Seven Husbands for one hell of a woman's Life story

I took my time reading this critically acclaimed book (but I've come to learn that I seem to like to wait until the last second to read the books everyone's talking about simply because I'm not prepared for the potential disappointment of not feeling absolutely mind blown like the rest of the world... anyways). But this novel, with its realistically flawed and beautifully human characters, ironic title (wink wink), creative use of newspaper headlines and articles to further the story, a straightforward yet intricate writing style, and a complex, overlapping narrative is worth the hype in my opinion. However, I cannot say it's earned a spot among my top favorite books - I don't think it's anywhere near that. For while I admire the obvious attention to detail and planning it took to write this book and its smooth readability, at the end of the day, I just didn't form connections with the characters. I think, also thanks to this book, I've come to learn that the books I can't stop recommending to other people, the ones I really can't shut up about cause I love them so much, are because of the characters and how they leaped off the page into my own life in some way. Evelyn Hugo is a fantastic, dynamic, at times lovely to hate character that I loved following the story of through the eyes of an equally well-developed female character, Monique Grant. But neither of them, or the array of husbands that follow behind Evelyn like ghosts, truly stuck with me the way that I hoped they would, as I hope every time I open a new book or start a new series. I do want to be clear that I definitely recommend this book - its plot twist (though a bit predictable) is great, and its popularity and over one million copies sold speak for themselves. And hopefully the majority of its popularity comes from the fact that most people who read it actually do connect with the characters! Regardless, I will always fondly associate this novel with Siena, Italy - of an hour and a half train ride from Florence through Tuscany, of reading for a bit in some shade in front of the Museo Civico, and the train ride back after a long day of walking - the reading I got to do in these moments will forever be sweet in my mind of the first half of my summer spent in Europe. :)

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Some of my favorite quotes from The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo:

"I love you too much to let you live only for me."

"People think that intimacy is about sex. But intimacy is about truth."

"You do not know how fast you have been running, how hard you have been working, how truly exhausted you are, until someone stands behind you and says, 'It’s OK, you can fall down now. I’ll catch you.'"

"Sometimes reality comes crashing down on you. Other times reality simply waits, patiently, for you to run out of the energy it takes to deny it."

"Please never forget that the sun rises and sets with your smile."

"You have to find a job that makes your heart feel big instead of one that makes it feel small."

"People are messy, and love can be ugly. I’m inclined to always err on the side of compassion."

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