Another newsletter, another book I kept hearing about but was unsure why. I don’t know how many of you follow Deux Moi, the instagram celebrity gossip blog, but I’d noticed that people kept asking about updates to a potential movie or miniseries of this book. Which seemed very unusual to me. So, like before with Verity, when a copy came in and I had some free time in my schedule, I grabbed it.
In the framing device of the novel, a youngish reporter, Monique Grant, is requested by name to be the first in years to interview aging actress Evelyn Hugo. An Elizabeth Taylor-esque figure, Hugo is donating a collection of her dresses to charity and Grant’s magazine is eager to turn this interview into a cover story. When she meets with Evelyn, however, Monique discovers it’s a coup: Evelyn wants Monique to write her biography, to be published upon her death.
And here’s where we enter the meat of the book: Evelyn Hugo’s life story, divided into sections based on which of her seven husbands she’s married to at the time. A young Cuban American growing up in Hell’s Kitchen, Evelyn marries her first husband in an attempt to get to Hollywood. A chance meeting (and determination, anglicizing her name, and dying her hair blonde) get her a movie part and thus, it begins.
A lot of the book is very much an ode to Classic Hollywood as well as how it changed in the 60s and 70s. Evelyn starts out in the studio system, her best friend is a producer, and a lot of her young life is incredibly produced. Evelyn becomes a master chess player, planning moves and films and relationships to help her own star rise. She’s cutthroat but understandably so.
Remember how I wondered why this book had garnered such a reputation, despite it seemingly just being another Golden Hollywood-era historical fiction novel? Welp, I can tell you why! It’s queer! At 21, Evelyn stars in a production of Little Women with an up-and-comer named Celia St. James and that is the great love affair of the book. Evelyn and Celia come together and drift apart over decades. They love each other terribly but the anxiety of living in the closet and the cutthroat world of the movies conspire to constantly tear them apart.
When it comes to love stories, I am very much the type that wants a happily ever after and this book is too realistic to give me the fantasy I want. I admired the story the book was telling but very much be prepared for heartache!
There is heavy foreshadowing that Evelyn is going to drop a bombshell on Monique at some point and when you finally find out what the connection is between the two of them, honestly, I would cut it. I don’t think it really added anything to the narrative and the other reason she would have heard of Monique’s name (trying to not be spoilery!) would have been reason enough to pick her to write the book, in my opinion but to each their own.
I enjoyed this more than I thought I would but I also don’t know if it rocked my world the way it seemed to for other people. But if you want a queer book about old Hollywood, well, have I got one for you!
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid is published by Atria Books and you can find links to purchase it here or find it at your local library!
Looking for more stylish, old Hollywood-esque reads? Here’s some to check out!
The Burning Cove Series by Amanda Quick: Okay, so these are a little cheesy but I’ve been enjoying them. They’re crime romance books all set (or connected to) a fancy resort town in California in the 1940s. It’s very much got the glam factor of old time Hollywood but instead of trials and travails, it’s a secretary on the run teaming up with the owner of a fancy hotel to solve a murder or a photographer pulled into a serial killer’s game partnering up with a guy who may or may not have psychic powers (did I mention sometimes there is kind of magic and it’s never talked about?) These books are bananas but fun and they read in about three hours. I’ve devoured every one.
This Was Hollywood by Carla Valderrama: Okay, I must admit that I haven’t actually read this BUT it is based on an Instagram account I’ve been following for years that shares clips and photos with stories from old Hollywood and that is great so I imagine the book would also be fun.
You Must Remember This: I suppose this is actually a listenalike as it’s a podcast but You Must Remember This is a spectacular podcast about Hollywood, especially old Hollywood. Hosted by Karina Longworth (whose voice you will hear in your head right now if you’ve ever listened: join us, won’t you?), it takes deep dives into different eras and themes in Hollywood and will teach you so much. I was binging this hard when I was in Library School so just imagine me walking down the street in Dublin, raging about Ronald Reagan (before he was even president.) Great seasons include Star Wars about Hollywood in wartime, The Blacklist (which inspired said rage), and perhaps most intriguing to Evelyn Hugo fans, Dead Blondes about Hollywood’s obsession with blonde actresses.
Next Time
Today is Jamie McKitten’s 9th birthday. I cannot believe my boy is nine whole years old, nor that it’s almost been nine years that I’ve had him. He’s been such a good little buddy, following me from New York to Oregon (and chilling for a year with my parents while I lived in Dublin) and I honestly can’t imagine my life without him. Here he is being ever-patient with his ridiculous baby sister last week:
Thing you should check out: my pal Kestrel is starting a new book review/BookTok drama review substack over at TeaTok and you should go subscribe before it gets huge. ;)
Over here, I continue to try and figure out my own life, meanwhile. Have I been reading sample PhD proposals? Maaaaaaaaaybe. As always, life suggestions always welcome.
In the meantime, thanks to my subscribers for making this an actual profitable newsletter! Remember that for only $35/year, you can become a subscriber and pick a book for me to read. Any book! I will read it! No one has yet given me an assignment but I sit here and wait, ever curious.
See you all in two weeks! Happy Reading!