Original Language: English
Genre: Romance novel, Historical Fiction
Introduction:
A few months ago, I came upon "The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo" on Instagram. I was somewhat drawn to pick up this book because of the gorgeous green dress on the cover. However, for some reason after receiving the book, I didn't feel like reading it. But on a Friday morning, I decided to give it a read and I just completed it within 2 days. I was totally glued to this book. Taylor Jenkins Reid is the author of the domestic fiction "The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo" which was published in 2017.
Summary:
Hollywood movie legend Evelyn Hugo, who is aging and reclusive, is now prepared to open up about her dazzling and scandalous life. No one is more shocked than Monique herself when she selects Monique Grant, an unknown magazine reporter, for the position. Why her? Why now?
Monique isn't exactly in the best possible shape in her life. Her career is stagnating, and her spouse has left her. Whatever the reason Evelyn chose Monique to write her biography, she is eager to take advantage of the chance to launch her career.
Monique is invited to Evelyn's opulent apartment and watches in awe as the actress narrates her tale. Evelyn tells a story of relentless ambition, unanticipated friendship, and a magnificent forbidden romance from the 1950s when she first arrived in Los Angeles to the 1980s when she decided to quit the entertainment industry. Of course, she also mentions the seven marriages she had along the way. As Evelyn's tale draws to a close, it becomes apparent that Monique's life has tragically and irrevocably intersected with that of the renowned celebrity, and Monique starts to feel a very strong connection to the renowned star.
Review:
I'm at a loss for words regarding how I feel about this book. The setting really captured me because it was a movie lover's fantasy to see old Hollywood depicted. I enjoyed Evelyn's enigmatic personality and the fact that she wasn't entirely nice or bad. Most importantly, I adored the book's format, which included chapters about each husband. The author was able to address topics like the role of women in marriage, the sexualization of actresses in the wake of "Me Too," elegance and aging, and women being permitted to show their aspirations by looking at Evelyn through the eyes of her husbands.
Why would Evelyn Hugo agree to disclose her story to Monique, a comparatively unknown journalist, was a riddle that ran throughout the entire book. Monique could empathize with some of Evelyn's tales because she was also going through a divorce. She talked about how she was struggling with her emotions over the split. As Evelyn shared her experience, Monique started to develop a new perspective on life, her goals, and how to look at things from a fresh perspective and avoid making judgments.
I thoroughly lost myself in Taylor Jenkins Reid's glitzy, and occasionally not so glamorous, world of film because of her masterful narrative. Her characters were so realistic to the friendships, rivalries, and numerous love relationships that we all hear about on the Hollywood set. Evelyn is a powerful woman who did not feel exploited and who had control over her own body. Taylor Jenkins Reid's character was at ease with her sexuality and was eager to utilize it to further her goals. She was totally devoted to her true love and to protect that one forbidden love, she had to marry numerous times.
The bias in Hollywood during those golden years was also brought to light, including the discrimination against same-sex relationships, which were illegal in America at the time, and the fact that as actresses aged, they were granted fewer and less glamorous jobs. From the 1950s to the present, Taylor Jenkins Reid perfectly caught the cultural and political atmosphere of each era, including the AIDS Epidemic and the Gay Rights March, to name just a few.
Conclusion:
It made me kind of sad as Evelyn Hugo was not a real Hollywood starlet from the 1950s. I couldn't love her because of her cunningness and I couldn't hate her because of the sacrifices she had to make throughout her life to unite with the love of her life. I still consider "The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo" to be one of the most engaging books I've ever read. This is the ideal book for anyone wishing to lose themselves in an amazing story since it is deeply engrossing, a little heartbreaking, and compulsively hard to put down.
My Rating: 7/10
