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.
