books, but sadly I feel it failed.
The idea of the story is superb, and it is sad that the author never reached the incredible depths she could have gone with this. Instead, the main character is flat, vapid, and even annoying at times as we follow her from one night-stand sexual relationship to another. Now, this would not have bothered me at all in this particular book because there is a very important point central to the plot for why the character has these types of relationships. However, the author misses opportunity after opportunity to delve into the character's psyche as she goes through life and to develop a well rounded character that the reader can connect with her. The story itself remains on a superficial level and left me wanting for depths the author never explores. I can see why so many people love it, but it wasn't for me. I am glad I read it though.
To me it looks more like a draft of a brilliant but undeveloped idea--an empty vessel. I wish she could rewrite it either willing to explore Adeline's physical and emotional world in depth or leaving out the middle part of the book and do a better job with the rest. The way the book is written right now doesn't seem to need to be more than about 200, or even fewer pages. I wish I could love this book because I love the premise and parts of the writing style, especially at the beginning.
This book started as a very good 4-5 stars reading, but after the 150th page went downhill very fast, earning for itself a generous 2 stars (for the brilliant idea of the topic, a strong beginning, a good ending), and the "honors" of been the most disappointing book that I have read so far this year. The idea of the story is brilliant and most of the writing very good, besides becoming repetitive the further we read; however, the execution kept going down, down... I have never read the other works of V.E. Schwab because I know her works are probably not my cup of tea, but this was supposed to be different. It sounded like a modern tale, completely different, but reminiscent of Dr. Faust's deal with the devil by the excellent works of Goethe and Christopher Marlowe. I could write at least a dozen things and some more that are wrong with the execution of this book, but I won't write them in detail here as some could also be spoilers. This could have become a modern classic and one of my favorite books, but sadly I feel it failed.
The idea of the story is superb, and it is sad that the author never reached the incredible depths she could have gone with this. Instead, the main character is flat, vapid, and even annoying at times as we follow her from one night-stand sexual relationship to another. Now, this would not have bothered me at all in this particular book because there is a very important point central to the plot for why the character has these types of relationships. However, the author misses opportunity after opportunity to delve into the character's psyche as she goes through life and to develop a well rounded character that the reader can connect with her. The story itself remains on a superficial level and left me wanting for depths the author never explores. I can see why so many people love it, but it wasn't for me. I am glad I read it though.
To me it looks more like a draft of a brilliant but undeveloped idea--an empty vessel. I wish she could rewrite it either willing to explore Adeline's physical and emotional world in depth or leaving out the middle part of the book and do a better job with the rest. The way the book is written right now doesn't seem to need to be more than about 200, or even fewer pages. I wish I could love this book because I love the premise and parts of the writing style, especially at the beginning.