Really Old Book Review
Pt. 2
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid
“I know that I use people. I’m fine with the idea of using people. And all of that energy that you spend trying to convince yourself that not using people, I spend getting better at it.”
“I was Ok. I felt safe. I had a beautiful daughter, a devoted husband, and the love of a good woman. I had money and fane. I had a gorgeous home in a city I had reclaimed. What could Don Adler take away from me?”
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
My friends tried to convince me for monthssss to read this book and, to be frank, I don’t like reading books or watching movies that have been hyped so much. Many at times, they don’t live up to the hype and it can be very discouraging.
Opemi Pius bought me this book for my birthday because she wanted to “break the hold African literature has on me💀” and I’m so so so happy she did because this book did not embarrass its hype-men!!!
In a story of dreams, glamour, the rise to fame, the price of it, and the ordeals of a forbidden love, Reid tells a story of Evelyn Hugo’s journey to becoming America’s most famous actress and biggest movie sensation through seven transactional marriages.
Evelyn was an incredible icon who was born with a skill few people possess, the ability to strategically climb the Hollywood ladder.
I love the way Reid tailored this character and everything about her. She was untouchable, inaccessible, and unreachable. Her life was what many dream and her surreality made both the other characters in the book and the readers seriously fan girl for her. However, as the story unfolds, the reader gets to see that Evelyn is no more human than you and I. Despite the multiple awards and box office wins, she made many sacrifices and put up many facades and was just as deprived and in fear of discrimination as any person.
She had all that many would wish for and then some, but lacked the only thing she truly wanted; happiness and true love. It may sound cliche, but in many ways, Evelyn’s money power and fame could certainly not buy her happiness.
~ written 31/10/2022