Customer Reviews

My Son Divine

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

 

 

A beautifully written biography from a proud mother that reads more like a tribute. Most people will unfortunately always remember Divine as the obnoxious drag queen who's work in John Waters' early movies shocked people all over the world. This book show's the real man, Glenn Milstead, behind the makeup. The shy, loving, giving person that preferred to be known as an actor rather than a drag queen. Full of rich stories & anecdotes from Glenn's mother, friends, associates and other Dreamlanders, we see a jolly man who loved buying things for people he loved even when it went beyond his means. There are plenty of rare photos of Divine from his childhood up until his untimely death in 1988. John Waters said it best when he said that Divine was a wonderful character actor who started off playing a psychopathic woman and ended playing a loving mother...which is a good stretch, especially when you're a 300lb. man.

WHAT TRULY MAKES A PERFORMER A STAR? IS IT LEGIONS OF FANS? MILLIONS IN THE BANK? EMMYS AND OSCARS ON DISPLAY IN THEIR MANSIONS? NO. IN MY OPINION, WHAT TRULY MAKES A PERFORMER A STAR IS A PERSON WITH THE ABILITIES TO INDELIBLY IMPRINT THEMSELVES/THEIR WORK INTO THE MINDS' OF THEIR AUDIENCE - AND THAT IT WHAT DIVINE DID BEST.

THIS IS AN EXCELLENT BOOK WRITTEN BY HIS MOTHER, ETC., THAT GIVES YOU THE TRUE STORY OF ONE OF HOLLYWOOD'S MOST INFAMOUS OF STARS. FRANCES MILSTEAD DOESN'T SUGARCOAT ANYTHING HERE. SHE PUTS THE GOOD TIMES, AND THE BAD TIMES (AND EVERYTHING IN-BETWEEN), HERE IN PRINT FOR ALL TO SEE. THERE REALLY IS NO NEED FOR ANY OTHER DIVINE BIOGRAPHY TO BE WRITTEN IN THE FUTURE, FOR EVERYTHING YOU WANTED TO KNOW ABOUT DIVINE (BUT WERE ALWAYS AFRAID TO ASK), IS RIGHT HERE IN THIS BOOKS' PAGES. AND, AS AN ADDED TREAT, THERE ARE MANY, MANY RARE PICTURES OF DIVINE (IN FULL GLOSSY COLOR) IN ALL OF HIS WONDERFUL GLORY HERE TO BE SEEN. A MUST HAVE FOR ANY DIVINE FAN.

WE LOVE YOU DIVINE!!!

This is a refreshing look at a wonderful entertainer and person. Ms. Milstead manages to provide a straight-forward account of Divine's life. She readily includes the good and not so perfect aspects of her son. She provides an insider perspective on Divine that we have not seen. Ms. Milstead's inclusion of quotes from those closest to her son truly fleshes out who Glenn Milstead really was. This book is highly recommended for fans of Divine as well as others who don't know much about this incredible person. Thanks to his mom, we know more about Divine.

This biography beats any other book on Divine by a long shot. "NOT SIMPLY DIVINE" is nothing compaired to this title. Who else could write a better book that Glens own mother. Even if shes not a author and has chopy sentences and bad grammer, she still and will always know Glen better than anybody. Sad, funny, serious, angry, and confusing are all the emotions that this book holds. The short life of Divine is very well told in this book along with great never before seen picture of Divine. Frances Vukovich Milstead did a excelent job on this project; and lets not forget the co author Steve Yeager who has been following John Waters and Divine scence Pink Flamingos.

I realize this item was used so I was prepared for some wear and tear but the last ten or so pages of the book are missing! Very disappointing. I purchase used books frequently and have never received one that had pages missing. The seller should inspect their books a little closer before listing them or at least mention the missing pages in the listing. Now I'll have to by another copy of this book to know how it ends :(

i'm not very good in writing in english(i'm italian),but i can say that this book is SUPERB EXCELLENT FANTASTIC!!!!plenty of rare pictures of DIVINE,beautifully written,a coffee table book!!!i'l give a vote :10++++

This book comprises seemingly of more interviews than anything else, but it doesn't take away from the quality of the book. Includes never before seen photos and other interesting tidbits on Divine. Doesn't seem to go very in depth, but is an overall good book.

A good book to read as it shows another side of Divine that only his family would know. Its more of an upbeat book than one might imagine, and a great read for insight on the person, not the actor.

When you think of glamour you automaticly think of the most beautiful "woman" in the world: the 300+ pound monstrosity, Divine! Yet there was a side to HIr that few saw or understood. This book is written by HIr mother.

Harris Glenn Milstead was the shy overweight femboy who was constantly teased as a child.

Fate brought him into the universe of the budding gay director, John Waters. It took John's warped psyche and Glenn's perfectionism to create the glorious persona, Divine. The result shocked and overjoyed millions and millions of moviegoers and students of the bizarre. Yet in private, Glenn was still the shy femboy who was extremely personal and generous. His only flaws were his love for food and marijuana.

After being enstranged from his parents for years, they finally reconciled and shared out remaining years close and personal. Glenn's star was at last rising and he was being noticed as a great and talented character actor in his own right, apart from the grossout persona, Divine. Yet, as he was preparing for a permanent role in the series 'Married with Children, fate took him from us. Tipping over 400 pounds, he had an All-American heart attack in his sleep.

Few actors can match Glenn's exuberance and hunger for life and humorous good times. He had more talent in his little finger than most actors have in their entire lifetimes. It is sad that he was taken from us right when he was on top of his game. Yet, thank God, we still have the movie records of him and his joys and talents to gross us out and make us feel good.

Get to understand Glenn in ways deeper than him wearing outrageous drag and eating dog spoor for the camera. Read this book and open your mind to the other who made us love him so much through talent, hard work and his outageous antics on film!

Do not presuppose that this is the story of Divine -- although it is certainly part of the story. Written by Divine's -- Glenn Milstead's -- mother, it is truly her story to tell.

What does it mean to be a mother? What dreams and hopes do we have for our children? More importantly and to the point, what is it that we learn from our children?

If we are open to loving them unconditionally, we can learn a great deal. And there is much to learn from Glenn Milstead's mother's love, and from her own learning experience.

It's an odd relationship, to be sure, with years of estrangement and healing. In the fifties, children did not just "come out" in some youth group and attend regular summer Pride festivals. Mothers of the fifties did not have those kind of expectations -- and the sixties were a wake-up call all around.

But Frances loved her son, and struggled with her confusion. In spite of everything and anything he did that would cause more timid souls to faint dead away, Frances and Harris continued to lend Glenn money they would never see again, absorb credit card bills for exhorbitant expenses they had never approved, and support the lavish habits of a man they didn't understand. Still, they loved him.

As he unfolded into that love, the most extraordinary creature emerged. Who was Divine? No drag queen, for sure, for drag queens seek to soar to great heights as fabulous beauties. No beauty was Divine -- and yet, no more beautiful creature could have emerged from that soul.

Without Divine, there would have been no RuPaul. Still, Divine made us think about the nature of femininity, beauty, and love. He exuded it all in a place one would not expect to find it.

We live in a world full of miracles, and we all too often close the door on them because they are beyond our comprehension. Take the time. This is one human being who is truly a Divine miracle.

...geminiwalker