Spoilery Book Reviews

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Back of the book

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?

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 1950's, 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 nears its conclusion, it becomes clear that her life intersects with Monique's own in tragic and irreversible ways.

My thoughts

I thought I would try a crack and making my own summary, but this novel pretty much does what it says on the back of the book and anything else would be a spoiler. The way in which Evelyn and Monique's lives are connected is built up as a "BIG DEAL" but when the secret was revealed it didn't feel as large as it was hyped to be. The novel was building towards this shocking reveal, but I didn't find it to be the huge emotional bombshell it was designed as. I liked that there was a defining connection between Evelyn and Monique, but the ultimate truth didn't feel very pivotal to the story.

I really enjoyed Evelyn's story and found myself wondering why Monique needed to be involved at all. I waited throughout the whole book patiently, trusting that something would come to light about why their stories were layered together. The small connection of Evelyn knowing how Monique's father was killed, did not feel large enough to justify why the story was set out in this way. I didn't hate the style, but Monique's story didn't add very much. The only benefit I could see was encouraging the reader to pause and reflect more on the life lessons Evelyn shares.

Most stories that I read are about a portion of someone's life, so I liked the different take recounting Evelyn's whole life. Any real biographies that come to my mind, are written by people who are not yet thirty. [Specifically, gay youtuber era biographies are etched in my memory so here's a list of just a couple and their age at publication of biography. I know some have written more recent books too. Joey Graceffa 23, Connor Franta 22, Shane Dawson 24, Lilly Singh 26, PewDiePie 23, Tyler Oakley 24.] Perhaps this is just a personal opinion, but writing a biography when you have lived majority of your life makes a lot more sense than when you're not even halfway. Assuming the people in the above list are healthy and nothing untoward happens to them. Old people have lived their life, and have a lot of wisdom to impart due to all the mistakes they've made and life lessons they learned. I firmly believe that some wisdom can only be learnt the hard way (living through it), but it can't hurt to hear someone else's story, their loves and losses and try to learn through their mistakes instead of making your own.

This book had a lot of big lessons and themes but was in a very digestible manner. Evelyn Hugo was such a badass character, take no bullshit attitude, doing what she always felt she had to do to get where she wanted to be. I admired her drive, ambition and commitment to making her dreams a reality. I loved the portrayal that the direction your life takes is in your hands, and you just have to take control. Don't put your life on hold because you're too scared of hurting other people, how they feel is their problem – the one lesson I would take from this novel.

I LOVED THE GAYNESS. A book with a title telling you it's a story about many husbands, I had no expectations of any gay, and it turned out very gay. BISEXUAL REPRESENTATION. Being in the closet made sense for the time period it was set in, and it is beautiful to reflect on how far we've come with changing social attitudes and acceptance. I really connected with the main characters and loved that Celia and Evelyn kept coming back together after years apart. That kind of love is so beautiful, on par with Harry and Evelyn's magical friendship. I want that one real friend, true blue, for life. They are so hard to find and keep.

This could be a controversial take, but I liked the ending, specifically Evelyn's death. Assisted suicide is a tricky topic but in the very particular circumstances of this book, it made sense and was appropriate for Evelyn to be allowed to choose to die. I like that it brought up that topic, and it handled it well. Evelyn was so driven that she actually achieved all she wanted to in life. The circumstances were so rare her death feels like a fairytale ending, a culmination of the perfect time to go before watching yourself waste away from illness. So rarely have we achieved all we want to, or have no loved ones left to live for. I liked her death. I think we all want a death like that, the luxury to choose our own time after having achieved everything we want, going towards being with the friends of our life (because they're already dead) instead of going away from them. Suffering the slow decline of illness into death sounds like one of the worst ways to go.

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo was a glorious tale of love, friendship and career ambition. The best gay stories are the ones that surprise me, so this fit the bill perfectly. I liked the writing and story layout although I didn't see why Monique needed to tell Evelyn's story when she shone all on her own. Most of the population loves being obsessed with celebrities' lives and Reid masterfully recreated that feeling for a fictional movie star, then wrote her juicy tell-all. Even in this fictional setting, I felt the pull of intrigue. What if Harry Styles wrote his tell-all at 80, FINALLY admitting that him and Louis had a relationship when they were teenagers?!

"The devastating luxury of panic." My favourite sentence ever.

TL:DR
A fantastic read, a juicy tell-all from a fictional movie star, finally living her truth. A gossipy look into how all of her seven marriages occurred, and stepping out of the closet about the love of her life (whom she couldn't marry).