My Thoughts on "The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo" and Discussion Questions

First of all, wow.  I really need to start going outside my comfort zone with books and read ones I thought I wouldn't like and kept passing over on Amazon and Goodreads.  I bought Taylor Jenkins Reid's other book, Daisy Jones and the Six and kept seeing this one, but I wasn't entirely sure how I felt about it.  On a whim, however, I decided to buy it.  It was in my pile of books to read in 2020, but I picked it up looking for a book, and I read it in two days.  I absolutely couldn't put it down!  I'm so glad I bought it and have it in my life.  It's definitely a book worth reading.

This book focuses on the life of classic film actress, Evelyn Hugo.  As the title implies, Evelyn was married an astounding seven times.  All of her marriages were different and helped her further her career in some capacity.  Getting up there in age and having outlived all her husbands and lovers, the mysterious Evelyn Hugo has decided to divulge the secrets of her past.  Rather than pick a famous and well-renowned writer, however, she picks Monique, who is a virtually unknown journalist for a magazine.  Monique has absolutely no idea why Evelyn has selected her, but she sees this as the perfect opportunity to help her fledgling career.  Over a series of several weeks, Monique meets with Evelyn in her grand apartment and listens as the actress holds nothing back and discusses her colorful past, including a string of seven husbands, scandalous film choices, becoming a mother and a forbidden love that she clung to for her entire life.  The whole time, Evelyn is keeping a secret, a connection between her life and Monique's that the young journalist never saw coming and will change her life forever.

As I previously stated, this book was absolutely amazing.  Even though Evelyn Hugo is a fictional character, I thought she lived an amazing life.  What I found most fascinating was the amount of thought that went into every decision she made.  Each and every marriage, yes, all seven of them, had some sort of pay off for Evelyn, even her briefest marriage (which was only a few days).  It absolutely blew my mind.  This brief marriage made me think of Britney Spears when she married a childhood friend in Vegas in 2004.  At the time, it was seen as poor decision making on the part of a former child star, but now I'm having some second thoughts.  Spears' marriage could have been a way to manipulate the public in some capacity.  This book has completely changed my perception on celebrities.

What else I loved about this book was Evelyn's character.  From early on, she took complete control of her life and career.  She knew exactly what she wanted and didn't care what other people thought about her choices.  This was a huge part of her personality, as she emphasized that while she didn't always make the best decisions, she had absolutely no regrets in her life, which says a lot about her since her decisions weren't always the best.  If she had been a real person, I would have seen Evelyn as incredibly inspirational.

I do have to say, as I read the book, I kept thinking that this would make an absolutely amazing movie.  It has everything movies are looking for: colorful characters, twists and turns, conflict and fantastical locations.  I do think Hollywood would struggle with making this into a movie, however, because it does pull back the curtain on some of its secrets.  Even so, it would make an amazing movie.  One can hope that, eventually, Hollywood will agree with me and make it into a movie.  If you've read this book and can give me some ideas as to who you'd like cast, leave a comment and let me know!  Also, if there's a book you've read that you'd love to see made into a movie, leave a comment with that as well.

Okay, now I want to talk about some events towards the end of the book.  There were some twists and turns the last few pages that I think I'm done processing through, and I'd love to share my thoughts on them.  So, if you haven't read the book, this is probably where you should stop reading.  I also have some book club discussions questions as well.

First of all, wow.  I knew there was some sort of connection between Evelyn and Monique before Monique began alluding to it, but I definitely didn't see that coming!  I definitely felt blindsided when Evelyn revealed that Monique's father had been gay and killed in the car accident that also killed Harry.  As soon as I read that, I put the book down and took a few minutes to process through the information and shock.  For the life of me, I couldn't figure out the connection between Monique and Evelyn, but I knew it had to do with her father since he was involved in Hollywood.  The fact that he was gay and Harry's lover absolutely took me by surprise.  I completely get why Monique got upset about the news, for a variety of reasons.  First of all, she learned that her father was cheating on her mother, and with a man, causing her to doubt his sexuality in the first place.  Additionally, she always thought her dad died after getting behind the wheel of a car drunk, which was something she though he'd never do.  To make matters worse, he was blamed to protect the reputation of a far more famous man from Hollywood.  It's a lot for anyone to take in, and I don't blame Monique at all for getting upset.  What surprised me the most, however, was the fact that, somehow, Monique was able to move past all that fairly quickly and return to Evelyn's apartment fairly quickly for the magazine photo shoot.

The other huge surprise was Evelyn's decision to end her own life.  After reading the book, however, and getting a sense of Evelyn's personality, it doesn't surprise me at all.  She's the type of person who likes to be in control of everything.  Additionally, she's known for her looks and appearances, so for her to waste away from cancer would be incredibly difficult for her.  This was Evelyn's way of taking control of her life one last time and saving herself from the suffering she had to watch her daughter endure as she died from cancer earlier.  It was definitely a sucker punch though, and it was even more emotional turmoil for Monique who was still getting over the news about her father.

Even though I didn't read this book for book club, I decided to come up with some book club questions.  Usually when I write book club questions, I write them as I read.  Since I decided to write these questions after the fact, however, they might not be as specific.  I hope you still find them useful.

1. How was Evelyn's decision to end her life her taking control of her life?
2. In what ways did this book change your perceptions of Hollywood?
3. If this was made into a movie, who would you cast?
4. Why was Celia a more award winning actress than Evelyn?
5. Do you think Evelyn selecting Monique really had nothing to do with her father's death?
6. In what way did Evelyn deny herself to become successful?
7. Of all of Evelyn's marriages, which one was the most "real"?
8. How did Monique's life mirror Evelyn's?
9. In what ways was Evelyn a woman ahead of her time?
10. Do you agree with Celia's decisions to leave Evelyn both times?
11. In what ways was Harry Evelyn's most stable marriage?
12. Although Evelyn appeared to be in control, to what extent was she actually in control of her life?
13. Where would Evelyn had ended up if she hadn't gone to Hollywood?
14. Would Evelyn's life and career choices been as scandalous if she'd been a young actress today?
15. How did Evelyn's roles reflect her desires for her life?
16. Do you think Monique will ever tell her mom the truth behind her dad's death?

If you've read The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, let me know what you thought of it in the comments below.  If you haven't read it, I hope you pick it up and check it out soon!