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A review by emilyatmidnight
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid
5.0
This is a stirring and powerful tale of love, and also of the lengths we humans go to to achieve what we think will make us happy.
I've heard people criticize the storytelling because they didn't think the secondary timeline that the reporter shows us was necessary or they didn't like it. I personally enjoyed it, but more than that I felt that aspect of the book was what gave it a potent level of depth. Evelyn's character is expertly portrayed through the way she tells her own story: how she admits the things she regrets, but more importantly, the things she does not. Without that hindsight narrative we would miss out on the main beauty of the book and Evelyn herself. As for the reporter, Monique, she ties into the story quite well in the end, but even if she didn't, I thought her perspective on Evelyn's life as well as her own circumstances were entertaining and valuable in a story like this.
Evelyn and the other people in her life were all vying for happiness, but despite their common goal, Taylor Jenkins Reid deftly described many varied and nuanced individuals.
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo might be considered a romance to some or a tragedy, yet I wouldn't call it either. There is as much love and joy paired with sadness. As well as an instructive level of raw humanity in it.
I've heard people criticize the storytelling because they didn't think the secondary timeline that the reporter shows us was necessary or they didn't like it. I personally enjoyed it, but more than that I felt that aspect of the book was what gave it a potent level of depth. Evelyn's character is expertly portrayed through the way she tells her own story: how she admits the things she regrets, but more importantly, the things she does not. Without that hindsight narrative we would miss out on the main beauty of the book and Evelyn herself. As for the reporter, Monique, she ties into the story quite well in the end, but even if she didn't, I thought her perspective on Evelyn's life as well as her own circumstances were entertaining and valuable in a story like this.
Evelyn and the other people in her life were all vying for happiness, but despite their common goal, Taylor Jenkins Reid deftly described many varied and nuanced individuals.
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo might be considered a romance to some or a tragedy, yet I wouldn't call it either. There is as much love and joy paired with sadness. As well as an instructive level of raw humanity in it.