Let me start by saying this book was a MASTERPIECE! I absolutely loved it. It’s on the longer side and took a little bit more time to get through, but this one is seriously going on my bookshelf next to my all-time favorites. If you haven’t read it yet, run, don’t walk, to pick yourself up a copy. Preferably at a small, local bookstore.
Three of the things that make this book head and shoulders above other fiction novels are the premise, the characterization, and the writing. First of all, the premise is unlike any other book I’ve read before. A young woman makes a deal with a devil? A god? Debatable. Anyway, and finds herself immortal but unable to be remembered by anyone. The book starts in a small town in France in 1698 and goes through time as Addie does to New York City in 2014. It goes back and forth throughout the book, but it isn’t confusing as it does, which is nice. This whole new premise is what piqued my interest in the book in the first place and I have to say, it did not disappoint.
The second thing about this book is the characters. The characters in this book are so well developed. I find that in a lot of books I read, I’ll find flaws in the characterization where the author is having a character do something or say something or prefer something that just doesn’t make sense with the characterization they have been building. I have to tell you, that is not the case with this book. These characters are so beautifully crafted, I was honestly a bit blown away.
The last piece of this book that was just astounding was the writing. Not only does this book have historical context in it, as Addie goes throughout 300 years of history being forgotten, but the way V.E. Schwab can make everything flow while also making you feel like you are there seeing and experiencing everything is amazing. I also had SO. MANY. FEELINGS. while reading this book. I mean, the writing was just spot on.
I also made a little observation, and perhaps this is just the nerd in me, but one of my all-time favorite movies is Labyrinth was David Bowie. V.E. Schwab actually references the movie in the book and I saw so many parallels between the Goblin King and Luc, the dark god, and Addie and Sarah. I wonder if it was a bit of an inspiration to V.E. Schwab, and I am here for it. Did anyone else catch this?
I made so many predictions while reading this book about what I thought was going to happen next, how I thought things would play out, how I thought it would end. It never went how I thought it would, but I liked how it did go so much more than how I guessed it would. Simply, this was a wonderful story.
Overall, I’m wondering if any other book I read in 2021, will take my heart as much as this one has. It will be quite a task. What did everyone else think of our February 2021 Book of the Month?
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