Reviews tagging 'Acephobia/Arophobia'

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid

1 review

madzie's review

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emotional medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

Reid concocts a spell-binding tale about fictional celebrity Evelyn Hugo’s life dealing with fame, media, femininity, and sexuality. Through the use of soapy drama, you can’t help but read through this legend’s life in just the same way media often sells us the life of celebrities. Characters demonstrate an important theme of how complicated humans and human relationships are. However, unlike what a biography of a real celebrity may feel like, Reid never seems to cement her main character in the reality of humanity, leaving it hard for me to really feel, see, and connect with Evelyn throughout the story.
Further, although the main themes are highly important topics that are likely to make any novel worth a read, Reid’s chunky and heavy-handed writing and unnecessary plot points make it feel like Reid bit off a little bit more than she could chew. Some of her themes, such as her exploration of fame and womanhood, are spot on and make me wish she had focused more on a few themes rather than stretched out and only briefly mentioned them all. At various points throughout the novel, ideas feel shoehorned into the story without real exploration, as if Reid did not fully consider the implications of what she was saying and including. For example, she jumps from conflicting ideas about sexuality and sexual orientation, denying the overall understanding of the queer experience, and, despite the main character being bisexual, tells a queer story from a very allonormative and heteronormative position, which feels very strange. 
Important plot points or history seem mentioned in passing, but not important, and whole characters and Evelyn’s relationship with them are passed over without any type of feeling created for or around them, leaving a rather hollow ring to it as if it was just moments to get through. I enjoy that Reid attempted to tackle poignant ideas in her novel, but I wish she had changed aspects of how she approached some topics so she could create a fully-immersive story that really considered big ideas about who is erased from society, what humans do with the desires they have, and relationships humans have to each other.
Despite this, Reid's bold writing is commendable. In the end, Reid experiments with writing, themes, and characters in reflective and admirable ways, and despite aiming so hard for the bullseye, she never hits it dead-on in truly groundbreaking or reflective ways. 
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