Publisher: Washington Square Press Page Count: 391 Year Published: 2018
Taylor Jenkins Reid is quickly becoming an auto-buy author for me. I fell in love with her writing when I read Daisy Jones and the Six when it was first released, and thoroughly enjoyed The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo. I am eagerly anticipating her newest release, Malibu Rising, set to come out Summer 2021.
TW: emotional and physical abuse, homophobia, sexism
Synopsis: “Aging and reclusive Hollywood movie icon Evelyn Hugo is finally ready to tell the truth about her glamorous and scandalous life.
When she chooses unknown magazine reporter Monique Grant for the job, no one in the journalism community is more astounded than Monique herself. Why her? Why now? Monique is not exactly on top of the world. Her husband, David, has left her, and her career has stagnated. Regardless of why Evelyn has chosen her to write her biography, Monique is determined to use this opportunity to jumpstart her career.
Summoned to Evelyn’s Upper East Side apartment, Monique listens as Evelyn unfurls her story: from making her way to Los Angeles in the 1950s to her decision to leave show business in the late 80s, and, of course, the seven husbands along the way. As Evelyn’s life unfolds—revealing a ruthless ambition, an unexpected friendship, and a great forbidden love—Monique begins to feel a very a real connection to the actress. But as Evelyn’s story catches up with the present, it becomes clear that her life intersects with Monique’s own in tragic and irreversible ways.
Written with Reid’s signature talent for “creating complex, likable characters” (Real Simple), this is a fascinating journey through the splendor of Old Hollywood into the harsh realities of the present day as two women struggle with what it means—and what it takes—to face the truth.”
I will be honest, I was terrified to pick up this book. I’d seen readers whose opinions I value praise this book as one of the best books they’d read in recent years, and it upped my expectations to a level I didn’t think a book could meet. I waited many years to read it, but this year it felt right to finally pick it up. Mainly because I had very little memory as to what it was about. Given the plot was fuzzy, I felt more excited to read because many of the rave reviews I’d seen were equally fuzzy.
This story is layered and multi-generational. Initially, we meet Monique who works for a magazine and is specifically requested for a cover story on Evelyn Hugo, it’s not clear why Hugo singled her out, but we suspect there is a reason. Evelyn Hugo, for her part, will not answer the question for Monique or the audience until the very end. Told in alternating timelines–the first as Evelyn is rising to stardom in old Hollywood and the second as Monique prepares to write Evelyn Hugo’s life story–this novel explores a woman’s coming of age and coming to terms with the limitations of being a woman in a patriarchal world and profession. Hugo, despite being known for acting, is notorious for her seven husbands. Much of the story focuses on how and why those marriages came to be and then subsequently ended. While Hugo is not what people believe, she has a coldness that Monique finds off-putting. A generational gap exists between the two woman, and it makes Monique critical of decisions that Evelyn only ever saw as necessary and sacrificial to advance and reach her goals.
Evelyn Hugo’s life story is far sadder and darker at times than I expected. Given her reputation, I think I, along with Monique, expected a salacious, drama-filled expose, but what we get is a recounting of loss, sacrifice, and love. Evelyn Hugo wasn’t a perfect character, but Taylor Jenkins Reid created a character who is complex and feels authentic to the time period from which she came. This novel was a favorite read for me, and I’m glad I waited to read it because my reading experience felt like it had lower stakes than when I debated picking it up in 2018.
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Read It Like Rory 