Author: Taylor Jenkins Reid
# of Pages: 385 (hardback)
Genre: Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Rating: ★★★★☆
Synopsis: Aging and reclusive Hollywood movie icon 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 is more astounded than Monique herself. Why her? Why now? Monique is not exactly on top of the world. Her husband has left her, and her professional life is going nowhere. Regardless of why Evelyn has selected her to write her biography, Monique is determined to use this opportunity to jumpstart her career. Summoned to Evelyn’s luxurious apartment, Monique listens in fascination as the actress tells her story. From making her way to Los Angeles in the 1950s to her decision to leave show business in the ‘80s, and, of course, the seven husbands along the way, Evelyn unspools a tale of ruthless ambition, unexpected friendship, and a great forbidden love. Monique begins to feel a very real connection to the legendary star, but as Evelyn’s story nears its conclusion, it becomes clear that her life intersects with Monique’s own in tragic and irreversible ways.
Review: The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo is one of the most enthralling books I've read in a long time.
This book has been on my radar for a while, but I never got around to reading it. Based on the title, I thought it was going to be a brainless romance that wasn't an urgent read. However, when I found this book on the "recently returned" cart at my local library, it felt like fate telling me to finally give it a try.
Now I can't believe I waited so long to read it - it's really at the brink of being of a five star read. Emotionally, it's actually already there. I was fully invested in Evelyn Hugo - despite her ups and downs in her career and some morally questionable decisions, I couldn't help but cheer for her, hope that the next part of her story would take a turn for the best.
As an actress back in the 50s, it is unsurprising that Evelyn's sex appeal and femininity are a large part of the success in her career and, unfortunately, is likely (in part) similar to many modern day Hollywood hopefuls' and stars' story. However, the reader can't help but admire how Reid wrote Evelyn Hugo to use these aspects to her advantage in navigating a man's world while still highlighting the struggles Evelyn endures from having to sacrifice parts of herself to protect those she loves.
Evelyn Hugo's character is such a complex character because she encapsulates what many repressed group experienced in the 50s - 80s. From concealment of identifying as a part of the LGBTQ+ community, to women getting backlash from the public for the same "promiscuity" men get away with, to denying her Cuban roots to fit in more with the American image, the challenges Evelyn faces are only exacerbated due to her being a celebrity. Although this book covers a time period that seems still too recent to comfortably call "historical fiction," the tabloid's reaction to Evelyn Hugo's life actually serves as a powerful reflection on how much the United States has progressed in allowing people to proudly and publicly embrace who they are.
So, why did I not give this book 5 stars? No, it's not because of the writing style employed in this book. One could argue that there is POV switching - the story is told from Monique's first person POV, but when Evelyn tells her life story to Monique, it's told in first person from Evelyn's POV (of course). This didn't bother me - Evelyn's POV is the predominate one in the book, and she's the one I wanted to hear from the most. Monique's sections were usually very short chapters that were actually nice breaks in the "present day" (2017). There are even letters and newspaper/tabloid clippings used to tell the Evelyn's story - while the execution might be cheesy/lazy in other books, it surprisingly worked in this one.
The reason why I didn't bump this book to a perfect star rating is because of two factors:
1. Monique's character development fell flat for me. There are suppose to be parallels with Evelyn's life story and Monique's modern day (less dramatic, more relatable to the reader) life problems. However, Monique's section of the book is so small and insignificant that when she takes action inspired by what she's hearing from Evelyn, it feels more like a stroke of luck of a fluke when she succeeds rather than her truly growing as a person.
2. I'm unlikely to want to re-read this book again. This isn't necessarily something I always factor into my rating, but for this book I likely will not enjoy future re-reads of this book nearly as much as I enjoyed reading it for the first time. A lot of the appeal comes from peeling the onion on Evelyn Hugo's life and while Reid makes some of the outcomes obvious (and one of the big plot twists is fairly predictable), the air of mystery is still what made me unable to put this book down. A second reading would not have that same experience and would more solidly place this book at a 4 star rating.
Despite this, I HIGHLY recommend this book. It's a great read, and it's easy and quick to finish in a day or less.
No comments:
Post a Comment