Book Review The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo a novel by Evelyn Hugo

Book Review: The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo a Novel by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Published in 2017, The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, captured the eyes of many around the globe. This historical fiction romance caught the eyes of an even possible audience, through the power of social media.

The highly acclaimed novel created a roar on several channels such as TikTok and Instagram, and it is also assumed that the world will witness a literary adaption of the same on Netflix.

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If you are on the lookout for a book which is all consuming and will keep you engrossed till the very last page Taylor Jenkins Reid has got you covered. She is a New York Times best – selling author, whose novels are reader oriented, covering many topics from relationships, homosexuality, complexity, etc.

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo also stood as a finalist for Best Historical Fiction category of the 2017 Goodreads Choice Awards.

The novel revolves around many characters introduced from time to time, but focuses primarily on Monique who is a struggling writer and is given the opportunity to speak with the mysterious and secretive 1960s Hollywood superstar Evelyn Hugo about fame, controversy, and love.

The story revolves around the extraordinary life Evelyn Hugo, whose character resemblance can be loosely tied to Elizabeth Taylor. Evelyn shares her story with Monique, and wants her to write her biography.

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What the readers are expected to find throughout the narrative is an aesthetic portrayal of Old Hollywood – for an outsider a world of luxury and glamour but the inside is revealed by Evelyn’s own story.

Like is expected from Old Hollywood, the story is full of drama and complexities, but it is also a story about a woman in a man’s world, her independence and power and also her idea of love.

A trigger warning is to be provided before the reader begins the journey of Evelyn Hugo, as the author – Taylor Jenkins Reid has given instances of homophobia, suicide, rape, abuse and biphobia. Therefore the age rating for this book stands to be 15 and above.

The main reason why, even long after being published the novel remains Internet’s Most Favorite is because of the narration style and its ability to glue the readers so much so, that they cannot keep up with the excitement of knowing the next thing about to happen.

A reader through this book is given access to a secret which makes it seem like something that shouldn’t be navigated or even permitted. As Monique went through the smallest of details of Evelyn’s life, it felt like a Hollywood Expose.

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The novels ability to captivate the reader and make them feel like they are not the ones reading, rather the ones watching the seen unturn, is without any doubt credited to the authors engaging writing style.

Taylor Jenkins Reid ability to create characters, which seem on the forefront too modest, but eventually show their flaws and complexity in a very realistic and relatable fashion. Also termed as a Queer Romance, this novel shows the courage of a woman as Evelyn to describe her encounter with the same gender, even at a time when the LGBTQ+ community did not have any respect or place in the world.

Evelyn’s struggle with her own identity has been portrayed through the story, highlighting how, old or new, glamourous or basic, the struggles of a women or an individual are the relatable factors in the contemporary world.

It stands as a story of many different loves and also the reason for the same. Evelyn is viewed as an ambitious, indestructible character, who is revealing and owning to nothing, but the truth, with the help of her flaws.

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Don’t be despised by the glamour and glory, as the narrative is sure to make the reader come to the conclusion of viewing this book as a Tragedy. By the end of the book, you won’t only be guided by mystery but also heartbreak, so much so that you feel for the characters own losses.

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, is a unique blend of many themes, making it a perfect summer read. “ Don’t judge a book by the cover”, but in the case of this novel, the readers definitely did. The first look of the cover provided a royal charm to the novel but turned out to be contemporary yet old soul in its writing.

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