I first became aware of Taylor Jenkins Reid through the awesome author Emma Brodie. (If you're a newer subscriber, you can read my post about Emma's novel here.) Emma lent me her copy of Daisy Jones & The Six, which I experienced as a literary This is Spinal Tap, a written mockumentary of a fictional band. Reid seamlessly wove together a huge cast with clips of interviews, creating an impressive depth of character to the musicians she conducted out of thin air. I put the work on par with Tim O'Brien's The Things They Carried, another book that reads like truth even though it announces its fictionhood from the jump.
Since that introduction, I've read most of Reid's other books and am continually impressed with her ability to conjure authenticity. The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo kept me riveted. It felt in some ways like every exposé I've seen of Marilyn Monroe, with her stunning good looks and many failed relationships. More, it reminded me of Diane Setterfield's wonderful The Thirteenth Tale. If you haven't read this novel, you should. Like Reid's, it manages to tell multiple stories in multiple timelines, held together by an interview an older, celebrity gives to a younger unknown.
I don't care or know anything about tennis, yet Reid had me completely enthralled by Carrie Soto is back. Like with Evelyn and Daisy Jones (which gets a shout out in this later novel), Reid weaves together multiple points of view including news clippings, interviews, and first-person narration. She creates palimpsestic sound bytes for the reader.
Usually, I try to promote romance novels on my site, not only because I think they're generally (or genre-really) under-appreciated, but also because I love them. None of the five Taylor Jenkins Reid books I've read could accurately be classified as romance, though they have great romantic elements. Still, I thoroughly enjoyed all five, plan to read her others, and highly recommend that if you haven't read her books yet, you check them out.
Please share any Taylor Jenkins Reid thoughts or anything else you want to say in the comments.
I’ve read and loved Daisy, Evelyn Hugo, and Carrie Soto. Fyi, the Daisy audiobook is fantastic, and Daisy is read by Jennifer Beals. I love sports, but Carrie had too much tennis, even for me. I have to read some of the others. If you liked Evelyn Hugo, I recommend Adriana Trigiani’s All the Stars in the Heavens.
Oh, I didn’t know Parker Alum Jennifer Beals read the audio. That’s wonderful. I’ll put All the Stars on my TBR.
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo is probably one of my favorite books of all time. I do wonder, though, if it is fair to say she had seven “failed relationships,” (likening Evelyn to MM) when (spoiler alert) the one that truly counted was never recognized, which speaks to the title and how it is purposefully misleading – introducing the whole idea of coded language and subtext. Come visit me so we can have book club!
Juliet, I would love to come out there for a book club. I hope I can someday. And yes, the seven husbands weren’t perfect relationships, but they’re also not the whole story.
Loved The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo and The Thirteenth Tale. You would also like Once Upon a River by Setterfield. Will try your recommendations!
Thanks! I’ll put it on the TBR!