The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid
After reading Daisy Jones & The Six, I wanted to explore more books by Taylor Jenkins Reid, and I have been on a little bit of a historical fiction run, so I chose The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo. Again, Reid has surprised me with twists and turns and waves of emotion, just as she did before, and I can see myself reading more books by her in the future.
Evelyn Hugo was a household name since the late 50s when she took the silver screen. She had it all: looks, talent, and scandal. Married seven times, and divorced six, Evelyn kept the headlines entertaining from the beginning of her movie career until the very end. But it has been decades since she gave an interview, so when she chooses an unknown magazine reporter to do a complete tell all with, everyone is stunned, including the reporter herself, Monique Grant. Over the course of two weeks, Monique and Evelyn spend the days in her Manhattan house going over every up and down of Evelyn's life, ending with why Evelyn really chose Monique, and the shocking way in which their lives intertwine.
As excited as I was to start another book by Reid, I was also hesitant. Historical fiction is raising in popularity with me, but it still does not have the pull that my normal genres of true crime and thriller have, and anytime I read a book out of my comfort zone, there is some discomfort in the beginning. As I started the book, I remained uncertain because I was not thrilled with the character of Monique. She seemed very wishy washy. No, she doesn't seem that way, she admits it. That almost made it worse for me though. And when you were learning about Evelyn from Monique's point of view, she seemed hard; although that is probably because Monique was so enamored with her. I began to question my choice of book. But then the book switches to Evelyn's point of view telling her story from the time her mother died when she was a child onward. Because Evelyn is purposefully telling everything of her story as it happened, not glossing over or sugar coating anything, the reader gains a respect for Evelyn when she does things that are a little more or less unconventional. As the reader learns these things, Monique does too, and she picks up some lessons from Evelyn that she begins to unknowingly implement these lessons in her life and she loses some of her wall flower tendencies and gains some gumption.
Evelyn is a riveting character, in both her past and present forms. She learned very early in life after the passing of her mother that no one was going to look out for her but her, and if she wanted a better life, she had to get it herself, and she would do anything for a better life. Because of this, all but one of Evelyn's marriages was a scam. Her first marriage, not only did she lie about loving the guy and her age, she used him to get from New York to California. Her third marriage was to dispel rumors. Her fourth marriage was to make money. Her fifth was to hide a secret. Her sixth was a disappointment for everyone involved. And her seventh was to hide another secret. If you noticed, I skipped her second husband. Evelyn truly believes she loved her second husband, Don Adler. But not only was he a cheater, he was abusive, and both of these things became worse when he drank. So was Don Evelyn's true love? No. If you pay close attention to the marriages, you see a theme of secrets and lies.
Evelyn was in love though, with another actress, Celia St. James. The two had an affair that spanned decades and marriages, and whenever their secret might come out, Evelyn would do something to protect them. And this became a point of contention between them. While Celia identified completely as a lesbian, Evelyn identified as a bisexual, and Celia never felt safe with that. If Evelyn could love a man once, she could love a man again, and when she would so willingly go after men to protect their relationship and secret, it became too much to bare. Twice, the pair separated because of this, but they always returned to each other. Evelyn's fifth marriage, and Celia's only marriage, were to men who were also hiding the same secret. Harry had been Evelyn's best friend since she moved to Hollywood. Celia, who married John while her and Evelyn were separated the first time, married to hide their secrets, but John and Harry had fallen in love. Together, the four of them moved to New York and shared lives together. Even when Evelyn and Harry decided to have a child together, they all raised Connor together.
The conflict with Evelyn and Celia about Evelyn's bisexuality is interesting, but I can see it being common. While Celia admits in the end that it was her insecurity that was really the issue, it is understandable. Everyone feels insecure every now and then, and Evelyn slept with her third husband strictly to throw people off the scent of rumors about her and Celia. This became too much for Celia, as did an explicit sex scene in a movie, resulting in another separation. Because Celia knew that Evelyn did love Don, it was difficult for her to always feel secure. And that is something I can understand, something I am sure we can all understand.
The plot had a slow build, but I ended up really enjoying the book. The characters, big and small, really grow throughout the book, and just as in Daisy Jones, you forget they aren't real people. When they talk about movies they are working on, I had to stop myself from going to IMDb to look up the movies, or just the people in general. The glitz and glamour of old Hollywood is all there; you can see it clearly as Reid tells it to you, and for all you know, you're there on the strip, in a studio, at a restaurant, whatever it is. She has a talent equal to those of whose she writes about; the only difference is Taylor Jenkins Reid is real.
