The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Published June 2017 by Atria Books

Read by Alma Cuervo, Julia Whelan, and Robin Miles

12 hours, 10 minutes

Publisher's Summary: 

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 near its conclusion, it becomes clear that her life intersects with Monique's own in tragic and irreversible ways.

My Thoughts: 

This is one of those books that's been on my TBR list for a very long time. Recently my niece highly recommended it so I put in a request to the library for the audiobook. My niece was staying here recently and laughed at me when she discovered that I had a copy of the book in print. Which I'm pretty sure I've had on my shelves since before I read Reid's Daisy Jones and The Six. 

It seems to me that this book was probably the launching point for the way Reid wrote Daisy Jones, an interviewer getting the story about the rise to (and fall from) fame of a beautiful woman. Of course, you read a title like this one and think of Elizabeth Taylor and think, gee, this lady was terrible at picking men. But, as it turns out, Evelyn Hugo chose those men very carefully; they were all men, except one, who could give her what she needed...a way into the movies, a way to become the star she longed to be, a way to keep her name off the scandal pages. She was a woman who'd grown up terribly poor and abused and she was determined to rise to the top, to become wealthy enough never to have to worry about money again. And she did. But she never told anyone why she had married all of those men until she calls a magazine and specifically requests that Monique come to her apartment for an interview. When Monique arrives, though, Evelyn has something different in mind and Monique finds herself looking at a chance to make her mark as a writer, although it might also be the end of her current career. 

Over the next couple of weeks, Evelyn spills the beans, revealing to Monique who the true love of her life was and revealing the real reason she requested Monique specifically. 

It sounds like nothing much more than a fictionalized celebrity tell-all. But there's a depth here that's unexpected. Reid tackles some tough subjects, including some that are even more timely today than they were when the book was first published. I enjoy Reid's writing style, how she is able to make me like unlikeable characters. There are some plot twists here that I didn't see coming (although you may catch on earlier - you know how I am!) and the readers are terrific. I highly recommend this one as an audiobook. Thanks to my niece for pushing me to finally get around to this one!