Reviews tagging 'Classism'

Die sieben Männer der Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid

98 reviews

wing_san's review against another edition

adventurous challenging reflective tense fast-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

4.25

A fun book I finished in a little over 3 sittings. I'm not sure it needed 3 narrators, and I echo the thoughts of the other reviews when I say the Monique portion of our story could be dropped without affecting the main allure of this book. She wasn't fleshed out enough to have the Devil Wears Prada learning from your mentor win moment. We had a lot of insight into what was going on in her life, sure, but the character of Evelyn is so full-bodied that our understanding on Monique in turn feels more like the author is telling us who she is and telling us to root for her only because we're told she is an underdog with talent. Her career is summarized in a few paragraphs when we get Evelyn's through the whole book.

The twists both with her father and Evelyn's ultimate decision were far too predictable. The main character having written an article on euthanasia was a little too neat and on the nose.

Overall, however, the author did a very good job establishing a voice for Evelyn and making me care about her character even if I wouldn't have liked her as a real person.
I love the

found

family in the story, and realized how much I had grown to enjoy the book when I felt I cared for the characters in it. I also really enjoyed the depiction of queerplatonic relationships, but I agree with other reviews that the story lacks any platonic relationships that matter.

I would recommend this book, with the caveat that you'll probably find yourself skimming past the parts about Monique.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Suicide, Sexual content, Domestic abuse, Racism, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Injury/Injury detail, and Lesbophobia

Moderate: Cursing, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Biphobia, Blood, Car accident, Abortion, Adult/minor relationship, Death of parent, Death, Abandonment, Addiction, Alcohol, and Emotional abuse

Minor: Cancer, Chronic illness, Alcoholism, Classism, Drug use, Xenophobia, Eating disorder, Terminal illness, Miscarriage, Outing, Sexual harassment, Homophobia, Pedophilia, and Pregnancy

I've put minor mentions of eating disorder above, but more accurately it's portrayals of dieting culture/actors restricting their weight for roles.

rebekkamafia's review against another edition

emotional medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Biphobia, Homophobia, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Alcoholism, Cancer, Suicide, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Car accident, Death, Abortion, Alcohol, Pregnancy, Racism, Sexism, Chronic illness, Death of parent, Grief, Miscarriage, Classism, Emotional abuse, and Misogyny

mangofraiche's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Terminal illness, Cancer, Domestic abuse, Child abuse, Child death, Adult/minor relationship, Abortion, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Drug abuse, Grief, Homophobia, Infertility, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, Blood, Infidelity, Outing, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, Toxic relationship, Misogyny, Sexual content, Classism, Biphobia, Mental illness, Emotional abuse, Addiction, Abandonment, Death, Alcoholism, Car accident, Chronic illness, Death of parent, Violence, Cursing, Lesbophobia, and Miscarriage

fanboyriot's review against another edition

emotional funny slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Read For:

Bi Icon

Sapphic

Actress MC

Old Hollywood Setting

Interview Style Storytelling

I’m not sure what I was expecting when I started reading this but this was not it but not in a bad way.  I’ve had this book for so long that I kind of went into this knowing nothing.  

I loved how this was told, the interview, and the old newspaper articles, it isn’t something I read often so it was kinda cool.  This book definitely has a charm to it, the world of old Hollywood and the dreams and damage it caused.  There were happy moments, a little spice, and some good old angst as well.

Evelyn was an icon and while she might not have been a good person she sure was captivating and the life of the party.  You either wanted to be her or be with her.  She kind of gave off Marilyn Monroe vibes.

The line at the end: 

“Doesn’t it bother you?  That your husbands have become such a headline story, so often mentioned, that they have nearly eclipsed your work and yourself?  That all anyone talks about when they talk about you are the seven husbands of Evelyn Hugo?”

And her answer was quintessential Evelyn.

“No,” she told me.  “Because they are just husbands.  I am Evelyn Hugo.  And anyway, I think once people know the truth, they will be much more interested in my wife.”

