Cynthia Carr

Well written and heartbreaking. There are parts that are funny, but ultimately, it's such a tragic story about the deep hardships trans folks endured, the push-and-pull of exploitation and aspiration in the mid-century downtown NYC scene, and the willingness to settle for scraps to get at least a bit of what you wanted. It did drag in the middle because the author got so in the weeds of all the tiny incestuous alternative theater productions being put on, not put on, put on and then closing show more after a few performances, etc. But still interesting to read about Candy's short life and what the grubby fringes of the Warhol scene were like. He comes off as a self-interested shit, which will surprise no one who's ever read about him, but he also probably gave her some of the real happy and fulfilling moments of her life. If you are at all interested in NYC in the 1960s and 70s, underground theater, the Factory, or pre-Stonewall gay life, this is your book. show less

A few summers ago I was living in Cherry Valley, NY for work. In looking up anything notable about the town I learned that Candy Darling was buried in the cemetery. How had this Warhol superstar made it all the way up to this tiny village? I knew vaguely about her career and nothing about her life. I visited her grave, watched the documentary that explained how she came to be laid to rest and since that summer Candy Darling has become one of my most beloved figures in history. I have been so show more excited for this book to be published and it did not disappoint. Candy was a human being, no more perfect than anyone else and this book treats her with grace and honesty. show less

Narration is fantastic. I think Carr could probably have let up a little on the subject of Candy's dental health. I struggle to imagine how people lived in those days, constantly flitting about with no fixed income or abodes.

This was an astounding work on an astounding life and talent. So much detail, elaborate research and retelling, painstaking work to construct a life in words. You will feel angry and astonished and exhilarated, you will feel completely inadequate creatively. It is a fantastic history of an artist and of a time and of a subculture, it is a snapshot into a New York City that no longer exists. It is a story of AIDS and AIDS activism and a country that turned its back on a group of people, and show more could have stood alone as a book. The NEA saga could also be its own book. You will learn. Even if you think you know Wojnarowicz, you will learn.

It is also a memorial. It was painful to read of AIDS related death after AIDS related death but I appreciated the memorializing that took place for each person lost.

Warning, this is a very long book. I put it on my Kindle without checking page count and then realized once engrossed that I was barely 1/4 of the way there. And it seemed impossible to read anything else while in the middle of it. show less