Busybee's Playlist

A playlist based upon V.E Schwab’s beautiful novel, The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue

A dreamer, with a stifling need for freedom. To not belong to anyone but one’s own self. A fleeing woman in a wedding dress, running into the woods. A prayer to the old gods, unanswered. Adeline, ignored by all but one god. A faustian bargain to remain free … but at what cost?

Without giving too much away, that is how I would describe V. E. Schwab’s 2020 novel, The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue.

The novel, at its core, primarily set in 1700s Villon-sur-Sarthe in France, is about a young Adeline LaRue’s desire to remain free, running away from an arranged marriage, and making a deal with the darkness — an otherwise allusion to “the devil.” The god that answers after dark. As all bargains go, Adeline has to pay a price: her soul, as well as the memory of her — meaning, in order to remain free, she must remain forgettable to all who come across her. Damned to be a fleeting memory to whoever crosses paths with her. And so, Addie goes through life trying to leave her mark as best she could, in constant fight with her curse and the one who forced it upon her. Until one day, 300 years later, a seemingly simple bookseller named Henry remembers her.

However, as one continues to read on, it is about much more than that. It is about the value of one’s soul, how one should be cautious with how they treat it. It is about the importance of one’s relationships with everyone around them. It is about one’s relationship with one’s self, and the many ways in which we hurt ourselves. It is about freedom, and how far people will go to obtain it. It is about the need to leave a mark, to be remembered. It is about the importance of art, and the events that breed it. It is about redefining immortality, in all its forms.

As discussion for the novel’s film adaption is in the works, I call on V. E. Schwab to consider this playlist I have created in honour of our Addie, and the many unfortunate but also beautiful events she finds herself in. Our Addie, who craves liberty more than anything. Our Addie, muse of the arts, as unforgettable as she is lovable.

This compilation of songs is wistful, romantic, and my personal vision of what Addie LaRue would sound like as a collection of songs.

A quick summary:
– French melodies to honour my Addie’s roots.
– Seven by Taylor Swift, for the constellation of seven freckles on Addie’s cheeks. Also followed by Don McLean’s Vincent (Starry Night) for Addie’s constant wish for a starry sky.
– The several songs titled “Adeline,” scattered across the playlist, so as to always remember her name.
– And a single operatic piece, Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde — the composition that drove our Adeline to realise that human can do wonderful things.

Make sure to check it out, and share it if you like it!

And if you haven’t read the novel just yet, I hope this collection of tracks urges you to.