Customer Reviews

My Face for the World to See: The Diaries of Candy Darling

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I've been interested in Candy ever since I saw her in "I Shot Andy Warhol" (played by Steven Dorff) I decided to buy this book because I have an interest in all things related to Andy, the Factory, and the entourage. It's very interesting- the entries are Candy's own handwriting, some of them go back to when she was in middle school. There are even pictures she drew herself. There are some nice photos too- even one in the front of her and Andy. Candy's writing is also very heartfelt- you can tell she desperately wanted to be something she wasn't. My favorite passage in the whole book is "You must be true to yourself no matter what the cost, it is the highest form of morality." My only complaint is that it should have gotten under the surface and told more about her life. But overall, I think Mr. Newton did a wonderful job. You feel like you get to know Candy throught this book, it even looks like it could have been her diary- it has a lock and key and everything. It's a good book for those who are interested in Candy, or things that went on in the Factory.

" It Glittered and it gleamed, for the arriving beauty queen" The words once sang by Siouxsie Sioux, describes the spiritual search for the ghost of Jane Mansfield. I guess the words itself in the title could have been uttered by Candy as she applied her favourite colour of lipstick by Revlon...Fire and Ice. While not an autobiography by any means, these are her words plain and simple. Little Jimmy from Long Island, grew up to be one of the Warhol "Girlettes" as she tried to emulate her favourite star, Lana Turner. The book is filled with basic odds and ends from little journals and scrap pieces of paper thrown together to cash in on the success of " I Shot Andy Warhol ". She considered herself a great actress and wanted forever to get the flaw between her legs taken off, but instead from illegal hormones died of cancer. Sadly, this is basically the only book out there that is a companion piece to " A Low Life in High Heels " By Holly Woodlawn, he fellow transgendered actor friend, rival, and sometimes, an enemy. Don't look for any special secrets (other than what it is a woman should where when going out, and a horrid recipe for a salad, <she was never known as a great chef>) about her life or anything, but random bitchy words and poems from someone who is lost to us forever except for two films and a photos taken by some of the best fashion photographers.

this book isn't the ONLY one available on her, and having not read the other one (it looks like a barbie sized book) i have no right to compare, but i do agree that Ms. Darling deserves a well-written, informative boigraphy. Her diaries here was a nice attempt to show us the different sides of her dimensions, but the content chosen gave us no room to gain perspective into her character, just fed us what it wanted to. There should have been a better editing job done on a diary. Anne Frank's was basically complete, why not do that with Candy's book? And why edit out names, etc? The packaging and her scribbles shouldn't be the reason to buy this book. She deserved more than that. Contrary to the belief of this other individual who wrote comments, Candy seemed all too bright. Articulate, observant, and a true lady. Unlike her "drag" peers, she was very much into expressing a more subtle natured, and glam persona, not grotesque and punk rock. Candy, i did not know her personally, may have a few friends who did, but all i can say that pertains to this book is that it did not fulfill its end of the bargain, not to her and the readers anyway. The packaging was a nice touch, but you know, since there was a beating heart underneath the Max Factor, you should've concentrated on it more than the colour of the book cover.

I was so impressed just by Darling's little pink-diary-with-a-lock-and-key packaging that, in itself, it may be enough to buy the book just to enhance the look of your bookshelf. Otherwise....Not much inside. Most memorable is a photocopy of a diary page of Darling describing what it's like to have once been known and then forgotten...or worse. The book has pages that make you regret you must hesitate for a moment before flipping to the next.

A great book - beautifully realized project on the diaries of Candy Darling, Warhol Superstar, famously immortalized by Peter Hujar in an image which was later used by the sublimely talented Antony Hegarty for the cover of his bands' (Antony and The Johnsons)CD; "I am a bird now" .

This book is a touching read and insight into Candy's mind.

Candy Darling would be a great topic for a biography, so it's rather a shame that this book is the only one available on her. Darling seems to have been a pre-operative transsexual, rather than a "drag queen." Sweet, sad, mixed-up and not terribly bright, she stumbled through life on hopes and her great looks, actually managing to achieve some success as an actress (not just in Warhol films, but other films and Off-Broadway) before she died at 26 of leukemia. Had she lived, she might have been able to afford surgery and become a genuine character actress, but her life is mired in the 1970s and post-adolescent confusion.This is not an autobiography, but Darling's own diaries: scribbled, sad, annoying and endearing. But they are not a "biography." Sometime I hope someone will write a book she deserves.