Medium – Audiobook
About the Book – Evelyn Hugo is a 79-year old ex-actress, who made her name in the 50s to 80s, acting in countless movies and winning an Oscar. However, she is perhaps best known for her seven husbands. Monique Grant, a journalist with the Vivant, a top magazine, is asked to write a piece on Evelyn, when she seeks her out to write a rare expose on her life. Soon, Monique realises that Evelyn actually wants her to write her authorised biography, and secrets start to emerge about Evelyn’s loves and life. Evelyn’s biggest secret soon comes out, and Monique must think of the best, and most appropriate way, to break it to the world.
My Rating – 4/5
My Thoughts – This was the second audio book I have got through in quite quick succession – the joys of lockdown and being a bit under the weather! This book is quite different to anything I have read before and as such, I wasn’t expecting too much from it, but actually, I really quite enjoyed it. I did find that it was slightly depressing in places, and I did need to take a break half-way through to listen to something a little more uplifting! I really enjoyed the way that the book was structured, with each of the seven husbands having a chapter, along with magazine articles and the thoughts of Monique also included alongside Evelyn’s own retelling of her life story.
Evelyn was a really interesting and nuanced character, as was Monique, and I really liked both of them. Monique was a little timid and self-conscious to start off with, unwilling to stand up for herself before meeting Evelyn. It was great to see a woman of colour taking the lead in a book and I really enjoyed the glimpses into her life. Evelyn was wonderful and I thought that she was a really intriguing and intelligently written character – and the first older woman in fiction I had read for a while who still retained spark and fire. I loved the ‘redemption’ story of Evelyn but also liked the fact that she wasn’t a straightforwardly ‘good’ character.
Jen's Book Blog 