Book Review: The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo

Title: The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo
Author: Taylor Jenkins Reid
Publication Date: 2017
Publishing House: Simon & Schuster Audio

I borrowed this book from the library recently for a trip to Denver. It was also a wonderful book to get me out of a reading slump. Make sure to support your local library, if nothing else, free books but libraries do offer so much more.

Goodreads 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.

I really enjoyed this book. It’s well written and it doesn’t pull any punches. Evelyn Hugo may not have always know what she was doing but she learned quickly. She uses what she has to her advantage to initially survive and then later to get what she wanted. This is a woman telling her life story and she is open about her regrets, about what she wishes she could have done differently. She was seen as a goddess to those who watched her movies and as a trophy to some of those that married her. Despite it all she fought for what she wanted and learned to be herself.

Monique is still figuring who she really in when she first meets Evelyn. Her father died at a young age and she and her husband have separated. She has found her passion in writing as her father found it in photography but she hasn’t found the story that will make her. Interviewing Evelyn Monique learns from her. She finds a confidence and drive inside herself. She gets the push she needs to go after the things that she really wants out of life.

One of the details that I enjoyed about this book is that since it is about a scandalous movie start, bits and pieces of the story are told in the form of news articles with scandalous headlines from questionable magazines. It is a fun way to view Evelyn as the public would have in the heyday of her stardom.

I suggest this book for anyone who loves a bit of gossip, anyone looking for a good LGBT+ read, and anyone looking for a good book. Happy reading.

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