The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo - Taylor Jenkins Reid

Title: The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo

Author: Taylor Jenkins Reid

Publisher: Washington Square Press (Simon & Schuster), 2018 (Paperback)

Length: 385 pages

Genre: Adult; Historical Fiction

Started: July 5, 2022

Finished: July 7, 2022

Summary:

From the back cover:

Reclusive Hollywood 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 to write her story, no one is more astounded than Monique herself. 

Determined to use this opportunity to jump-start her career, Monique listens in fascination. From making her way to Los Angeles in the 1950s to leaving 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. But as Evelyn's story nears its conclusion, it becomes clear that her life intersects with Monique's own in tragic and irreversible ways. 

Written with Reid's signature talent for creating "complex, likeable characters" (Real Simple), this is a mesmerizing journey through the splendour of Old Hollywood into the sobering realities of the present day as two women struggle with what it means - and what it costs - to face the truth. 

Review:

Yes, I know I am very late to get around to finally reading this book. Yes, I only picked up this book because TikTok convinced me to do so. And yes, this book's absurd popularity is damn well deserved. 

This book has a very similar plot device to The Thirteenth Tale that I read years ago, except instead of an old writer telling her life story to a young bibliophile biographer, we have an elderly actress telling her life story to a young journalist. 

Just as newspapers are reporting that an elderly Evelyn Hugo is auctioning off her collection of dresses for charity, Monique Grant is contacted about meeting Evelyn for a tell-all interview, of which the esteemed actress has never before granted. When Monique's boss offers to send a more experienced person for the interview, Evelyn refuses; she will only talk to Monique. As she learns about Evelyn's early life and Hollywood career throughout the decades, Monique uncovers Evelyn's true character: that she is highly persistent and motivated, will readily use her body as a way to further her goals, and is fiercely protective of those she loves. Eventually Monique not only emulates Evelyn's spirit in dealing with her own personal problems, but discovers why Evelyn was so incredibly insistent about choosing her over anyone else. 

I flew through this book; the story was immediately engaging and I just felt compelled to finish it to find out the rest of Evelyn's story and how Monique fit into the picture. The author truly does have a gift of creating likeable characters. Though Evelyn herself is definitely portrayed as flawed, she is never unlikeable (at least in my opinion), and Monique functions as a reader stand-in whose background and struggles are something many people can identify with. 

Recommendation:

Just read it, honestly, there's a reason why it's so popular, it's like an enchanting spell that you welcome with open arms. 

Thoughts on the cover:

I like how they included Evelyn in her signature green dress, but dislike the trend of headless women on book covers, it's objectifying. If they wanted to obscure her face they could've had her face in profile covered with a fashion scarf, or shown her from behind or something else.