Summary
The novel opens with a newspaper article (dated 2017), announcing that famous actress Evelyn Hugo is auctioning some of her famous gowns to benefit breast cancer research. The article provides a brief biographical overview of Evelyn (currently aged 79), explaining that she grew up in a working-class neighborhood with her Cuban-American family. The short biography highlights that Evelyn has been married seven times, most recently to Robert Jamison (the brother of another famous actress, Celia St. James), and that she had a daughter named Connor Cameron, who died one year earlier.
The main narrative begins with the narrator, Monique Grant, being called into a meeting with her boss, Frankie. Monique is a 35-year-old, biracial woman who works as a journalist in New York City, but is not yet well-known. Monique is therefore very surprised when Frankie tells her that Evelyn Hugo is offering their magazine an exclusive interview, and has specifically requested to work with Monique. Frankie is confused by this request, and openly admits that she would have preferred to assign a more senior writer to the story, but that Evelyn's team was insistent on working with Monique. Monique has no idea why this could be; she wonders if it could be related to her father's career, since he once worked as a photographer on movie sets. Monique texts her mother to ask, but her mother confirms there's no way that Monique's father would have known Evelyn.
Frankie is still reluctant to give Monique the opportunity, but Monique speaks up for herself. She has been feeling unsatisfied with her career and wants to seize this opportunity. Frankie agrees, wondering if it is possible that Evelyn Hugo read an earlier article by Monique, focusing on physician-assisted suicide. Frankie knows that Monique is a talented writer, and that this article could have attracted Evelyn's attention.
The narrative switches to a blog post, which notes with excitement that Evelyn Hugo, who is notoriously private, is giving an interview to Vivant magazine. The author of the post is confused as to why Evelyn would choose someone like Monique Grant when she could have worked with a much higher-caliber journalist. There are also a number of comments on the post, engaging in celebrity gossip about Evelyn's appearance, career, and personal life.
Monique begins her research into Evelyn's life and career. She welcomes the distraction, because she has recently separated from her husband, David, and is mourning the end of that relationship. Monique is struck by Evelyn's obvious beauty, charisma, and sex appeal, but also senses that Evelyn is able to maintain tight control of her image, and the narrative of her life, at all times. On the day of the interview, Monique goes to Evelyn's opulent and beautiful apartment. Evelyn's personal assistant, Grace, helps Monique get settled, and when she meets Evelyn, Monique is immediately struck by the elderly woman's beauty and composure.
When Monique begins to ask about the upcoming auction of Evelyn's gowns, Evelyn immediately corrects her, and explains that she wants Monique to write a tell-all biography. She is willing to give Monique complete information about all of her past, and allow Monique to publish it - although the deal will be between the two of them, and have nothing to do with Vivant magazine. Evelyn also explains that by the time the book is published, she will be dead.
Evelyn and Monique go for lunch, and Evelyn explains that if Monique is going to participate in the project, she needs to trust Evelyn, and also be nonjudgmental about what she will hear and report. Monique agrees to take on the project; back at Evelyn's apartment, Monique speaks with her editor, and lies. Monique tells her editor that she is gradually working to persuade Evelyn to do a cover piece, and does not mention the biography Evelyn has proposed.
Evelyn begins to narrate her life. She grew up poor in Hell's Kitchen; she and her mother shared a dream of someday going to Hollywood, but her mother died when she was only 11. Evelyn was already very beautiful and looked mature for her age; she feared that her father was going to marry her off, or even potentially begin molesting her. Evelyn heard of a young man named Ernie Diaz, who worked as an electrician. Evelyn learned that Ernie was planning to move to Los Angeles to find work doing lighting on film sets, and introduced herself to him. She knew that Ernie would find her alluring; Evelyn also lied about her age, and claimed to be 16 when she was only 14.
Evelyn and Monique break off the first part of their interview with Monique asking Evelyn who was the true love of her life. Evelyn says that she is not yet ready to reveal that information.
Analysis
The opening chapters of the novel give a significant amount of information about Evelyn's biography, which might seem to diminish the suspense around what Evelyn will tell Monique in the remainder of the text. However, this structure cleverly establishes the tension between appearance and reality, as well as introducing the theme of celebrity. Because she is so famous, the facts of Evelyn's life are readily accessible to anyone who wants to look them up: what remains a source of mystery is her inner world. Evelyn offers to introduce Monique, and by extension, the reader, into the world behind her public facade. Monique quickly introduces the question that will drive the plot forward: everyone knows that Evelyn has been married seven times, but no one knows who she truly loved.
The opening chapters introduce the literary devices of intertextuality and the use of a frame narrative. The narrative switches between Monique's present-tense, first-person narration, Evelyn's retrospective narration, and facsimiles of other sources, such as news articles and gossip blogs. The use of multiple points of view reveal that everyone is interested in Evelyn Hugo, and thinks they know something about her; the multiple embedded sources reproduce the sense of "chatter" and constant speculation about her every action. As the narrative progresses, it will become more intimate and focused on Evelyn and Monique. This device also helps to develop juxtaposition between what the world thinks about Evelyn, and what she will share about herself.
The literary device of a frame narrative occurs when one or more stories are embedded within an introductory or overarching story; in this novel, Evelyn's retrospective narration of the events of her life occurs within the frame of Monique conducting the interview while grappling with her own life. Other famous examples of frame narratives in Western literature include Wuthering Heights, Frankenstein, and Samuel Taylor Coleridge's poem "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner." Frame narratives often create an opportunity for juxtaposition between the figures involved in the introductory and embedded narratives; throughout the plot, Monique will compare herself to Evelyn, and notice their similarities and differences.
Frame narratives also allow the character who is learning about, or hearing, the embedded narrative to function as a reader surrogate; Monique learns secret details about Evelyn's life just like the readers do, and therefore her reactions to Evelyn might mirror those of a reader. Finally, the device of a frame narrative can raise questions about whether a narrator is reliable or not. Evelyn Hugo claims to want to be fully transparent with Monique, but from the very beginning, Monique suspects that there is context Evelyn is not revealing, and this tension between apparent transparency and the possibility of hidden secrets becomes more pronounced as the narrative continues.
The opening chapters set the stage for thematic connections between Monique and Evelyn, even though their lives are very different, and establish some of the areas in which Monique will learn from Evelyn. Monique's attitude towards her career immediately starts to shift, hinting at how her approach will be impacted. She is initially hesitant about acting in her own best interest if deceit is required, but Evelyn's matter-of-fact perspective helps Monique to be more courageous and pragmatic. Monique is initially mourning the end of her marriage, and therefore at a crossroads in her personal and professional life. Nothing seems to be going her way, and therefore she is the ideal audience to learn life lessons from Evelyn Hugo, a woman who seems to have gotten everything she ever wanted.
