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A review by shrutislibrary
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
"When you're given an opportunity to change your life, be ready to do whatever it takes to make it happen. The world doesn't give things. You take things."
'The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo' is the fictional biography of Hollywood IT girl, the apple of Sunset Boulevard and the mercurial rise of a star and her life story. The novel starts with Monique Grant, a woman in her mid-30s working as an average feature writer at a renowned celebrity magazine in New York. Her life takes a turn for the better when she is offered an exclusive tell-all interview by none other than the legendary actress, icon and now septuagenarian, Evelyn Hugo, a woman who was the reigning queen of Hollywood in the 60s and 70s. What follows is the unravelling of Evelyn Hugo and her seven marriages, each more sensational than the last - each time the stakes just a little bit higher.
This novel has so many elements and ingredients stirring up in a slow burner. Taylor Jenkins Reid like the true chef she is, serves us all the right dishes at just the right time like clockwork as you had expected from the menu. There's the rags to riches trope, the glitz and glory days of classic old Hollywood, multiple affairs and casual flings, husbands discarded like used dishcloth and of course, sex, lots of it. Or rather using sex as a weapon.
Seven marriages in seven monumental moments of her life: whom has she loved the most? Evelyn Hugo has only ever truly loved one person. It's that one person pitted against the rest of the things she holds dear - her money, fame, and unparalleled glamour of the life she has worked hard to build. The book touches upon important themes and discussions around female desire, sexuality, suppression of a person's true identity and the way Hollywood's studios created a 'movie star' & micro-managed every aspect of a celebrity's life back in the day. Reid in this novel deftly presents a larger argument about what one is prepared to sacrifice at the altar of superstardom - in this case, Evelyn did or rather she was forced to suppress her true self to achieve the American Dream because of an unkind world.
'The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo' is the fictional biography of Hollywood IT girl, the apple of Sunset Boulevard and the mercurial rise of a star and her life story. The novel starts with Monique Grant, a woman in her mid-30s working as an average feature writer at a renowned celebrity magazine in New York. Her life takes a turn for the better when she is offered an exclusive tell-all interview by none other than the legendary actress, icon and now septuagenarian, Evelyn Hugo, a woman who was the reigning queen of Hollywood in the 60s and 70s. What follows is the unravelling of Evelyn Hugo and her seven marriages, each more sensational than the last - each time the stakes just a little bit higher.
This novel has so many elements and ingredients stirring up in a slow burner. Taylor Jenkins Reid like the true chef she is, serves us all the right dishes at just the right time like clockwork as you had expected from the menu. There's the rags to riches trope, the glitz and glory days of classic old Hollywood, multiple affairs and casual flings, husbands discarded like used dishcloth and of course, sex, lots of it. Or rather using sex as a weapon.
Seven marriages in seven monumental moments of her life: whom has she loved the most? Evelyn Hugo has only ever truly loved one person. It's that one person pitted against the rest of the things she holds dear - her money, fame, and unparalleled glamour of the life she has worked hard to build. The book touches upon important themes and discussions around female desire, sexuality, suppression of a person's true identity and the way Hollywood's studios created a 'movie star' & micro-managed every aspect of a celebrity's life back in the day. Reid in this novel deftly presents a larger argument about what one is prepared to sacrifice at the altar of superstardom - in this case, Evelyn did or rather she was forced to suppress her true self to achieve the American Dream because of an unkind world.