So I have just finished reading The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid and it was epic. I know I say this about almost all the books on my site, but this is written differently from anything I’ve read thus far. Evelyn Hugo is a famous legendary Hollywood starlet that enlists a journalist Monique Grant to interview her under false pretenses, because in fact she hires her to write her biography, but that’s not all, there is a heart wrenching secret in why Evelyn chose Monique at all. The story toggles between the past and the present, sort of reminding me of the movie Fried Green Tomatoes, especially with the author showing the audience Monique interview Evelyn and the fact that we get a glimpse of Monique’s life. The story follows Evelyn at a early age from when her mother passed away when she was fourteen years old and then her running away from her abusive father at fifteen by marrying her first husband and moving from Hell’s Kitchen in New York to Hollywood, CA. From there she receives small roles until she she demands bigger roles from studio executives. They tell her she doesn’t have the right look, so she chops off her hair and dyes it blonde and renaming herself from Evelyn Herrera to Evelyn Hugo making her sound like she’s an actress from France instead of being her native Cuban. In the 1950’s being a starlet of color wasn’t a trend, so she had to look the part of what the public idolized in that time. At this time if you were signed to a studio they had complete control of your life, so they suggested that she divorce her husband and go on a few dates with actors that were signed to the studios to get her name out there. She eventually married a famous Hollywood actor and things started looking up and she finally got her first real serious role as Jo in Little Women and that’s when she met her life long friend Celia St. James.
Evelyn’s story is full of pain, passion, and romance, but more importantly it tells a story of ones life, all the ups and downs, the heartache and pain. I particularly enjoy this story because it shows real life aspects in what people go through day to day, but also how Evelyn went through it and coped with situations being a highly publicized individual. She’s had to hide her identity of being a woman of color. She’s had to deal with being a bisexual and hiding her sexuality. Just a fair warning that some people might take offense to this book because it deals with homophobia, racism, adultery, abortion, and death. If these things offend you or your a highly offensive person then I suggest you don’t read it, but if you do, you have to be open that times were different back in the day, a lot of things weren’t acceptable and if you came out as a certain person you were cast out as a pariah or it could’ve gotten you killed. I absolutely loved this story and a hundred percent vote for this book to be made into a movie. I’ve always wanted to see behind the scenes of starlets like Elizabeth Taylor and Marilyn Monroe and how their life was like away from the cameras, and we get that with the fiction story of Evelyn Hugo. It’s like a story of all the Hollywood starlets wrapped up in one woman. Sometimes the reasons why she married some of her husbands were ridiculous but sometimes necessary for her fame and namesake. At a time she hit rock bottom and had to start all over again to make a name for herself, not everyone could make a comeback like she did. I especially like this story because both of our main characters are women of color, Evelyn being Cuban and Monique being a biracial woman of African American and Caucasian heritage. They are both strong women, and I particularly like Evelyn because it was no easy feat having to hide who your truly are for the sake of your career. The author did so great with the description of how life was like during that time, it actually felt as thought I was reading a biography of a real person. So I must say that I love love this book and would love to see it as a movie on Lifetime, Netflix, Showtime, or in the theater. I definitely know this, that if its anywhere on the big screens I’m sure it will get rave reviews.
Young Evelyn Hugo-Camilla Belle
Older Evelyn Hugo- Raquel Welch
Monique Grant- Grace Byers
Young Celia St. James- Lily Cole
Older Celia St. James -Julianne Moore
Evelyn’s story is full of pain, passion, and romance, but more importantly it tells a story of ones life, all the ups and downs, the heartache and pain. I particularly enjoy this story because it shows real life aspects in what people go through day to day, but also how Evelyn went through it and coped with situations being a highly publicized individual. She’s had to hide her identity of being a woman of color. She’s had to deal with being a bisexual and hiding her sexuality. Just a fair warning that some people might take offense to this book because it deals with homophobia, racism, adultery, abortion, and death. If these things offend you or your a highly offensive person then I suggest you don’t read it, but if you do, you have to be open that times were different back in the day, a lot of things weren’t acceptable and if you came out as a certain person you were cast out as a pariah or it could’ve gotten you killed. I absolutely loved this story and a hundred percent vote for this book to be made into a movie. I’ve always wanted to see behind the scenes of starlets like Elizabeth Taylor and Marilyn Monroe and how their life was like away from the cameras, and we get that with the fiction story of Evelyn Hugo. It’s like a story of all the Hollywood starlets wrapped up in one woman. Sometimes the reasons why she married some of her husbands were ridiculous but sometimes necessary for her fame and namesake. At a time she hit rock bottom and had to start all over again to make a name for herself, not everyone could make a comeback like she did. I especially like this story because both of our main characters are women of color, Evelyn being Cuban and Monique being a biracial woman of African American and Caucasian heritage. They are both strong women, and I particularly like Evelyn because it was no easy feat having to hide who your truly are for the sake of your career. The author did so great with the description of how life was like during that time, it actually felt as thought I was reading a biography of a real person. So I must say that I love love this book and would love to see it as a movie on Lifetime, Netflix, Showtime, or in the theater. I definitely know this, that if its anywhere on the big screens I’m sure it will get rave reviews.
Young Evelyn Hugo-Camilla Belle
Older Evelyn Hugo- Raquel Welch
Monique Grant- Grace Byers
Young Celia St. James- Lily Cole
Older Celia St. James -Julianne Moore
