The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo - Taylor Jenkins Reid
Aging and reclusive Hollywood movie icon Evelyn Hugo is finally ready to tell the truth about her glamorous and scandalous life. When she chooses unknown magazine reporter Monique Grant for the job, no one in the journalism community is more astounded than Monique herself. Why her? Why now? Monique is not exactly on top of the world. Her husband, David, has left her, and her career has stagnated. Regardless of why Evelyn has chosen her to write her biography, Monique is determined to use this opportunity to jumpstart her career. 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.
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This book has been recommended everywhere I look. For a very long time, I avoided it. I had no interest in a “tell-all” story about a Hollywood star from days long past and her many many husbands. In search of a good audiobook, this one kept popping up so I finally decided to give it a shot. This book ripped my heart out and blew my mind. Still, weeks later I sit here thinking about what an amazing story it was. It had so much drama and flair but a realness to it as well. It dug into the gritty details of human emotion and ambition and the choices you have to make in life between right and wrong, between happiness and success. I was riveted. The story is more Evelyn’s than Monique’s but I absolutely loved the connection that grew between the two and the character comparisons. Every character “leapt off the page” or in my case “out of the headphones” and because of that, I couldn’t help but be completely invested in each one that we were introduced to.
We start off with Monique getting the opportunity of a lifetime, the chance to interview a woman who refuses to do interviews. A woman whose fame encompasses what it means to be an “Old Hollywood” actress. Monique’s life is a bit dull, a bit sad, and it doesn’t seem to have much for opportunities in the near future. When she meets Evelyn, all of that changes. As Monique interviews Evelyn, we slowly transition into Evelyn’s world and she becomes our main character. We learn her life’s story, from her very young induction into the misogynistic world of fame in the 50s, to her numerous loves and husbands (yes, these two can be quite separate). With each stage of Evelyn’s life, we are shocked and horrified and awed by everything she’s done to become the woman she is. Every new marriage brought around a new stage in Evelyn's character development. And every loss made her stronger and even more ambitious. As we get through the bulk of Evelyn’s life, little tidbits begin to draw her and Monique’s story together. It was done very artfully and was one of my favourite parts of the story.
Let me dive into the characterization a little more. The author of this book did such a great job of playing characters off of each other. Using one character to amplify another’s growth was done phenomenally. I felt like Monique’s experience with Evelyn, hearing her stories about how she had fought her way to the top, inspired Monique’s own change. She was only with Evelyn for a short time but she grew such a spine after getting to know her! It was inspiring. What a huge difference a small interaction can make in someone’s life. Evelyn’s husbands were another fascinating example of what can be done with character development, in reverse. I felt just as fooled on some of them as Evelyn and I felt just as sad to see some of them go. Harry Cameron was by far my favourite.
The topics visited in this book are also so relevant to today’s political climate. Evelyn goes into detail about the things she felt she was forced to do in order to protect her image and move up in the world. Of the favouritism towards her male co-stars and the sexism in the industry, highlighting how much harder she had to fight for every scrap she was given in comparison. Of LGBTQIA2+ rights (not quite as understood back then as it is now) and the struggles that gay people have gone through for so long, being treated less than human, even touching on the Stonewall rebellion and the backlash of that and how it could have impacted many closeted people either in fear or inspiration to take up the torch and continue the fight. But the best part was how this book portrayed love, every single type of love. From toxic love, to fake love, to soulmate and friendship love, to that everlasting love (miscommunications and fights included), to that familial love and belonging. It was a beautiful book and I personally think all of you should read it.
Highly recommend this one. I can’t wait to reread it, I just need to give it a bit of time to let my heart recover a little bit. 5 stars all the way!