Review – The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid (4/5 stars)
Reading Level: Adult
Genre: Historical Fiction
Length: 400 pages
Publisher: Washington Square Press
Release Date: May 29, 2018
ISBN-13: 978-1501161933
Stand Alone or Series: Stand Alone
Source: Borrowed from Library
Rating: 4/5 stars
“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 near its conclusion, it becomes clear that her life intersects with Monique’s own in tragic and irreversible ways.”
Series Info/Source: This is a stand alone book that I borrowed from the library.
Story (4/5): This is basically a biography of a fake movie star. The story is sectioned by which husband Evelyn is married to at the time. While it was intriguing to see what Evelyn went through, I felt like her ruthlessness and manipulativeness got a bit repetitive over time. Also I feel like since this is a fictional character the story didn’t have as much impact on me as if Evelyn had been a real person. It would have been nice to at least have an afterword from the author talking about the accuracy of the portrayal of Evelyn and her time period. It’s an easy read and kind of intriguing to see how bad someone can twist their lives up for fame. However, none of it really surprised me and the fact that it’s fictional took out some of the awe factor.
Characters (5/5): Evelyn Hugo is definitely a woman to be reckoned with and was an incredibly complex character. A lot of the surrounding characters are just as manipulative and ruthless as she is, but somehow she does manage to surround herself with some truly good people. Evelyn’s character is what makes this book hands down.
Setting (4/5): Evelyn’s story starts in the 1950’s and goes into the 1980’s. I enjoyed how the author touches on important events during those time periods. I especially enjoyed how the portrayal of women actresses changed over that time (or even women in general). Another big theme is GLBT rights and how the views on those issues impact the time period covered in the book as well. The setting is mostly just a backdrop to this story and not the focus of it.
Writing Style (4/5): The writing style is well done. This was an easy book to read, it flowed nicely, there was good description, and well done dialogue. I liked that the story jumped from present to past and that the book was sectioned by which husband Evelyn was married to. This made it look like Evelyn partitioned her own life by the man she was married to at the time, this is ironic because Evelyn mostly just used the men she married.
Summary (4/5): Overall this was a well done look into the life of a fictional actress from the 1950’s to 1980’s. I really would have loved an afterward or something talking about what here was history and what was fiction. The fact that Evelyn is fictional made this story lose some impact for me. Still, it was an entertaining read and I enjoyed it.