‘The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo’ by Taylor Jenkins Reid is about a reporter who writes a

biography of a famous movie star. Evelyn Hugo is one of the world’s most beautiful women.
Having made her big break in the 50’s, she’s been in the spotlight for decades and not just
for acting. Evelyn has had seven husbands and now she’s ready to spill the dirt on them all.
Monique is a recently divorced journalist who knows interviewing Evelyn could kickstart her
career. But as Evelyn starts to divulge her secrets, Monique can’t help but wonder why she’s
been chosen to write this story…

Ready to share her life story, recluse Evelyn Hugo chooses unknown reporter Monique Grant to
write her biography full of Hollywood glamour and scandal. Summoned to Evelyn’s home,
Monique listens to Evelyn recall her life of fame, fortune, and failed relationships. The book
retells a journey of deceit, scandal, friendship, and forbidden love. As Evelyn nears the end of
her story, you’ll find that her life crosses with Monique’s in a heartbreaking way.

Evelyn is a woman in a man’s world and is determined to make her mark. She is a character full
of ambition, and the more Evelyn reveals about herself, the further you’ll be gripped. You’ll
increasingly want to know more about her. Why did she become a recluse? Why had she chosen
Monique? Which of her seven husbands did she love most? Why did she only want the book
published after her death?

Despite the fact it takes some time to reach the grittiness of Hugo’s story, it is all a part of her
mysterious allure. Some parts feel slow-paced, but I didn’t mind as it helped me connect and
visualise what she was going through, and how she felt at all of those points in time.

I liked the mixed prose, varying from Monique’s point of view to flashbacks as Evelyn recalls past
events. The novel also includes ‘articles’, which makes it feel like you are living in that time,
reading a celebrity gossip page.

Themes of romance, intimacy, and friendship alongside sexuality, racism and motherhood are all
explored. With two biracial main characters and gay, lesbian, and bisexual characters the book
includes a lot of much-needed representation. Evelyn’s bisexuality and Cuban heritage is
unveiled during the plot, and given her celebrity status and the attitudes of the time from the
era the book was set in, it’s moving to follow.

It is easy to lose yourself in the fiction of Evelyn Hugo. I felt disappointed by the end that she was
not a real 50s Hollywood starlet, and this was not a memoir I was reading. I would have loved to
see the films she starred in! I’m hoping some director makes a film adaptation - I’d love to see it
brought to life on the screen.