Candy

Candy Christian is an adorably cute but naïve college girl (presumably eighteen years of age, although that is never specified) who suffers from a surfeit of sophomoric idealism, not to mention an excessive amount of misplaced empathy. She has been given a A+ on a paper she wrote entitled Contemporary Human Love wherein which she wrote, “To give of oneself – fully – is not merely a duty prescribed by an outmoded superstition, it is a beautiful and thrilling privilege.” And so what transpires is Candy innocently giving herself “fully” to those that “truly need” her. Needless to say, the thrust (wink, wink) of the book involves her doing just that.There have been only two books I’ve read that had me laughing out loud; the first was Don Quixote, the second was Candy. Now, I’m not about to say that Candy has anywhere the literary merit of Don Quixote. It doesn’t. In fact, I can understand the criticisms found in the one- and two-star reviews. Still, I found the ridiculous silliness of Candy’s predilections to be wholly entertaining. I therefore have given this book 5 starts not because of its literary merit but because I found it to be so funny. That being said, my sense of humor may not correlate to yours, and I can understand if you disagree with my rating.

This is a satire on sex and conventional culture of the 1950s that keeps the reader interested throughout the adventures of Candy, a beautiful young and naive blonde. Candy is struck with the Leftist ideology of giving back something to others, a kind of twisted altruism. What she has to give is herself -- in a physical sense. Her encounters run the weird gamut of hunchback, uncle, fake spiritual guru, etc. She is the typical blonde airhead who realizes that giving herself this way isn't quite what she thought it would be, since she derives considerably more pleasure than she thought from giving. But she is also charming in her naive loss of innocence. "Good grief, it's daddy!; Gosh, what about my period?; Good heavens!" And there are quite a few forbidden words in certain places. It is very funny in places and full of satire throughout. Recommended only for those who have open minds and a sense of humor and satire.

My tempered expectations made this book an enjoyable read as the pace was quick and provided hilarity in spots. It was definitely light hearted and silly while poking fun at religion and the culture of the time. Viewed through today's lens this book is not all that racy though I'm sure there are plenty currently afflicted with severe constriction of the gluteus maximus that would say otherwise. It is no surprise that books like this set off a firestorm of pushback when they appear since they no doubt become an arrow piercing the guilty conscience of some who have indulged in the same behaviors. Books like this, that are outrageous in their time, are necessary to open doors for authors that come after.

The movie Candy is based on this book. I saw the film during it's release in 1969. Everyone thought it was about a teenage girl with loose morals who sleeps with every man she meets including in the film version Ringo Starr, Richard Burton, and others. Actually, the story is about a girl who is taken advantage of by every man she meets, including Marlon Brando as a phony Guru (in the movie). It is clear to me that the book is based on the French book of the same name entitled Candide, a story about a young boy who is taken advantage of everyone who comes within his orbit. This version of the tale involves a girl of high school age. It is an enjoyable read but don't forget who is really the victim in this story. The movie version has a 4 star rating on Amazon but is not available but you can add it to your wish list.

This book was published when I was a kid, and my older brother loved it. I read a review of it recently on the NY Times, so I thought I would read it to see what all the fuss is about.There’s not much that is either funny or slapstick in this novel. Like most of the humor from the 1960s, women are depicted as complete idiots (“take my wife” jokes, or women drivers jokes) or sexually starved/active zombies (“there once was a girl from Nantucket”). Candy embodies this, and although it’s thought of as a parody, to a contemporary reader it is sometimes tough going.Don’t read it to be entertained, but instead it’s a compelling period piece. For anyone who misses the 1960s, this novel is a good dose of reality.

Our protagonist- Candy- is naive to the point of stupidity.The text is lascivious about her various *ahem* "qualities".I think this was more intended to be shocking than to be a decent novel. Candy herself has little agency, and the novel does not delve into why she is acting like she does in any reasonable way. She is a caricature, and I admit I am not really seeing the point.I acknowledge that it was probably ground-breaking at the time... but it does not hold up well.Except as a parody, maybe.

I found this book befitting the Porky's crowd assuming they can actually read. The author and his relatives must've been very proud of him when this came out. The stories told are at times so bizarre, unbelievable, and even disgusting (e.g. sex with an illiterate hunchback) as to be not even laughable. Very glad that I only paid $3 for this so to be bird cage liner.

What can I say about this book? Candy started out strong and hilarious, pinpointing gratuitous pornographic in books. However, towards the end, it fell flat into pure ridiculous. Granted, I read this book in 2014, so the story may have flown over my head. However, given my strong interest in the 60s, I doubt I could fault age for my lack of interest in the final 30% of the novel. The naive Candy Christian drove me bonkers throughout the novel as she encountered improbable sexual misadventures, many of which are rapes, including incest. I gave this book a 3 because of the strong beginning; but, by the middle portion meddled too long and I welcomed its end. Southern knew that sex sold even then and spoke on the journey said attitude would take the World.

This is a brilliant piece of work, which I first read back in the sixties. I was disappointed to find that it isn't obtainable as an e-book,which is mostly all I read these days. I may well convert it to an e-book myself to store for my personal use as it would appear thatno-one else is going to bother. It is a book one could read over again, funny and interesting all the way through. Although the themeis about a sexual journey of discovery, the sex is very tasteful and never graphic, which makes it good reading for most people.

In 1759 the French author and philosopher Voltaire wrote the short story "Candide", the tale of an innocent abroad. It was actually a satire on the philiosophy of Leibniz, who claimed that since God was omniscient, omnipotent and loving, he would never make a less than perfect world; hence this world is the best of all possible worlds. The story follows the hero, Candide, as he naively holds on to this view despite all the misfortunes and abuse he suffers.Terry Southern and Mason Hoffenberg changed male Candide to female Candy and set it the peace-and-love "everything's cool, man" world of the Hippies. Oh, and added more sex and dumbed down a bit.So, it's a more accessible read for most than Voltaire's original. Worth reading - and thinking about. If you know anyone who's at risk of being drawn into a cult, get them to read the espisode about Great Grindle - it might just open their eyes!

I read this when it first came out and found it, . . . well . . . interesting. It was certainly not like anything else I had ever read, a most unique read. My partner had never read it, so I bought him a copy. He will get it for Xmas, so I have no idea what he will think. What I can say is that seller was very good. It arrived promptly and was actually in a little better condition than I expected. Well done and thank you.

As amusing as it was when we first read it long long ago. The true warmth, so to speak. Lucky to have unearthed a copy.

I read this book about 40 years ago and enjoyed it I think it was taken out of circulation for a while but resurfaced and I bought it again