The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Evelyn Hugo is finally ready to tell the truth about her glamorous and scandalous life. But when she chooses unknown magazine reporter Monique Grant for the job, no one in the journalism community is more astounded than Monique herself. Summoned to Evelyn’s Upper East Side apartment, Monique listens as Evelyn unfurls her story: from making her way to Los Angeles in the 1950s to her decision to leave show business in the late 80s, and, of course, the seven husbands along the way. As Evelyn’s life unfolds through the decades—revealing a ruthless ambition, an unexpected friendship, and a great forbidden love—Monique begins to feel a very a real connection to the actress. But as Evelyn’s story catches up with the present, it becomes clear that her life intersects with Monique’s own in tragic and irreversible ways. (adapted from goodreads)
I was absolutely drawn into The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo. Evelyn is a fascinating character from the very beginning - she knows what she wants and she goes for it, always. She’s not nice, but she is strong, and that makes her very compelling. The story doesn’t go out of its way to convince you that she’s a good person, or that all of her decisions were the right ones to make. In fact, the only thing it really does is state that they were her decisions, right or wrong, which makes her feel very human.
Additionally, (and this is a mild spoiler but I’m pretty sure it’s brought up within the first 100 pages), Evelyn is bisexual, which brings a much more critical view to Hollywood in the 1950s. Even when Evelyn talks about how much good came into her life because of her film career, she is actively critical about the environment that it created, and the way she was forced to live her life in order to be involved in it. Since I’m not bi, here’s @whilereadingandwalking‘s review on the book for a better view of the bisexuality rep.
Overall, I recommend it! I totally ignored the audiobook I was supposed to be listening to in the car with my fiance on a road trip (good thing I’d already read it before) so that I could finish this, which I think says everything it needs to say haha. It was a fascinating portrayal of the private life and motivations of a very complicated woman in the public eye.
My Rating: 4/5
