The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid

 

Reviewed by Jeanne

Monique Grant is working for Vivant magazine, hoping to make a name for herself as a reporter when the incredible happens: Evelyn Hugo (or rather, her staff) reaches out to the magazine about doing an interview-- and Evelyn only wants Monique.

Evelyn Hugo is a star. She lit up the box office and the gossip magazines with her performances and with her off-screen life.  Then she became reclusive and elusive. She doesn’t walk the red carpet or visit talk shows or give interviews—at least, not until now.  This will be a huge coup for the magazine and for Monique.

With more than a bit of trepidation, Monique goes to meet Evelyn. It turns out that Evelyn doesn’t want to do an interview.  She wants Monique to write her biography. She doesn’t want a puff piece or a hatchet job. Monique is tasked with writing the truth.

And so Evelyn begins to tell her story, one that starts in Hell’s Kitchen and then heads to Hollywood, through husband after husband, scandals, love affairs, and secrets.  But the biggest secret, why she chose Monique, she saves for last.

Ah, Book Bingo! The way I finally get around to tackling many titles on my TBR list. This was my choice for “Read a historical novel,” since the story begins in the 1950s and continues to the present, more or less. I had heard great things about this book and I must say it lived up to the hype.  I grew up reading the old movie star magazines like Photoplay before moving on to reading novels and biographies of Hollywood, so Evelyn’s story had the ring of truth.  While Evelyn herself is a fictional creation, author Reid has said that she drew from the lives of stars such as Rita Hayworth and Elizabeth Taylor for inspiration.

Evelyn is a fascinating creation. In many ways, she’s a woman before her time.  She isn’t an innocent waif bedazzled by the bright lights:  she sees Hollywood as a way out to build the life she wants and she does what she needs to in order to achieve her goals. I think what intrigued me most is that while Evelyn has regrets, she’s not about to apologize.  She did what she felt she had to.  Agree with her or not, she doesn’t care.

I found Evelyn to be mesmerizing.

Love her or hate her, you will certainly remember her.

We actually had an earlier (and better written) review of this book back in 2019 but I was so enchanted with Evelyn that I had to throw in my two cents.   You can read Christy’s review here.