Thank you to Net Galley and the Publishing Company for this Advanced Readers Copy of Candy Darling by Cynthia Carr!

An incredibly well-researched and compassionate look at the life of Candy Darling. We learn first hand from family and friends about Candy's upbringing and struggle to be accepted growing up on Long Island. Moving to NYC, allowed her to be her full fabulous self. She was ahead of her time and I learned a lot about her and what it meant to be trans during the 1960's and 1970's. Cameos by Andy Warhol, Valerie Solanas, Jackie Curtis, Viva, Roger Vadim Tennessee Williams, Lily Tomlin, Jane Wagner, Lauren Hutton, among many others feature in her life. A compelling read and I plan to watch the documentary on her life as well.

Thank you to Netgalley and Farrar, Straus and Giroux for an ARC and I voluntarily left this review.

I'm fascinated by the FActory and Wahrol's superstars. Candy Darling makes me think about Walk on the Wild Side and she's one the less known starts of that mytical age.
An informative and well researched biography about Candy but also a reflection about identity and gender.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

Big thanks to Netgalley and Macmillan Publishers for allowing me to read Cynthia Carr’s brilliant biography of Candy Darling, Dreamer, Icon, Superstar. This book was incredible and moving, thanks to Carr’s ability to utilize the interviews and experiences of Jeremiah Newton, who was one of Candy’s closest confidants and friends in NYC in the late 60s and early 70s. I didn’t know much about Candy Darling. What I knew was mostly from music—especially the Velvet Underground’s excellent and sad song “Candy Says”, which I still think is one of their most moving songs. I remember hearing it for the first song and being so struck. It was so different than a lot of their other songs that I knew, and it also spoke to that feeling of questioning your identity, being unsure, unhappy, and looking for some kind of validation or answer to the question of who you are. Hearing that song in my early 20s was resonant, although I didn’t experience any kind of body dysmorphia, the song really speaks to that kind of uncertainty most people go through in late adolescence and early adulthood. Carr’s book Candy Darling explores Candy’s experience throughout her whole life of struggling with the lack of acceptance of who she really was. Although the entire book is engaging, entertaining and moving, reading about Candy’s early life growing up in Long Island as James Slattery was fascinating and important for others to read, especially as there are issues in other states about access to gender care, access to bathrooms and facilities, and movements to prevent equity and fair treatment for individuals who identify as LGBTQ. It was heartbreaking to see how the treatment of Candy at home, in her neighborhood and at school really made her just want to escape. Yet it was clear that she identified as a girl, and that people frequently assumed she was a woman later in life. I wondered how different her life would have been had she experienced more acceptance and acknowledgement of who she really was, both by friends and family. These experiences pushed her out of school, frequently truant, and into studying beauty. It was good to see how happy she became as a result of this. It was amazing to learn how Candy’s experiences, struggles, and challenges remain today for many people in the Trans community. However, it was also fascinating to see how identifying as a woman pushed Candy away from the LGB community as well as the feminist community. Candy’s story is amazing. It was incredible to see how she eventually created this superstar persona and found work on stage and screen. Beyond reading about Candy’s relationships, friendships, and adventures in 60s-early 70s NYC, I loved learning more about the Off Off Broadway scene and the Underground Film movement that Warhol and Paul Morrisey participated in. While not a huge fan of Warhol’s films, it was interesting to read more about how Candy became a part of the Superstar scene, and how despite Warhol’s frequent shedding of Superstars, he kind of stuck with Candy and gave her a place and opportunities. I found reading Candy’s diary entries to be the most affecting part of the book since they provide a real insight into her thoughts and struggles with who she was, what she wanted, and how society and communities frequently rejected her. Yet, it was amazing to see how she created this identity and frequently created these stories (or maybe lies) to shape her status and place in the NY scene in the 1970s. Although the book is primarily about the short and brilliant life of Candy Darling, it is also about the gay rights movement, establishing a visible place for Trans people, who still remain greatly misunderstood, persecuted and unfairly treated, and the Art, Theater, and Film scenes of 1970s NY. This was a great book, and I’m looking forward to reading Carr’s other biography of David Wojnarowicz.

Content Warnings: Homophobia, Transphobia, Body Dysphoria / Gender Dysmorphia; Dental Problems/Tooth Loss; Depression; Substance Abuse

Candy Darling is expertly researched from primary sources and contains excellent notes and a bibliography. I think the book would be an excellent source for those researching Candy Darling, queer history, particularly regarding those with trans, gender-expansive, or non-binary identities, Andy Warhol and/or Broadway, Off Broadway, and Off-Off Broadway from the 1960s-1980s. In particularly, it offers some historical insight on the complexities of gender identity and different viewpoints in feminist and queer groups of the time periods covered.

However, if someone is not already interested in the above topics, the book is not that engaging. There are many names and ideas bandied about as though readers should already have some familiarity with them; even when introduced, there are too many to easily track. Details and events are presented chronically, as is appropriate for a biography, but for me, Candy herself was often annoying and less interesting than those that surrounded her, which also made it hard for me to get invested in the work.

In short, while I feel like this is an important historical and research text, I don’t think it’d be a fun biography to pick up and read.

*Thank you so much to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the chance to review an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.*

Candy Darling has always been a figure that has fascinated me - although one who I've never read all that much about. Thankfully, that has all changed with this biography by Cynthia Carr, who explores Darling's life, explores the cultural significance of Candy, and breathes humanity into a historical figure who has almost reached mythic status. Brilliant, and important.

Loved this book. I’ve read Candy’s memoir and this definitely helped give some background on things that didn’t go into too much detail. Very well researched and written. Thanks NetGallery!

I thought “Candy Darling” was very informative and provided a lot of insight surrounding Candy’s life and the world that she was “superstar” in. My only issue was that I wish that there was more of Candy, I finished the book wanting to know more.

Despite owning a Women in Revolt t-shirt in high school, I knew little more about Candy Darling than her affiliation with Andy Warhol. This biography rightly wrests the narrative away from Andy and onto the superstar he befriended. Candy was a pioneering entertainer, a trans woman before such terms existed, who never quite found her place in the world. Her art was herself and despite a tragically short life, she left an indelible mark.

Dedicated to the trans community. Beautifully rendered biography, written in a way that feels novelistic aka literary. A joy to read this clearly researched and carefully told tale.

As I was reading and progressing through this book I was dreading the ending of it. I didn’t want to be without it. I’ve enjoyed getting to know Candy Darling. You’re immersed in her and her world more than I ever thought possible. This is a thoughtful and careful exploration. It’s one of the best and thorough biographies I’ve come across. Everything that was put into this book is a nice tribute to her and everything she wanted to do and be. Captivating and heartbreaking.

Stunning and heartbreaking, a much needed and expansive portrait told with care and nuance and generosity.