The Age of Adaline book review

Estelle used to call these the restless days, when the warmer-blooded gods began to stir, and the cold ones began to settle. When dreamers were most prone to bad ideas, and wanderers were likely to get lost.

I believe this is the most heartfelt, tender, and sensual book written by Victoria Schwab. My heart is bursting with emotions ready to spill in this review!

There’s something about the book’s mythology that calls to my heart. I feel myself transported to magical faraway Lands, full of fickle Gods and desperate humans. How it is different from the world we are leaving in; so much more vivid! But when these two worlds mix, you feel as if anything is possible. Turn around a corner and you’ll meet a 300 years old invisible girls and smoke-like angry Gods. Look inside the shadows and you’ll notice they have shape. Devil is such an ordinary word nowadays. It only summons thoughts of Hell and Paradise. But Gods might be hellish or holy and so much more similar to us, humans. And when you try to touch the shadows, they taunt you because they are ephemeral and unreachable.

I am stronger than your god and older than your devil. I am the darkness between stars, and the roots beneath the earth. I am promise, and potential, and when it comes to playing games, i divine the rules, I set the pieces, and I choose when to play.

The invisible life of Addie LaRue definitely takes after Faust and The Age of Adaline movie. But it does not make it any less unique. It is the most beautifully written book by Victoria Schwab – a personal book, where she lays her emotions bare. And it is impossible to stay indifferent.

What is life? Is it a sequence of carefully planned actions? Or is it a pursuit of impressions? Everyone decides for themselves. The author lets us know that there’s no definite answer to this question and no one but you can give the answer. And sometimes it is not an easy task to find one.

What is a person, if not the marks they leave behind?

In a way, this book felt personal to me too. Adaline has lived so many lives, that, inevitably, you find yourself in one of them and marvel at the similarity of it. I believe Victoria Schwab aimed to make us relate to Addie and her story as if we were living her life as well. And we are, through her words.

Stories are a way to preserve one’s self. To be remembered. And to forget.

The only thing that makes me a little bit regretful is that Luc – the God or the Devil(?) – did not get a proper character development he deserved. He had so many shades to color him with but the author chose not to risk by leaving him in shades of grey. I get that, I do! But compared to Henry he feels so much brighter. I really wish Addie could see him as more humane, because to me it was obvious he changed: she changed him, made him more human; not the cold-blooded arrogant god he was when they first met. I wish we had learned more about his background,where he comes from. Compared, Henry feels like a mid step – a human Addie saved but not the one who left a mark on her soul.

And it gladdens me that we’ve got an open ending. That the game of wits between Addie and Luc continues! And maybe, just maybe, one day we will have more of their story. My heart is ready!

You want an ending, then take my life when I am done with it. You can have my soul when I don’t want it anymore.

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The Age of Adaline book review

SPOILERS

THE FILM: The Age of Adaline

THE PAIRING: Adaline Bowman (Blake Lively) and Ellis Jones ( Michiel Huisman)

THE MOMENT: Ellis wins the immortal and distant Adaline (who is also a bibliophile and works at a library) over by bringing her a bouquet of flowers….book flowers that is.


Last week, The Age of Adaline was released to theaters everywhere. It is a romantic drama about a young woman from the early 20th century who becomes immortal in her late twenties after a car accident. But when the government begins asking questions about her ageless appearance, Adaline goes on the run (her only constant contact her daughter). Every ten years, she changes her identity to keep people from asking questions.

The Age of Adaline book review

But in present day when she meets Ellis Jones, a philanthropist with an old soul, she begins to question whether or not she should keep running or finally “let go” and live once more.

RELATED: The Age of Adaline Review – An Epic Love Story

The Age of Adaline book review
The Age of Adaline book review

To put into perspective Adaline’s age, let’s briefly look at some of her contemporaries. Adaline was born in 1908 San Francisco and grew into a woman in the glamorous age of the ‘20s and ‘30s. Also born in 1908 were Bette Davis, Carole Lombard, Joan Crawford and even Jimmy Stewart. So Adaline is a woman from that same time. Imagine if some of these icons became immortal and were still young today. That is Adaline. In some ways, Adaline feels like a moving picture from the golden age of Hollywood who stepped out into the modern world. She’s timeless, frozen and completely inaccessible (both to Ellis and at times the audience). But that’s what makes her so fascinating. It’s rare to see an immortal woman in a story and I felt the creative choice to have her come from such a “romanticized” time (from our perspective today) was a smart one.

On top of the clever character choice, The Age of Adaline is a film that feels like a book, omniscient narrator and all telling the story. In fact, many people probably find themselves leaving the theater wondering if The Age of Adaline was actually adapted from a novel. Well, surprisingly it is an original concept. But that doesn’t mean this isn’t a film for book lovers. Arguably, the film is all about books, stories and preserving the past, while also living in the present.

The Age of Adaline book review

And for those of us old souls who love old-fashioned romance, glamour and yes, books, run as fast as you can to see The Age of Adaline while it’s still in theaters. This is a film for book nerds everywhere, well, the ones who love a good love story that is.

