The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue: The Book That Had Me Staring at the Ceiling for an Hour.

This is a book that had me staring at the ceiling for a while, not because it was tragic or had a sad ending, but because it asked a really scary question.

Who are you if nobody remembers you, and what do you become through that loneliness?

At its core, the theme is about surviving loneliness, self-discovery, and not letting society and expectations restrain you.

The story follows Addeline La Rue, a simple village girl born with stars on her face, who can’t live with restrictions, within rigid systems, despite the consequences of her actions.

The one thing that displays this fact beautifully is her choice of name. A name is something that identifies you, defines you, tells you who you are. Addeline is her given name, a name that suited the times, the people, the system, but Addie is the name she chose to define her, a name blatantly defying all the expectations French society had during the time.

Addie’s despair at living the same life everyone in her village has lived, doing the same set of things every day, the suffocation she feels from having to stay at one place for the entirety of her life becomes her driving force.

Estele plays a special role in the book; in fact, she can even be considered the reason for the events that take place. Her teaching Addie about the old gods is what gave her the ability to make the bargain with Luc, but the deeper role she played can be easily missed.

She was a living example to Addie, showing that life need not be so rigid, need not be lived in only one way. She shows Addie that she can choose another life, and that is exactly what she does when she makes that fateful bargain with Luc.

The bargain with Luc is one made out of desperation. Addie has no other option remaining; her parents refuse to understand, and the old gods don't respond, so no matter how ill-fated, a bargain with Luc remains the only way for her to be free.

However, like all things which sound too good to be true, this also came with a cost, a severe one at that, but one of equal value as the wish granted. Addie got to live until she got tired of living, do all the things she always wanted to do, but lost the ability to be remembered, to leave a mark that was truly hers.

Are you really alive if no one remembers?

That's the question the book makes us ask, Addie, with the freedom to live how she wants, live happily, can no longer share that happiness with someone else.

Losing the wooden bird is what makes Addie accept her new life, but the time she spends in Paris is what makes her actually realise her reality, that freedom is not that simple; it marks the loss of her innocence.

Addie’s encounter with Remy taught her just how dangerous hope can be. She saw herself being friends with Remy if her circumstances were different, and when she realised that it wouldn't change, she was crushed, but the meeting also gave her direction. Through Remy, she realised the importance of education and the powerful tool it is.

Addie, in the present, is an old soul; she has experienced the madness that comes with loneliness, then overcame it, accepted her situation and adapted to it in a way she deemed worthy. It made it more bearable, occasionally happier, but couldn't quite replace the feeling of being known.

Despite being unable to leave a mark on the world, she can guide others; she can guide artists, and though her contribution may be minimal, she can be a part of something beautiful.

Henry allows her to be truly seen, allows her to reconnect with things she had long forgotten. One thing that got to me was how she loved to draw, and losing that was another consequence of her bargain, but through Henry, she could draw again, which meant a lot more than just inspiring a drawing.

She and Luc have an interesting relationship. Luc is the only witness to Addie’s life before Henry, and Addie is the only one who knows the truth about Luc or at least more than anyone else. So for some time, Addie seeks solace with him, while for Luc it is closer to obsession. But they can't work; Luc will never truly understand Addie, and his addressing her as Adeline serves as proof of that; it strips her of the new identity she has created for herself, reducing her to that scared village girl from so many years ago when she is much more than that.

Her bargaining with Luc for Henry’s life was her trying for a better life, free from Luc’s hold, even if she had to go back into his arms for it. My only qualm was that we did not get to find out if she succeeded, but it is probably better that way; it was Addie’s story of her journey through loneliness, and her surviving it was the ending to it.