Here are some more review roundups of novels that I’ve read over the past few months. These include the following books: The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, 1984, and Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? (Blade Runner).
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid – Short Review
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo follows two central characters. One is the 79 year old actress, Evelyn Hugo; the other is the younger journalist Monique Grant. The story kicks off when the extremely popular Evelyn Hugo requests that she be interviewed specifically by Monique Grant. This raises some suspicions from Monique’s editor-in-chief at her publication, but it’s too good of an opportunity for them to refuse Hugo’s request.
When Monique finally sits down with Evelyn, we see that Evelyn had no intention of doing an interview and that she merely wants Monique to write her tell-all autobiography. But why Monique?
Monique inevitably accepts the job (keeping it a secret from her boss at first), and then the book begins to read as a real autobiography of Evelyn Hugo’s life. We see her rise to fame in Hollywood, we see all of her marriages play out, as well as the real reason why she had so many husbands in the first place. And we see all of the tragedy that surrounds her life. We also find out the real reason she chose Monique to write her autobiography.
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo is an engrossing tale that makes its star character feel like a real person; a strength that the author Taylor Jenkins Reid seems to have in all her books. I went into this book not knowing what to expect and I was quite impressed with how compelling it was. There are many different social themes that are tapped into during the course of this book, but never once did I feel like these themes were forced or out of place.
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo was a 5 star book for me.
1984 by George Orwell – Short Review
George Orwell’s 1984 is a classic that highlights a dystopian world in which Big Brother monitors society and forces people on how to think, feel, act and speak. The government also alters history in their favour and they introduce their own variation of English called Newspeak that everyone is forced to use. Even natural actions such as sex is controlled and can no longer be done for pleasure.
The narrative is told from the perspective of Winston Smith, and the book follows his struggle of abiding by Big Brother’s laws, even though he has knowledge of the past society.
Originally, I thought this book was about a rebel movement that would overthrow the government, but the book is really more of a theoretical look at how such a government would function and continue to brainwash its followers. There are times when Winston tries to rebel against the laws but he’s severely punished for his actions until the point he’s forced to submit to Big Brother’s control.
What’s striking about reading 1984, is that some of its concepts are relevant in today’s world. Some levels of control highlighted in this book are really in place on the Internet and other avenues of society.
The ending wasn’t substantial enough for my liking, and it wasn’t even the type of ambiguous ending that I’m usually okay with. Besides that, I fully understand the importance of this book and I recommend everyone read it at some point in their lifetime.
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? (aka Blade Runner) by Philip K. Dick – Short Review
Philip K. Dick’s classic science fiction story follows the actions of Rick Deckard, who has been tasked with “retiring” a group of androids from Mars, who try to live among humans. These androids look exactly like humans, and don’t wish to be found.
What’s great about this book is the dystopian backdrop of the post-apocalyptic San Francisco that is vaguely described in the background as we follow Rick’s mission. This is set in a time when real animals are a rarity, with the remaining animals themselves being androids. It’s to the point where it’s extremely valuable to collect organic animals. The same could very easily happen to humans, hence the desire to retire (kill) the androids that lurk among society; before they can pave the way for an android invasion.
But Do Androids Dream of Electronic Sheep? isn’t full of android slaying action, because throughout the book Rick Deckard struggles with his own morals and principles. We see him not only fear the androids reflexes, but he also questions whether it’s right to take away an android’s life, even if they aren’t an organic being. We also get to witness a few surprise characters that are revealed as androids along the way.
If you’re just starting out in science fiction, this is an excellent piece of work to start with. And don’t worry, the movie is nothing like the novel, so you can enjoy both separately.
Have you read any of these books? Be sure to share some of your thoughts below!
