The Invisible Life of Addie Larue

by V.E. Schwab

In 1714, in despair at being made to marry and spend the rest of her life in her tiny village in service to a man, Addie Larue makes a deal with… whom?... for more life. And is given just that. Given theoretically endless life, that will go on until she begs to have it taken away again. The catch? She can leave no impression of any kind on the world. Marks she makes vanish without a trace, items she breaks instantly mend themselves, and anybody she meets forgets her completely the moment she’s out of sight.

The only being on Earth who remembers her at all is Luc, the being with whom she made this bargain without understanding what it really entailed. He visits her every so often through the centuries. Each time he’s certain that the horrors she survives, the crushing loneliness she lives with every day, will drive her to beg him for release.

But she doesn’t. Sometimes it’s her ability to remain in awe of the world and all it contains that keeps her going. Sometimes it’s pure, deep-seated spite—she will suffer literally anything rather than let Luc win their battle of wills. And sometimes it’s the simple, biological will to survive.

And so she does. And then in 2014, in a bookshop, she meets a man who remembers her.

Without giving too much away, I can say that I assumed from the start that this was going to be a fairly simple be-careful-what-you-ask-for fable, with lush historical scenery. That would have been enough for me. But it’s not merely that. It’s the tale of the ultimate abusive relationship and a person’s resilience and ability to be true to herself in the face of it. And it’s a celebration of wonder and of what keeps a heart going, year after year after year.

Eternal Life by Dara Horn

read by Elisabeth Rodgers

Rachel Azaria can’t die. Two thousand years ago, she and Elazar sacrificed their own deaths so that their son might survive a terrible illness—and for two thousand years, Rachel has lived life after life and raised family after family, loving them all, changing very little.

She moves from place to place as her apparent immortality became a danger to her loved ones because of the beliefs of the society around them, or as she is killed in a fire and finds herself renewed, a physically young woman again, somewhere in the world far from where she has “died.” The first time this happened was when she was burned to death at the destruction of the Temple of Jerusalem, and it’s happened enough times since for her to have lost any fear of it.

What she does fear is that her life will never end. After this many centuries and this many lives, living has lost its meaning. It has also, in this age of social media and biometrics, become much harder to properly disappear and start a new life. And Elazar—who sacrificed his death alongside her, who has followed her and who has become a mysterious presence in the lives of her offspring—Elazar is stalking her, convinced that they are meant to be lovers throughout eternity.

Then her favorite granddaughter starts studying longevity, and Rachel begins to hope, for the first time in many, many lifetimes, that she can die after all. Maybe she can strike a bargain with this granddaughter.

This book is beautifully written—you really get the sense of what somebody born two millennia ago would feel and think if they were still alive today. You understand both the joy and the despair of unending life, the mystery of a terrible oath resulting in a miracle so huge that there’s no knowing whether it’s a blessing or a curse. Highly recommend.