This is my Review of the Month for the review collection on LovelyAudiobooks.info.
Aging and reclusive Hollywood movie icon Evelyn Hugo is finally ready to tell the truth about her glamorous and scandalous life. But when she chooses unknown magazine reporter Monique Grant for the job, no one is more astounded than Monique herself. Why her? Why now?
Monique is not exactly on top of the world. Her husband has left her, and her professional life is going nowhere. Regardless of why Evelyn has selected her to write her biography, Monique is determined to use this opportunity to jumpstart her career.
Summoned to Evelyn’s luxurious apartment, Monique listens in fascination as the actress tells her story. From making her way to Los Angeles in the 1950s to her decision to leave show business in the ‘80s, and, of course, the seven husbands along the way, Evelyn unspools a tale of ruthless ambition, unexpected friendship, and a great forbidden love. Monique begins to feel a very real connection to the legendary star, but as Evelyn’s story near its conclusion, it becomes clear that her life intersects with Monique’s own in tragic and irreversible ways.
I finished this book 3 days ago, and I still have trouble wrapping my mind around exactly how I feel about it. The characters, the settings, the atmosphere, the character-building, the seven husbands!! It seems very confusing and extreme for one woman to have seven husbands, but once you read it for yourself, you’ll understand why.
Evelyn Hugo is more than just her name and her celebrity. At first, she seems like an ethereal Classic Hollywood goddess, with long, blonde hair, big tits and curves. Not to mention she has Cuban heritage, so that is another plus for her. But back then, in the early 1950s, she and her manager Harry Cameron had to change her image, to “Americanize” where she came from, even change her name from Evelyn Herrera Diaz to Evelyn Hugo. And on top of that, her being bisexual was something that she made a valuable asset for herself. That’s why she had so many husbands; not that she didn’t truly love some of them, but deep down, she’d married and remarried again and again to not just protect her image, but to protect those that she loved. Throughout her life and career choices and an actress, she understood that she wasn’t out to become the world’s best actress; it was more like a game to her. She knew she was a good actress, but not a great one; however, she took that and used it to her own advantage.
As for the mistakes she’d made both off an onscreen, she’d owned up to those too, I think. Every decision, even the wrong ones, Evelyn had owned up to in some capacity. And it’s also interesting how she knew how much hurt she’d caused to her loved ones, especially Celia St. James (I’ll get to her in a minute). Evelyn knew she wasn’t a good person, but that didn’t make her a bad person.
Her deep connection to fellow actress Celia St. James was something only they understood. At first, I was a little caught off-guard by them together, but it makes sense, and I could tell how much they really loved each other. Even throughout all of the heartache, heartbreak, distance, time and borderline torture these two went through. Evelyn having Harry by her side constantly helped her push through a lot of the separation moments between her and Celia. An interesting moment was when Monique asked her if Evelyn’s bisexuality had caused a strain in her relationship.
“No, I lost the woman I loved because I cared about being famous as much as I cared about her. It had nothing to do with my sexuality….There’s a difference between sexuality and sex. I used sex to get what I wanted. Sex is just an act. Sexuality is a sincere expression of desire and pleasure. That I always kept for Celia…. Being bisexual didn’t make me disloyal, one has nothing to do with the other. Nor did it mean that Celia could only fulfill half my needs.”
I’m not bisexual, as I’ve mentioned in my other reviews — I’m straight, but I do have bisexual/gay friends, and from them, and also from reading Evelyn’s perspective, I understand how frustrating it must be to be dismissed of your attraction to both men and women. To be called “oh no you’re not bi if you like guys more than girls” or vice versa. Like just you being bi isn’t enough if you have been with one woman and plenty of men, or some men and some women, or maybe in love with one man while being with many women. Reading books like these have opened my eyes to see how fluid sexuality is, and how complicated it can get.
I know I’ve probably spoiled some things for you guys already, so I promise not to spoil anymore, especially the ending!!!! But let’s just say that Evelyn picked Monique to do her biographical life storybook for a reason. It was her or nobody else. Monique’s storyline was interesting too; by herself, when she was going through her own personal issues with her husband David and her mom. I related to her closeness to her mother, even though she clearly got on her nerves. I can relate to having a mother for a best friend, and her getting on my nerves at the same time! Also, I think Monique hearing Evelyn’s story gave her a boost of confidence to do more with her life. There was a point in time where she Evelyn Hugo-ed Evelyn Hugo! She needed that boost of self-worth and respect from Evelyn onto herself.
Taylor Jenkins Reid’s writing works if you’re interested in the characters themselves because Taylor knows how to describe almost every detail in Evelyn’s life, basically from beginning to end. So if you’re not into Evelyn or Monique, then you probably won’t like Reid’s writing about them. At first, I didn’t really care for Monique, but Reid’s writing of her lonely life made me empathize more.
I laughed, cried, sobbed, swooned and held this story close to my heart while reading, and I know for sure that Evelyn Hugo will stick with me for a long time.
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