Can you believe I’m already done with one of my Summer Reads? Today’s post is all about The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid. This is a historical fiction following the life of Evelyn Hugo, as she tells it to writer Monique Grant.
First off, this novel was nothing that I expected. It was far more complicated and dramatic than I thought it would be. Evelyn Hugo is dying and in her last days when she asks Monique Grant, a writer at Vivant magazine, to pen her biography.
Evelyn Hugo was a sex symbol back in hey day. She came from a rough neighborhood and made her way out west to become an actress. She actually had seven husbands over the course of her life, and the ways in which she met and married each of her husbands were wild. One husband she married in Vegas and decided to divorce all in the course of 24 hours.
I could not put this book down for the first day. In fact, I almost completely finished it within 24 hours. The book is divided into sections based on her husbands. One thing I couldn’t get out of my mind was the faux gossip articles in between the chapters. The headlines on the articles were nothing like the wild stories that actually happened in Evelyn’s life. I don’t really follow celebrity gossip magazines or sites, but I do see a few while we’re at the grocery store or wherever. It makes me wonder how crazy the real life stories area. Do you ever think about that?
Monique Grant is not sure why Evelyn Hugo has asked her, of all people, to write her biography. When she presses Evelyn to tell her, Evelyn tells her she will understand at the end. Evelyn gives Monique full rights to sell the story after she dies, which she infers is imminent. Monqiue even lives at Evelyn’s home so they can work on the biography non-stop. The whole situation was just bizarre, but over time Monique develops a fondness for Evelyn. That is, until she discovers the reason for Evelyn wanting her write the story.
The ending was a total surprise to me. I should’ve seen it coming, but one of the themes of the Evelyn’s life is that no one really sees her. They only see what they want to see, or they see what she represents. The details were all there, but I was so mesmerized by Evelyn’s story I never saw the ending coming.
It’s a great read, and I hope you’ll pick it up. If you need any warnings for language or love scenes, there are a few there and there throughout the book.
Rebecca has been writing about style, beauty, and lifestyle topics since 2011. Thank you so much for reading this post! Feel free to leave any questions or comments below. I love hearing from you!
