Taylor Jenkins Reid: An LGBTQ+ Experience

About the Author

 Taylor Jenkins Reid is a popular LGBTQ+ author based in Los Angeles. Some of her most well-known novels include The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, Daisy Jones & The Six, Carrie Soto Is Back, Atmosphere, and Malibu Rising. Many of her books have become New York Times bestsellers. Reid is known for writing stories that explore complicated relationships and personal struggles. Two of her popular historical fiction novels are Malibu Rising and The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo.

Malibu Rising

Taylor Jenkins Reid’s Malibu Rising (3) takes place in Malibu, California, in 1983. The story follows four siblings, Nina, Jay, Hud, and Kit Riva, who are the children of a famous singer named Mick Riva. Every year, Nina throws a large summer party that brings in celebrities and other wealthy guests. However, this particular party ends with the family’s mansion burning down. As the book moves through 24 hours, each sibling faces personal problems, complicated relationships, and memories from their childhood. Through these flashbacks, Reid explores themes of family, abandonment, fame, and most prominently generational trauma. The novel shows how difficult it can be to move past family struggles and create a different future for yourself.  

Reviews

In a review for The Washington Post, Stephanie Merry describes Malibu Rising as a mix of unknown celebrity culture and family drama. She compliments Reid’s ability to combine emotion with humor and entertaining scenes involving Hollywood’s rich and famous. Merry also points out Nina Riva’s strength and how she tries to balance the pressures of fame with the responsibility she feels toward her family. However, she notes that some of the secondary characters’ stories seem to develop too quickly toward the end of the novel. Overall, the review highlights Reid’s engaging writing style and her ability to show how family trauma and conflict can affect people’s lives. (4)

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo (2) tells the story of Evelyn Hugo, an aging Hollywood actress who decides to share the truth about her life with a relatively unknown journalist named Monique Grant. As Evelyn talks about her seven marriages, she reveals the sacrifices she made to become and remain famous, the discrimination she experienced as a Cuban American woman, and the relationship she kept hidden from the public. The novel explores the difference between how celebrities make themselves appear to the world and who they really are. It also deals with themes of identity, sexuality, and sacrifice. As Monique learns more about Evelyn’s past, she begins to uncover a personal connection that they share. Through Evelyn’s story, Reid shows how difficult it can be for women in the entertainment industry to balance their personal lives with the extreme expectations placed on them by the public.

Reviews

Natalie Bullock’s review describes Taylor Jenkins Reid's The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo as an immersive historical fiction novel centered on around a Hollywood star, Evelyn Hugo, who recounts her dramatic life story to a reporter named Monique Grant. As Evelyn details her journey from the bottom up alongside a mystery, the narrative explores her seven marriages, particularly her secretive relationship with another woman named Celia. Ultimately, Bullock praises the book and refers to it as a masterpiece that intertwines historical moments such as the Stonewall Riots, which moves the novel past being a  traditional romance and into a moving story about identity, acceptance, and sexuality.(1)

My Personal Reflection

Reid is able to create very vivid and emotionally complicated novels that are very entertaining to read, and it’s clear that she really cares about the stories she tells. What really stood out to me, for example, is a piece she includes in Malibu Rising where she describes her process in crafting the story, and how she actually worked with professional surfers to learn how to better depict that part of her story. This adds a layer of authenticity to her storytelling, which reflects in her ability to depict aspects of the LGBTQ+ community as well -- including historical events like Stonewall in The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo. In both novels, she takes the reader back in time to the history of Los Angeles, which, now knowing that she is from there, is another way that her personal experience as an author makes its way into her work. There aren’t many books that capture the same feeling she can, and I found myself completely hooked on both storylines without feeling disappointed by the end. She uses genuinely shocking twists that still make sense and creates a world in her stories that the reader can interact with; I was surprised to realize that the characters from both novels (and apparently some of her other works as well) are connected and show up in each other’s pasts. The way that she explores family and identity by reflecting on the past allows her to seamlessly integrate LGBTQ+ themes and representation into history, which is a very powerful and important message to send.  

Works Cited 

(1) Bullock, Natalie. "Book Review: 'The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo' by Taylor Jenkins Reid." Lighthouse Writers Workshop, 26 Apr. 2023, lighthousewriters.org/blog/book-review-seven-husbands-evelyn-hugo-taylor-jenkins-reid. 

(2) Jenkins Reid, Taylor. The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo: A Novel. Simon and Schuster, 2017.

(3) Reid, Taylor Jenkins, and Julia Whelan. Malibu Rising. Penguin Random House Audio, 2021. 

(4) "Taylor Jenkins Reid's 'Malibu Rising' is a fiery mix of celebrity culture and family drama." The Washington Post, 27 May 2021, www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/books/malibu-rising-book-review/2021/05/27/4d047ed4-bd56-11eb-b26e-53663e6be6ff story.html.