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Content Warning: This section of the guide discusses anti-gay prejudice, racism, and domestic abuse.
Monique, an LA native turned New York reporter, is the narrator and interviewer. As a biracial woman with “light brown skin” and “an abundance of face freckles,” she spent her entire life seeking representation and reflection (2). After the sudden death of her father when she was 8 years old, Monique struggles to see herself as whole, feeling severed from her Black identity. Her father is her greatest inspiration; as a Black man in the 1980s, he made a successful career out of his passion for photography. When she realizes that writing is her passion, Monique follows his example by pursuing that. She’s talented but insecure; she allows herself to be overlooked and even marries a man who isn’t well-read so he can “never think [she] was a bad writer” (284).
However, her time with Evelyn transforms her; Monique realizes what she deserves and learns to demand it: “Why shouldn’t it be me who comes out on top?” (142). By standing up to her boss and ending her marriage, Monique implements Evelyn’s lessons of choosing her own happiness. Monique serves as a parallel for Evelyn; they are both women who struggle to reconcile with their seemingly conflicting identities. Their unwanted connection through James Grant’s death works to contrast their personalities while simultaneously revealing their similarities; while Monique disagrees with Evelyn’s lifelong deception and greed, she can understand her need to protect those she loves.
Evelyn is a former 1960s Hollywood starlet who, at the end of her life, wants to release a tell-all biography. Growing up Cuban in Hell’s Kitchen, Evelyn’s family struggled to make ends meet. After the death of her mother, Evelyn is left with her abusive father. She matures into a beautiful adolescent, subjecting her to constant unwanted attention from men. To escape this life, she uses her sexuality, cunning, and grit to make her way to Hollywood. She quickly rises to fame, catapulted by her “inevitable” beauty and ability to make headlines. She is described as timelessly stunning, with a striking combination of “tanned skin” and “light hair” (15).
However, this fame comes at a price for Evelyn; she must hide her Cuban heritage and true identity as a clever, strong-willed woman until she is reduced to a bombshell identity. From a young age, she is conditioned to see sex as transactional, instilling within her that she can succeed by manipulating men with sex. However, when Evelyn falls in love with another actress, Celia, she learns that her image harms them both. Evelyn’s love for Celia teaches Evelyn to accept herself, be truthful about the complexities of her identity, and that fame and fortune are meaningless if you’re heartbroken.
Evelyn’s most important role in the novel is her character’s consideration of morality and truth. She never claims she is good, but she also refuses to regret her decisions. Every choice Evelyn made—no matter how wrong it may seem—she did to protect herself and those she loved. Evelyn is depicted as neither all good nor all bad but “[s]omewhere in the middle” (367). Her character is well positioned to represent truth because her entire identity was built upon falsity; as Evelyn chooses the truth, damning though it might be, the novel favors the moral ambiguities and conundrums that accompany truth, rather than a happier lie.
Celia is the love of Evelyn’s life. Born to a wealthy family in Georgia, Celia is discovered as a teen and flown out to Hollywood. With blue eyes, “strawberry-red hair,” and a “girl-next-door kind of face,” Celia embodies a kind of beauty that is powerful in its “accessibility” (86-87). When Evelyn first meets her, she recognizes this and resents Celia for it. However, Evelyn warms up to Celia’s frankness and sweet disposition. Celia serves as a foil for Evelyn; where Evelyn is cynical and duplicitous, Celia is idealistic and vulnerable. Their greatest difference is Celia’s desire to be out and Evelyn’s desire to maintain her lifestyle by staying closeted. As they age, they begin to see each other’s perspective, validating each woman’s reasons for their respective concerns.
Like Evelyn, Celia is morally ambiguous. She resents Evelyn’s sexual past with men, many times outright refusing to acknowledge her bisexuality. She is also cruel, lashing out at Evelyn by picking at her insecurities. However, Evelyn loves this about Celia because she recognizes the same traits in herself: “[S]omeone can love you in a way that is beautifully selfless while serving themselves ruthlessly” (251).
Harry is Evelyn’s ex-husband, best friend, father of her child, and producer. He discovers Evelyn while working for Sunset and makes her a star. The pair become quick friends over their shared ambitions, love of money, and desire to create quality films. Harry is gay and lives his entire life in the closet. It takes him years to come out to Evelyn, though she knew for a while. He is the platonic love of Evelyn’s life and an essential component of her family. Through Harry and Evelyn’s relationship, the text conducts a study on chosen and unconventional family dynamics. The benefactor of this dynamic is their daughter Conner, raised by two queer parents who are never romantically involved but who love each other unconditionally. Like Evelyn and Celia, Harry’s character serves the novel’s consideration of moral ambiguity; he loves people wholeheartedly and selflessly, but his drinking is responsible for the drunk driving accident that kills Harry and James, the man he loves. This final, fatal decision obscures Harry’s virtuousness but does not undo all of the good he’d done while alive. Instead, Harry’s tragic death serves to remind the reader that great people can make horrific mistakes—echoed by Evelyn’s complicated moral legacy.
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By Taylor Jenkins Reid