The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid - Book Review

Welcome to my new favourite book, which came out in 2017. The story starts in the present day, and we meet Monique Grant, a journalist who is trying to find her place in this world. She works for Vivant and is surprised when film legend, Evelyn Hugo, wants Monique to interview her.

The scene flashes back as Monique listens to Evelyn’s story of her life. We learn quickly that as a Latina woman, she has to change the way she looks to fit in the whiteness of Hollywood life. She dyes her brown hair blonde, and people believe her skin colour is just a tan from the sky. On top of that, she changes her name from Evelyn Elena Herrera to Evelyn Hugo, hiding her Cuban heritage to survive and make a life for herself. 

We also learn quite soon that Evelyn Hugo is bisexual, and throughout her seven husbands, she was in love with another actress who was a lesbian. 

I fell in love with this book the moment I started to read the words on the pages; I could feel that there was something different with this book, something new and unique. This isn’t a cliche story of a woman living life in the golden era of Hollywood. This is a story that many women probably had to go through in the 1900s to survive fame.

I like the way that Jenkins Reid split the book into seven different parts, one per husband. When I was a student at University, my lectures would tell us to keep everything simple, don’t over-detail everything as that could complicate the story. By splitting the book into seven parts, it was very easy to understand which husband we were with and what year we were in. 

I applaud Jenkins Reid for not making Evelyn Hugo’s sexuality her whole personality, which is something that many authors do when they do not share the same sexuality as the character. Readers know that Evelyn Hugo has to be a bisexual character, as her sexuality plays a major role in how the story flows. However, Evelyn Hugo is more than just a bisexual woman; she is hardworking and cunning throughout the book. We know her sexuality from the start, but Taylor Jenkins Reid wrote the character as a realistic person who isn’t just defined by her sexuality. 

I am also happy to have seen a bisexual person as the protagonist. As times develop, we are seeing more and more diversity in books. For example, the main character identifies as one of the letters in LGBTQ+. Nevertheless, many of these protagonists tend to be lesbian or gay, which is still good to have as it helps many people have someone to identify with. But, we know people whose sexuality is lesbian or gay are not the only ones in the LGBTQ+ community, so it’s nice to see a protagonist who isn’t a lesbian or gay. Having main characters whose sexuality as bisexual, pansexual, queer and more is something we should also be seeing more, as it helps even more people in our society feel seen and accept themselves. 

From the moment readers begin this book, we are as confused as Monique Grant as to why she is chosen to interview Evelyn Hugo and then write her life story. The closer I was to the end of the novel, the more adamant I was that I knew the reason why – I thought I was clever and that I knew the twist. 

As you probably have guessed, I had no idea what the twist was, and when I found out what it was, I loved that I was wrong. If you are able to guess the twist when reading this novel, then well done.

I cannot think of anything I didn’t like about this novel. Understandably, some people might not have liked how Evelyn Hugo acted towards her true love interest, but in my eyes, it worked. We have to understand the era that this character grew up in is completely different to our generation now. Our society isn’t perfect, but it is now more acceptable to be your true self. During the golden age of Hollywood, it wasn’t as golden as it should have been as people had to hide their truths. 

Therefore, the way Evelyn Hugo acts towards her true love interest might not have been the best, but it went with her characteristic of trying to succeed in a world that already had barriers because she isn’t born as a white male. 

I would read this novel again, and who knows how many times I will read this novel in my life. I enjoyed how this story was told and how it transported me into the life of Evelyn Hugo. 

This is why I would give this book a 5/5.