malibu rising and the seven husbands of evelyn hugo

I liked the idea of connecting people by sharing their stories.” I feel the same way.Īdditionally, the details in Reid’s writing set her apart. I liked finding evocative ways of interpreting the real word. Monique says, “I liked writing about real people. The articles almost function as a third narrator because they demonstrate the public’s skewed view of Hollywood glamour and all the pieces of facts and fiction that make up that view.Īnother aspect of this story that resonated with me was reading a book written about a writer writing a biography. Stylistically, one aspect of Seven Husbands that I found clever was Reid’s use of the tabloid articles to frame the story. Hugo’s entire existence hinges on her looks and her deceptive road to fame – until tragedy strikes again and again. Her descriptions of the out-of-this-world beauty of Daisy Jones, Nina Riva, and Evelyn Hugo go on and on – so much so that it gets repetitive at times – and that common thread is abundantly clear throughout this novel.

Reid always writes in detail about the beautiful women that anchor her stories. But she also has the guts to make tough decisions and pays a heavy price, repeatedly, for the repercussions of those decisions. I felt for her in many ways because she experiences endless turmoil, but at the same time I found her hard to relate to because one minute she is cunningly ruling the world and the next minute she’s saying or doing something that makes my eyes roll into the back of my head. I didn’t despise Hugo, but I wasn’t rooting for her either. As I’ve written before, readers want to root for intrinsically flawed people – to a degree. For the reader, having Monique as one of the narrators is helpful because the chapters go back and forth between Hugo’s first-person account of her life and Monique’s first-person account of interviewing Hugo.īut the larger issue is that Hugo is unlikable. Her name is Monique and it’s clear from the beginning that the novel’s larger reveal is going to involve her. Similar to Daisy Jones, Seven Husbands features a writer who functions as a narrator. Instead, it’s more about what they represent.

While I did enjoy the book – as I’ve said many times before, Reid is an excellent writer and knows how to create dialogue better than most – this story was my least favorite of the three.Īlthough it is chronologically organized around Hugo’s seven husbands, the narrative is not really about them. But Evelyn Hugo was another level of sadness, twists, and reveals. Daisy Jones & The Six featured a surprising twist and Malibu Rising revealed all kinds of family secrets. Since this is the third book I’ve read by Taylor Jenkins Reid, I should have expected the unexpected.

Malibu rising and the seven husbands of evelyn hugo