Book Reco #21: The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid
An aging Hollywood icon finally tells the tale about all her seven husbands.
Hi there!
I believe that the real reading is in the rereading. This is my second reading of Evelyn Hugo and I felt it so much more than my first reading. The first time I read it, I was just in it for the plot. My second time, though, I was so consumed by the great writing and all the nuances that made this book amazing. All the longing, passion, and ambition of Evelyn Hugo - I let it consume me to my core.
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 5/5 stars
Aging Hollywood icon, Evelyn Hugo, is finally ready to tell the truth about her scandalous life and her seven husbands. She chooses an unknown writer, Monique Grant, to tell her story. A decision that shocked many. Even Monique herself.
Monique accepts the job, starts the interview process, and listens in fascination as Evelyn tells her story. The interview unravels Evelyn’s ambition, secrets, forbidden love, and unexpected friendships. In the process, Evelyn changes Monique in the way of asking for the things she want and taking charge of her life. As the interview process comes to a close, Monique eventually discovers her own connection to Evelyn and why she was chosen to write her story.
On the first page of the book, I wrote on the marginalia, “I was just beginning to dip my toes but I am instantly transported”. That’s how good the writing is, it captivates you right off the bat.
Ultimately, the book is about female empowerment and of a woman taking charge of her destiny in a man’s world. Truly, well-behaved women seldom make history. It’s also about this passionate love story of two people who keep finding each other again and again over the course of several decades. There’s this deeply passionate line from Evelyn to the love of her life that I never paid attention to before. It goes:
I love you so much, sweetheart. So, so much. And it's in part because of things like that. You're an idealist and a romantic, and you have a beautiful soul. And I wish the world was ready to be the way you see it. I wish that the rest of the people on earth with us were capable of living up to your expectations. But they aren't. The world is ugly, and no one wants to give anyone the benefit of the doubt about anything. When we lose our work and our reputations, when we lose our friends and, eventually, what money we have, we will be destitute. I've lived that life before. And I cannot let it happen to you. I will do whatever I can to prevent you from living that way. Do you hear me? I love you too much to let you live only for me.
My biggest takeaway from this book is that no person is all good nor all bad. Good people can do bad things and bad people can do good things. Humans are not all black and all white. Evelyn is deeply flawed, with questionable moral standards, and takes what she wants regardless of consequences. TJR paints Evelyn as this formidable woman but she does bad things and use people. First for her career, and later on for the people she loves.
TJR shows that humans are complicated. Even goody-goody, girl-next-door Celia isn’t at all a saint. She only see things in black and white. When she’s angry or sad, she takes down everything with her. Even Evelyn.
The funny thing is that I rated this book only 3.5 stars the first time I read it. Maybe because I was still on a high from another great book of TJR that it eclipsed everything else. From then on, I decided to savor a good book by not jumping on the next one right away. I let the book “marinate me” by not reading anything else at least two days after finishing a book. To fill up that time, I’ve recently been doing a lot of crochet projects.
What I’m Reading This Week
I did a major book haul last week and the first thing I decided to read from that haul is Bel Canto by Anne Patchett. I’ve wanted to read this book for a long time now but I don’t see it any bookstore in my area. As of this writing, I’m one-third in and I think this book is going to be a slow burn.
