Thursday, 20 September 2018

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid

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 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.


Audiobook, 12 pages
Published June 13th 2017 by Simon Schuster Audio 
Genre: Fiction/Historical Fiction
Kristine's Thoughts:

I listened to this book and I was blown away. It was an absolutely stunning story that I found I couldn't get enough of. I wanted to know everything about the famous Evelyn Hugo and her many husbands.

Evelyn requested Monique to tell her life story to even though nobody knew why. At 79 years old, the academy award winning actress was finally ready to tell her true story. That included all seven of her husbands and her one true love. Monique couldn't figure out why she would want her to write Evelyn's biography but saw the benefit it would be to her career and future.

The reader (or listener in my case) was then swept away in Evelyn's story starting in the 50's and continuing through decades. She revealed her transformation from a nobody to a Hollywood starlet that everyone wanted a piece of. Without giving anything away, she revealed the lengths she went to in order to get what she wanted, to hide what she needed, and the true story behind each of her husbands.

As I listened to this book I often forgot that Evelyn Hugo was a fictional character. She felt as real and famous as she was penned in the book. It made me think about the lives of real famous people of that era and even now. How much of what we have seen is actually real and how much is just a publicity stunt?

Ambition and love were at the forefront of Evelyn's story and I found myself getting lost in it. As her entire story was revealed, so was Monique's connection to her life and it left me speechless.

I loved this book and highly recommend it!



About the Author
Taylor Jenkins Reid is the author of The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, One True Loves, Maybe in Another Life, and two other novels. She lives in Los Angeles.
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