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A review by erebus53
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
CW: cigarettes, lung disease, AIDS
I'm just trying to think of what I can say. It is a much acclaimed book and and I quite like how it has an invented cast of "stars" who are easily understood through tropes. Evelyn Hugo is an assumed screen name, as was common for so many starlets of her time, who were reinvented for the silver-screen. Reading the book I found myself imagining certain characters played by certain actors. Inventing your own fantasy cast for this would be a fun game for book clubs.
This is a story about a woman who is a Hollywood icon spanning a career of decades. She does what she can to get ahead, but doesn't have as much power or freedom as the men in her life. She does not have the freedom to be with the one she loves, and has to lie and cheat to get ahead, and craft an image for herself that denies her ethnicity and her true feelings.
When a young, up-and-coming journalist is shoulder tapped by 80 year old Evelyn, as the person she wants to write her story, we are left wondering why she would pick this specific person to pen the most intimate details of her life. Just as we start to feel something for this savvy superstar, she creates distance by insisting that she will be hated when the truth is out. So after all these secrets and confessions, what's the one big secret that she is holding close to her chest?
I'll admit that the blurb feels like it's going to be pretty blah, but the character interplay sells it. It takes a while to get into the real heart of the story, but once I was in it was an easy read. I did end up in tears for the last hour or more of the book... but that's the deal as you advance in years.. having to say goodbye to the faces you have come to love and be invested in. Revelations and twists are in there too.. which makes for some conflicted and evocative moments.
I'm just trying to think of what I can say. It is a much acclaimed book and and I quite like how it has an invented cast of "stars" who are easily understood through tropes. Evelyn Hugo is an assumed screen name, as was common for so many starlets of her time, who were reinvented for the silver-screen. Reading the book I found myself imagining certain characters played by certain actors. Inventing your own fantasy cast for this would be a fun game for book clubs.
This is a story about a woman who is a Hollywood icon spanning a career of decades. She does what she can to get ahead, but doesn't have as much power or freedom as the men in her life. She does not have the freedom to be with the one she loves, and has to lie and cheat to get ahead, and craft an image for herself that denies her ethnicity and her true feelings.
When a young, up-and-coming journalist is shoulder tapped by 80 year old Evelyn, as the person she wants to write her story, we are left wondering why she would pick this specific person to pen the most intimate details of her life. Just as we start to feel something for this savvy superstar, she creates distance by insisting that she will be hated when the truth is out. So after all these secrets and confessions, what's the one big secret that she is holding close to her chest?
I'll admit that the blurb feels like it's going to be pretty blah, but the character interplay sells it. It takes a while to get into the real heart of the story, but once I was in it was an easy read. I did end up in tears for the last hour or more of the book... but that's the deal as you advance in years.. having to say goodbye to the faces you have come to love and be invested in. Revelations and twists are in there too.. which makes for some conflicted and evocative moments.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Death, Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Infidelity, Racism, Sexism, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Lesbophobia
Moderate: Alcoholism, Misogyny, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Abortion, Alcohol
Minor: Biphobia, Miscarriage