THE BUILD UP

The Age of Adaline book review
The Age of Adaline book review

Eliis and Adaline first meet at a New Year’s Eve party at a grand hotel. Like the classic meet cute of two soulmates crossing paths for the first time, these two first eye each other from across the room. The stares are intense, Ellis’ gaze hypnotic. The film uses storytelling techniques of old, showing its influence from films Adaline would have enjoyed when she was still young.

The Age of Adaline book review

And as Adaline attempts to leave the party early, Ellis chases her down and catches her in the elevator as they share a lovely conversation about “The Romantics.” He follows her all the way outside as she calls for a taxi trying to learn what he can about her. She figures he wants to learn where she lives. His response?

“Well it does make it easier to send flowers.”

The Age of Adaline book review

While intrigued, Adaline blows him off leaving him behind as the taxi begins to pull away. But Ellis doesn’t give up that easily. He chases after the taxi and grabs the window before she leaves in a last ditch attempt to find out more about her.

The Age of Adaline book review
The Age of Adaline book review
The Age of Adaline book review

Still, she remains aloof and drives off.

The Age of Adaline book review

But the seeds have been planted. It turns out that he is on the board of the library she works at and already knows how to find her. In fact, the party wasn’t the first time he saw her. He first saw her on the steps outside of the library reading a book in braille.

The Age of Adaline book review
But as he watched her closely, he realized she wasn’t in fact blind. Captivated, he knew he had to get to know this unique woman.

He later described the moment to Adaline (who goes by the identity of Jenny):

“The first time I saw you, I knew I had to meet you. I didn’t know when or how, but I knew I would.”

So when he saw her at the party, he took his chance. But it’s not until the second time he finds her that Adaline becomes receptive.

THE ROMANTIC MOMENT AND BOOK FLOWERS

The Age of Adaline book review

Which brings me to this week’s romantic moment. Ellis approaches Adaline at the library where she works. Apparently, he’s a wealthy philanthropist (who earned his wealth from creating an algorithm for climate data) on the board of the San Francisco Historical Preservation Society and is also giving a donation of 50,000 classic first edition books to the library (clearly in an attempt to win Adaline over). If this guy wasn’t amazing enough already…

After Adaline discovers who he is, it’s then he gives Adaline the bouquet of flowers he promised to send her (clever foreshadowing at the taxi scene considering there’s no way anyone in the audience could have figured out what he meant by flowers).

But this is not just any bouquet. Recognizing Adaline to be a bibliophile and all around book lover, he does one of the most romantic and creative acts ever: He gives her a bouquet of books with flowers in the title.

  

The Age of Adaline book review
The Age of Adaline book review
The Age of Adaline book review

The books include Janet Fitch’s White Oleander, Ray Bradbury’s Dandelion Wine, and most notably Henry James’ Daisy Miller.

Surprised and definitely intrigued by the romantic, intelligent and thoughtful gesture, she replies, “Very clever.”

But he’s not finished; he has another ace up his sleeve to win her over. Ellis then reveals that he will not in fact give the library the books unless she accepts them on the library’s behalf – with a photo taken and all. Of course, being an immortal, she’s wary of having her photo taken and rejects the offer. Not giving up though, he then tells her that if she agrees to let him take her out then he will still donate the books (it’s obvious he would actually donate them anyway since he’s such a good guy). She happily agrees having the excuse she secretly wants to spend time with him.

So the next day he takes her to a “place she’s never been.”

The Age of Adaline book review

From there, their relationship grows, forcing Adaline to decide whether or not she will choose to run again or choose to once again “have a life.” Of course, you’ll have to go see the movie if you want to know what she decides.

SPOILER ALERT

The Age of Adaline book review

While I chose to highlight the Ellis and Adaline love story from the film, their love story is not the only one. She also has another love story from the 1960s with William (the older William played by Harrison Ford). In some ways, the love story between William and Adaline is the stronger one because it spans decades and is incredibly heart-wrenching. But how the love stories (including Adaline and Ellis) all come together ends in an epic, beautiful way. Again, I can’t recommend this film steeped in old-fashioned romance and literary references enough.

Did you see The Age of Adaline? What did you think about this moment? Would you like to receive a bouquet of book flowers? Let me know in the comments!

Was The Age of Adaline good?

This movie is so good! It's an amazing concept of this woman who never ages. The portrayal of her living throughout different decades and watching her daughter age while she does not is fantastically done. The love story is strong and intriguing, and her journey is fascinating.

Is The Age of Adaline inspired by the Invisible Life of Addie LaRue?

The invisible life of Addie LaRue definitely takes after Faust and The Age of Adaline movie. But it does not make it any less unique. It is the most beautifully written book by Victoria Schwab – a personal book, where she lays her emotions bare. And it is impossible to stay indifferent.

Is Adeline true story?

"Adeline" tells the true story of the healing horse and her owner who bought Serendipity Stables near West Mansfield in Union County, and immediately had an impact. Adeline provided successful therapy for a local boy with autism and soon, people with other disabilities came to be healed.

Is Age of Adaline kid appropriate?

Rating: PG-13, for some thematic material, including violence. Blake Lively stars in this romantic fantasy as a beautiful woman who stopped aging at 29 after a cosmic car accident.