A collection of these would almost work as a short story on their own, offering fleeting impressions of a forgotten immortal. Her seven signature freckles, her blur of dark hair - over and over she has attempted to imprint herself in an artist's mind. We're told the artist, the date, the medium, and then a little bit of a blurb, and in that blurb we see Addie's influence. In a very clever touch, the different sections of the book are broken up with works of art and the sort of descriptive text that would accompany them if they were being sold at an auction. while I don't want to say too much and spoil the effect, I loved that as 'Addie LaRue' unfurls its final pages, we discover that we've been a part of her story all along without even knowing it.īut I think the most unique and interesting thing about Addie LaRue is its relationship to art. Her devil appears occasionally to taunt her and push her, but no hardship he can conjure is enough to make her give in and surrender her immortal life and her soul along with it. For while she can't leave a mark or memory in her wake, she finds that she can plant ideas and tend to them, filling art and music with echoes of her presence. What follows is an ouroboros of a tale as Addie slips through time, desperately trying to have some influence on the world and the people she meets. Addie willingly trades her soul for immortality, but she doesn't realize until too late that the price of her freedom is her legacy - for now she is doomed to be instantly forgotten by everyone she meets. But bargaining with wild gods always comes with hidden costs. No one, that is, except for Addie herself and the devil she makes a deal with to escape an unwanted marriage and an ordinary life. Addie LaRue was born in France at the very end of the 17th century - but no one remembers that.

The invisible life of addie larue pages