My first introduction to “The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo” (2017) was a 15-second TikTok book review. I then saw the cover of the novel, depicting Evelyn Hugo adorned in pearls and a dark green satin dress draped over her body, on every social media platform that I had downloaded on my phone. Despite the far-reaching publicity of this book and every one of my friends who also read this masterpiece telling me that I simply must have known, it was not until the moment Evelyn kissed Celia St. James that I realized this story was about queer romance.
The novel begins when Monique Grant, a low-grade reporter, is offered an interview with Hollywood movie star Evelyn Hugo. The unlikely pair recount Evelyn's history, including her youth in the 1950s. Evelyn narrates her failed marriages and cinematic triumphs in chronological order, and every crossroad seems to bring her back to her doomed relationship with fellow actress Celia.
Queer romance novels, specifically those catered towards the sapphic community, often feel formulaic. Taylor Jenkins Reid throws away this preconceived notion of romance and writes a novel that does not focus solely on the main character getting together with her love interest. Rather, Reid focuses on Evelyn’s life journey and how her decisions and actions pushed her both closer to and further apart from Celia.
While this love story grips the reader further, it truly is Evelyn’s dynamic character that draws us in. Evelyn is unapologetically ambitious and doesn’t seem like the type of woman to feel remorse. She understands the impact her sex-appeal and status have on others. As Evelyn begins to reveal her darkest secrets to Monique, her facade as a self-entitled Hollywood star begins to fade. Instead, we are left with a glimpse of frailty that comes with years of suffering loss at your own hands, and we see the personal life and interpersonal relationship of someone viewed as a celebrity differently than just as ‘drama’ in a grocery store magazine.
The book also takes a deep dive into understanding homophobia in the mid-20th century. This was an era of discrimination and abuse toward those with different social, sexual and racial orientations. With mentions of the Stonewall Riots, we begin to understand the scandal and danger that came with being gay in the mid-20th century.
“The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo” is not just a story about love; it’s a story about survival. Its appeal stems from the fully-lived life within its pages and the confrontation of personal loss that the readers can relate to. The growth and rebirth that comes with it creates hope and a feeling of redemption, even when such feelings aren’t necessarily needed. Neither a happy nor a sad story, Evelyn Hugocould be the secret life that any of our grandparents, aunts, uncles, godmothers and neighbors could have lived. Even now, nearly 70 years later, there are still those living a lie to protect themselves and their loved ones.