      - (Chapter 69, Page 385)

I waited the whole book to read that line alone and it was so worth it.

Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ (4.5/5)

Release Date: 13, June 2017

POV: First Person

Spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️

Rep:  Bisexual (MC), Lesbian (LI), Gay SCs, Latinx MC 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Cursing, Mental illness, Homophobia, Lesbophobia, Death, Suicide, Classism, Emotional abuse, Biphobia, Grief, Adult/minor relationship, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Alcohol, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, Violence, Sexual violence, Infidelity, Child death, Misogyny, and Domestic abuse

Moderate: Car accident, Chronic illness, Child abuse, Terminal illness, Addiction, Blood, Death of parent, Outing, Drug use, Injury/Injury detail, Pregnancy, Racism, Rape, Body shaming, Toxic friendship, Murder, Cancer, Alcoholism, Pedophilia, and Drug abuse

Minor: Vomit, Abortion, Medical content, Panic attacks/disorders, Eating disorder, Abandonment, Suicidal thoughts, Miscarriage, Self harm, Xenophobia, and Fatphobia

parchementhallucinations's review against another edition

emotional informative reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Classism, Domestic abuse, Lesbophobia, Sexism, Biphobia, Body shaming, Adult/minor relationship, Misogyny, and Sexual content

emily_zylstra02's review against another edition

challenging emotional inspiring tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Drug abuse, Eating disorder, Miscarriage, Alcoholism, Self harm, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Drug use, Addiction, Fatphobia, Medical trauma, Physical abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, and Classism

renciti's review against another edition

emotional funny inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I think something I've realized about myself is how much I love Taylor Jenkins Reid's writing. This is the second book of hers I've read that I've found myself completely hooked by. I swear I think about at least one of her books once a day. 

Making the main character of the book a queer woman of colour and the love of her life actually being a woman instead of any of her husbands was amazing to read. The rockiness of their relationship and the hardships they had to go through just to be together without losing everything they had will send you through about a million emotions. The ending of the book was definitely something I would not have predicted as well. I knew Monique Grant's dad would be involved with Evelyn at some point, I definitely did not expect that ending, however I loved it.

---

Content Warnings

Minor: Misogyny, Outing, Car accident, Cursing, Drug abuse, Cancer, Death, Terminal illness, Drug use, Sexism, Racism, Blood, Biphobia, Domestic abuse, Alcohol, Pregnancy, Physical abuse, Addiction, Sexual content, Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Classism, Alcoholism, and Emotional abuse

cheye13's review against another edition

sad 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

3.0

The writing style was very readable and the characters in Evelyn's history were practically tangible. The expression of her grief and loneliness was well conveyed.

For a story about the golden age of Hollywood, and for a story spanning decades, the narrative felt very unrooted from the time to me. I couldn't tell which decade we were in until Evelyn made a pointed comment, and when the time is the story, I'd rather it be more immersive. I also found the interviewer's storyline very weak and paint-by-numbers. The end also felt like a cop-out.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Car accident, Death of parent, Grief, Misogyny, Sexism, Terminal illness, Domestic abuse, and Death

Moderate: Sexual content, Homophobia, Biphobia, Cancer, Child death, and Infidelity

Minor: Classism, Miscarriage, Sexual harassment, Alcoholism, Abortion, Infertility, Pedophilia, and Adult/minor relationship

ohheyivy's review against another edition

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

---

Content Warnings

Minor: Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Misogyny, Homophobia, Grief, Classism, Alcoholism, Toxic relationship, Suicide, Sexual content, Outing, Cancer, Biphobia, Lesbophobia, Infidelity, and Death of parent

glitterdeww's review against another edition

mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Car accident, Homophobia, Misogyny, Alcoholism, Lesbophobia, Biphobia, Domestic abuse, and Alcohol

Moderate: Suicide, Sexual content, and Classism