For a while I kept seeing these book titles tossed around here and on booksuggestions but I don’t think I ever connected that they were 2 distinct books and not my brain just muddling up the titles. I mean what are the odds of this? Did the authors know each other? How can modern book titles ever become this similar for 2 popular books? Are either of them good?
by heyheyitsandre
24 Comments
Idk but it makes me irritated every time! I enjoyed the seven husbands of Evelyn Hugo quite a bit. That being said, it’s not a beautifully written masterpiece that will be considered a classic in 100 years. But it’s a fun read!
The author of the book published second has said it’s complete coincidence.
….Wait there’s two of them? TIL.
Different publishers, genres and countries. Coincidences happen.
I used to get them confused all the time until the Hugo fans went crazy and associated it with Taylor Swift Is A Lesbian conspiracies and harassed Jessica Chastain over being in the adaptation
I recommend The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle. It was written, twisted and ended good enough to make me read it twice (so far) and it’s rare in mystery fiction, because often the ending is something so boring that the whole plot of the book feels a bit wasted.
I don’t know, but thank you for bringing it up!! No one else seemed to notice it, and I feel like I’m taking crazy pills here.
I’m kind of surprised one of them wasn’t changed. I’ve heard Gideon the Ninth was supposed to be called Ninth House but was changed for obvious reasons.
A lady in the publishing industry who had had some loose involvement with book promotion for *The Seven and a Half Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle* told me that the “and a Half” was inserted late in the process specifically to distinguish it from the *Evelyn Hugo* book. It was 100% random.
Seven husband of Evelyn Hugo was a very disappointing book. I felt like there was a lot of buildup in the plot and the ending just sucked.
Both of them are really good but Evelyn hardcastle is one of the best books I have read in the mystery-thriller genre. It’svery unique and well written with lots of twists.
It’s kind of similar to how ***Shades of Grey*** by Jasper Fford published December 29, 2009… and ***50 Shades of Grey*** by E L James published June 2011…
A little more time in between, but they are, uh, VERY DIFFERENT books
Something something I’d have ten cents, which is not a lot, but weird, right?
It actually doesn’t seem that must of a coincidence. Seven is a number (in my culture, atleast) associated with luck, Evelyn is a common name, and H sound, sounds good after E sounds
Glitch in the matrix
I knew that they were two different books, but I’m only now finding out —with your post— that they’re not related. I always assumed they were part of a series. Didn’t realize they were released within a few months from each other.
How did you make this post without giving the names of the books?
My mother and I each read a different one (she read Husbands, I read Deaths) and our phone call trying to discuss them was frustrating and then hilarious 😂
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo: It was one of the worst books I’ve ever read. It’s the least “woke” book I’ve ever read. It felt like TJR didn’t actually care about accurately portraying queer people of colour
It happens occassion, whether is pure chaotic chance or the subconscious influence of the times they are created, we will never know.
Also see Dennis the Menace haha, two comics of identical names, and obviously similar plots, at almost the exact same time, in two different countries.
I’m still confused whenever I see discussion of *The Name of the Wind” or *The Shadow of the Wind*, and *The Midnight Library* or *The Midnight Club* (takes place in a library)
A similar thing happened with The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle and The Seven or Eight Deaths of Stella Fortuna, also published months apart.
I wondered this as well lol, having enjoyed 7 1/2 deaths greatly, I kept trying to look up more about its author and writing process. Imagine my surprise! I believe it is coincidence though.
I feel like there are book title trends that come and go, and this is an egregious example of that. “The [Number] [Plural Noun] of [Popular First Name] [Specific Last Name]” feels like this year’s “The Curious [Noun] of [Name/Highly Specific Thing]”. We had the Curious Case of Benjamin Button, the Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime, the Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper, The Curious Case of the Copper Corpse, The Curious World of Calpurnia Tate, etc.
And don’t forget the nonfiction title trend of “[Noun]: the [Adjective] Life of [Kinda Interesting Science Topic]”.