Category: Your Choice (in this case, historical fiction (mostly))

Review: For anyone who has enjoyed Taylor Jenkins Reid but has not read The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, please read it. Much like her 2019 best seller Daisy Jones and the Six, this book is an oral history, this time between a glamorous star (Evelyn Hugo) and a young reporter (Monique Grant). The framing mystery of why Monique Grant was selected to hear this story is spread deliciously over the rest of the book, holding everything in place while the reader is swept away by old Hollywood, into the alluring, glittery past.

One of the best parts of this book, and of Reid’s work in general, is the way that cultural history informs all of the characters. Evelyn Hugo has been associated with everyone from Elizabeth Taylor to Ava Gardener and Rita Hayworth. Likewise, her husbands are created from facets of the Burtons, Fishers, and Rooneys. However, Reid never allows this to overtly define her characters. Rather, they exist in their own richness and provide a level of humanity and diversity that the old Hollywood stars were denied. Evelyn is messy, difficult, and selfish in addition to being beautiful, brilliant, and formidable. And that makes this book just as engrossing as the time and space it portrays.

Reid creates a story that allows for constant growth despite being steeped in the past that readers may assume they already know. The story unfolds layer upon layer of nuance, decadence, and love while challenging assumptions and asking for the hardest thing of all, forgiveness.

Read the e-book or listen to the audiobook.

Contributed by: Noel