By David T. Valentin
It was only a year ago when The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab debuted and took almost every reader’s library by storm.
The standalone novel tells us the story of a 17th century woodcarver’s daughter, Addie LaRue living in the made-up village of Villon, France who is expected to be married to a man she does not love and held captured to a boring life she does not want.
Addie craves adventure outside the confines of her small little town, and on the day of her wedding she abandons her soon-to-be husband at the altar to try and make a bargain with an old god in the woods. Praying and praying alone, she finds herself praying to the gods after dark and strikes up a bargain with the devil so that she may live forever. Now, she is immortal but there’s a catch: she can never be remembered, nor make her own impression on the history of the world.
For 300 years she wanders the earth, inspiring artists throughout the ages so she may sneak herself into the history books to be remembered somehow. Until, one day, she finds a man who remembers her and the rest you’ll have to go on and read yourself.
The novel explores the themes of identity in terms of creative purpose. What does it mean to be remembered, and how do we choose to be remembered? It was an especially needed novel at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic and the lockdowns that forced everyone inside for several months. Like the time the world spent indoors, Addie LaRue spent its time on The New York Times best-seller list for 37 weeks.
Now, director Augustine Frizzell, alongside her husband, are set to write the script for a movie based on V.E. Schwab’s historical fantasy romance novel. Originally, according to Tor (the publishing company that published The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue), Schwab herself was set to write the script for the film but “has since stepped away. She will, however, remain involved as a producer on the project.”