⭐4.5/5
Author: Taylor Jenkins Reid
Pages: 391
Publishing house: Atria Books
ISBN: 1501139231
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 near its conclusion, it becomes clear that her life intersects with Monique’s own in tragic and irreversible ways.
“Gilt is a feeling I’ve never got along with. It happens to me that when it arrives, it brings with him an army. ”
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, Taylor Jenkins Reid.
Review
I’ve been wanting to read this book for a long time, especially because of all the hype there was on instagram about this book and all the good reviews about this book. So I took advantage of the fact that my sister added it to my reading challenge this year. And I’ll tell you, this book kept me glued to the story while I was reading it.
Although I can’t say that I fell in love with the story from the beginning, I can say that this story is riddled with drama, romance, strong protagonists, scandals, and love of all kinds. In other words, a book full of GOSSIP. A book that is simply appealing from the moment we meet Evelyn Hugo, and the mystery that revolves around the seven husbands she ever had, and whether she really loved any of them.
Evelyn’s story is addictive from the first moment we start reading it. Undoubtedly a protagonist who has suffered from a young age and struggles to get what she wants, what she desires; no matter the price to pay. When she finally gets what she wants, she doesn’t lose her feet as she knows all she has to lose at all times and all she fought to get it. A strong and ambitious character, with many life lessons to share.
We also know Harry (, dear and sweet Harry). Evelyn Hugo’s best friend, a character I’ve certainly grown fond of. A relationship of love and mutual trust, of mutual support in the happiest moments and in the ups and downs of both. A man with his own desires and ghosts, but with a huge heart. A supporting character, who I certainly fell in love with.
And Celia, another important figure in Evelyn’s life. Another woman who knows what she wants, but good, capricious, innocent and naive. A very big contrast compared to Evelyn, in pretty much every way. But, they form a larger relationship than we can comprehend.
Let’s not forget Monique, who’s letting us know Evelyn’s story. A shattered character at the beginning of the book, with a marriage in the process of divorce and a stalled career. Intelligent and independent, I dare say she may be another protagonist because of the development she keeps in the book, but in the end, she just makes Evelyn look even bigger than her name is.
Taylor Jenkins shows us in this book, with her characters, that not all of us are good or bad, that there are also grey tones in all of us and that in the end we are all human at all times.
“Never let anyone make you feel ordinary. ”
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, Taylor Jenkins Reid.
Regarding the narrative, at first I didn’t like it, it confused me. I don’t know if it was the translation or really the author’s narrative, but it left a bad taste when I started reading it. Because she was telling us in the present Monique’s perspective, but we already knew that everything had happened. It wasn’t much to my taste. From Evelyn’s narrative, I don’t have a problem. I want to believe that these differences in the narrative were purposely made to differentiate the two parts.
While the plot twists are simple, they can be disappointing, because the author creates expectations about what is going to happen, and as readers, we are disappointed to know that maybe it’s not the big plot twist we were hoping for. Despite this, all the time we want to know what is going to happen with the characters, how Evelyn's story is going to unfold, and what is she hiding from us.
Taylor Jenkins Reid was very clever at the time of intertwining Evelyn and Monique’s story, not just because of the way they relate, but because of the way they both seem to grow as we go deeper into the story.
The end, well the end, left me speechless and a lot to process in the last pages. If I’m completely honest, I cried several times. It was an ending that left me speechless, not knowing exactly what to think. Thanks to the joint reading, I can only say that the end is very Evelyn.
Final Opinion
A beautiful book, the story of a celebrity, that even with all the glamour and mystery that surrounds her, Evelyn Hugo is human like any of us.
I can’t help but think about the fact that I loved Taylor Jenkins Reid writing such a human book, where you can’t get away from him, and where you fell in love with the characters she’s created. Besides the fact that this book, they sell it as a book of fiction and romance, not as a book with LGBTQ+ community characters, and it was simply refreshing to know about this while I read the book.
-Fer 🌙
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