Review: There’s drama, glitz and glamour galore in this historical fiction novel that tells the story of a (not real) Hollywood legend and her iconic film roles and the parade of husbands she married over the course of her long life. But the story is deeper than you think. Bestselling author Taylor Jenkins Reid tells Hugo’s story through a framing device of a magazine reporter hired to write a puff piece on Hugo for an upcoming issue. Hugo, now in her later years, is not interested in a magazine puff piece. She hand-picked this particular journalist, Monique, to instead lie to her bosses or quit her job and instead sell Hugo’s life story in a tell-all biography. Monique is up for the challenge – and sure fire mega millions earnings – of writing an inevitable bestseller, but she’s not sure how to tell her boss about Hugo’s plan or whether she should quit her job, and she’s also not sure why Evelyn Hugo picked her to write the biography. Monique isn’t particularly well-known or successful in her career, except for one meaty piece she published a few years earlier.
Nonetheless, she takes on the beast of telling Hugo’s story, setting out on a mission to answer the one question everyone wants to know: of all Hugo’s husbands, who was the true love of her life? The answer is a surprise — a twist for both Monique and the reader. That twist comes midway through the book, though, since Hugo’s story is told in chronological order, with each husband getting his own section, detailing their meet-cute, engagement, marriage and divorce.
Evelyn Hugo is meant to be a fictionalized amalgamation of Elizabeth Taylor, Ava Gardner and Rita Hayworth. The story of her marriages and divorces is interspersed with fake gossip mag snippets and glimpses into Monique’s life, offering parallels between hers and Hugo’s lives. It’s a nice framing device in that is showcases how hearing Hugo’s story impacts the decisions Monique then makes, both professionally and personally.
Analysis: This book is full of twists that not only change the course of rest of the book, but also indicate the book has more substance than your typical chick lit. Is it chick lit? To a degree, yes. But it takes on some heavy social issues, ethical issues, including questions about work, a woman’s worth, sexism, ageism, illness, divorce, death and love. And the Hollywood of it all makes it just plain fun. (If you’re not a fan of Hollywood, celebrities or film, this may not be your top pick.)
Each husband offers a benefit or serves a purpose, and each one sadly has some flaw that ends it. Or is it Evelyn Hugo who’s full of flaws? That much is a mixed bag and ultimately a decision for both Monique and the reader to make. This may be what I found most interesting about Taylor Jenkins Reid’s writing. As Hugo recounts her story for Monique, she’s bluntly honest about what she’s been through and what she’s done to others. She holds nothing back and also feels no shame about any of it. It’s pretty empowering. Evelyn Hugo is certainly not weak. And I like that she does some pretty incredible things, but also pretty awful things.
MVP: Evelyn Hugo. Ultimately, I came down on the side of liking her as a character, but this isn’t some “beautiful woman leads disastrous life and then magically redeems herself because she’s old, wise, regretful, wistful and kind” story. No, she’s a classy, but fierce old broad who pulls no punches. She never has, and she never will. Even, and dare I say, especially in the final act.
Lara's Book Club 