Author: Taylor Jenkins Reid
Narrator: Alma Cuervo, Julia Whelan and Robin Miles
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
Publication Date: June 2017
Genre: Historical Fiction / LGBT / Women’s Fiction
Buy The Book: Amazon | BN | Audible
Description: Aging and reclusive Hollywood movie icon Evelyn Hugo is finally ready to tell the truth about her glamorous and scandalous life. But when she chooses unknown magazine reporter Monique Grant for the job, no one is more astounded than Monique herself. Why her? Why now?
Monique is not exactly on top of the world. Her husband has left her, and her professional life is going nowhere. Regardless of why Evelyn has selected her to write her biography, Monique is determined to use this opportunity to jumpstart her career.
Summoned to Evelyn’s luxurious apartment, Monique listens in fascination as the actress tells her story. From making her way to Los Angeles in the 1950s to her decision to leave show business in the ‘80s, and, of course, the seven husbands along the way, Evelyn unspools a tale of ruthless ambition, unexpected friendship, and a great forbidden love. Monique begins to feel a very real connection to the legendary star, but as Evelyn’s story nears its conclusion, it becomes clear that her life intersects with Monique’s own in tragic and irreversible ways.
My Thoughts: "Heartbreak is loss. Divorce is a piece of paper.” ~ Evelyn Hugo.
With Evelyn Hugo, the reader is introduced to a woman who knows what she wants, will pull out all the stops to achieve her goals and makes no apologies. She’s brash, brazen, willful, secretive, interesting and painfully human. At seventy-nine years of age, Evelyn is still beautiful and breathtaking with the posture of a ballerina.
Monique Grant is the complete opposite. She’s a hard worker and talented writer. She’s the child of a mixed-race marriage, raised by her white mother after her black father died when she was a child. She is desperate to make a name for herself as a writer. She’s newly single after less than a year of marriage and nobody is more surprised than she is when the reclusive film star, Evelyn Hugo, requests her, specifically, to write her authorized biography. Right away, one can’t help but wonder what the connection is between the two women.
I absolutely loved this story and how it is told in flashbacks from Evelyn’s point of view as she is relaying it to Monique for the biography. Evelyn was born Evelyn Herrera of Cuban heritage and grew up in Hell’s Kitchen. Her mother died when Evelyn was young, leaving her with an abusive father. Evelyn will do anything to escape this life, even marrying Ernie Diaz at the age of fifteen. Together, they make their way to Hollywood where Ernie secures employment as a film grip. Evelyn knows she is not suited to life as a housewife and quickly learns how to use her looks and sexual prowess to her advantage.
This story follows Evelyn over sixty years, seven husbands, a daughter and navigating her way as a bisexual woman in a society where marriages are arranged and dismantled at the whim of the studio for publicity and where Evelyn and so many performers like her have to keep their sexual identity a closely guarded secret. Evelyn’s life, loves and losses are laid bare for the reader to see and I couldn’t help but admire this woman for her survival skills and mourn her losses and cheer her victories.
I also liked Monique and understood her fan girl awe meeting Evelyn for the first time. She obviously has so many questions for Evelyn and I felt her frustration at being stonewalled. When their connection is revealed at the end of the story, I understood the sense of betrayal and rage Monique feels and thought it was portrayed realistically and accurately.
I chose the audiobook format of this story and the narration performances of Alma Cuervo, Julia Whelan and Robin Miles was nothing short of brilliant. Their performances made the story and the characters come alive. It made the characters easy to connect to and empathize with.
Major kudos go out to Taylor Jenkins Reid. The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo was the first book I have read by this very talented author and I am most eager to read her entire backlist.
My Final Verdict: I suspect this story will stay with me for a very long time. Evelyn’s life and her seven husbands pulled me in and I couldn’t look away. I wasn’t sure what to make of her at first, but without even realizing it, she wormed her way into my heart and I was completely mesmerized by her, as most people around her were. I highly recommend this story to all readers who enjoy stories of real-world life and struggles involving people who are just like all of us, trying to find our place in the world and carve out a little slice of happiness that will last a lifetime.
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