Rating: 8/10
Author: Taylor Jenkins Reid
Genres: Historical Fiction, Contemporary, Romance
Dates Read: January 16-21, 2020
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| (Source: Kelsey Darling) |
As excited as I was to start another book by Reid, I was also hesitant. Historical fiction is raising in popularity with me, but it still does not have the pull that my normal genres of true crime and thriller have, and anytime I read a book out of my comfort zone, there is some discomfort in the beginning. As I started the book, I remained uncertain because I was not thrilled with the character of Monique. She seemed very wishy washy. No, she doesn't seem that way, she admits it. That almost made it worse for me though. And when you were learning about Evelyn from Monique's point of view, she seemed hard; although that is probably because Monique was so enamored with her. I began to question my choice of book. But then the book switches to Evelyn's point of view telling her story from the time her mother died when she was a child onward. Because Evelyn is purposefully telling everything of her story as it happened, not glossing over or sugar coating anything, the reader gains a respect for Evelyn when she does things that are a little more or less unconventional. As the reader learns these things, Monique does too, and she picks up some lessons from Evelyn that she begins to unknowingly implement these lessons in her life and she loses some of her wall flower tendencies and gains some gumption.
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| (Source: Giphy) |
Evelyn was in love though, with another actress, Celia St. James. The two had an affair that spanned decades and marriages, and whenever their secret might come out, Evelyn would do something to protect them. And this became a point of contention between them. While Celia identified completely as a lesbian, Evelyn identified as a bisexual, and Celia never felt safe with that. If Evelyn could love a man once, she could love a man again, and when she would so willingly go after men to protect their relationship and secret, it became too much to bare. Twice, the pair separated because of this, but they always returned to each other. Evelyn's fifth marriage, and Celia's only marriage, were to men who were also hiding the same secret. Harry had been Evelyn's best friend since she moved to Hollywood. Celia, who married John while her and Evelyn were separated the first time, married to hide their secrets, but John and Harry had fallen in love. Together, the four of them moved to New York and shared lives together. Even when Evelyn and Harry decided to have a child together, they all raised Connor together.
"She looked back up at the ceiling. She didn't talk for a while. I watched her eyes as they moved back and forth. I watched her breathing as it slowed. And then she turned to face me. 'If it's what you want...if you want a baby, then...have a baby. I will...we will figure it out. I will make it work. I can be an aunt. Aunt Celia. And I'll find a way to be OK with it all.'" (pp.245-246)
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The whole story of these people hiding who they really are, going to extreme lengths to keep their secrets, and struggle with telling the world who they are or not is such a sad story. I know that at that time, who they loved was not an acceptable lifestyle. It still made it difficult to read that they would lose their jobs, possibly arrested or committed, and that Evelyn and Harry could have lost their daughter. They lived in New York, the two couples, during the Stonewall Riots, and they wanted so badly to be able to do something to support the cause that was their cause, but they knew that doing so would not only hurt them, but hurt the cause because it would become about them with the notoriety they held. And what breaks my heart even more is that this is still an issue today. Yes, it is so much more acceptable today that it was during the era of the book, gay marriage was not recognized in all 50 states until a few years ago. Shootings take place at gay bars. People either live a life of lies and never get to be themselves, or they lose family and friends because they don't accept it. It is a concept that has never made sense to me. I have had a couple people come out to me, and it only makes me love them more because they finally get to be themselves. Love is such a powerful force, as is being yourself; I would never deny that to someone.
"Harry shook his head. 'We go down there, all we do is attract attention away from the cause and toward us. The story becomes about whether we're homosexuals and not about the rights of homosexuals.'
Celia put the cigarette to her lips and inhaled. She had a sour look on her face as she blew the smoke into the air. 'So what do we do, then? We can't sit here and do nothing. We can't let them fight our fight for us.'
'We give them what we have and they don't,' Harry said.
'Money,' I said, following his train of thought....
We started filtering money privately that day, and I've continued to do so the rest of my life." (pp. 236-237)
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The plot had a slow build, but I ended up really enjoying the book. The characters, big and small, really grow throughout the book, and just as in Daisy Jones, you forget they aren't real people. When they talk about movies they are working on, I had to stop myself from going to IMDb to look up the movies, or just the people in general. The glitz and glamour of old Hollywood is all there; you can see it clearly as Reid tells it to you, and for all you know, you're there on the strip, in a studio, at a restaurant, whatever it is. She has a talent equal to those of whose she writes about; the only difference is Taylor Jenkins Reid is real.
Rating: 8/10
Author: Taylor Jenkins Reid
Genres: Historical Fiction, Contemporary, Romance
Dates Read: January 16-21, 2020
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