Candy: A Novel of Love and Addiction

Like many individuals, I have lived through numerous family members and friends who have a problem with addiction. This novel was incredibly eye opening and really helped me more thoroughly understand what they go through and went through. While it was honestly quite difficult to read at times because of this, I would really recommend everyone read this, 11/10. Especially if you have lost a loved one to heroine. I now see what by loved one went through more clearly and am reassured that when he wanted to get better, he really wanted to get better.

I picked up this book to read before going to sleep one night, and wound up not stopping until I finished at 3AM. Luke Davies has written a completely absorbing tale of a spiraling journey into the night of addiction. I am a horror aficionado, enjoyer of the ripening decay of flesh, bone, and blood; but in Candy there is a different Monster, a stealthy beast formed from powdery particles that feeds upon the very soul of man, tearing apart mind and spirit long before its teeth sink into the flesh. So poignantly told in first person perspective, I was so deeply moved by this sad, bittersweet tale of innocent love that I was desperate to see the sun come up in the morning, though for a moment I doubted it would. Rarely am I as deeply moved by a story as I was by Candy, and rarer still is an author who can breathe such animated life into his character. How can I possibly care about this guy, a junkie who steals and scams allows his wife to work as a prostitute while he nods in front of the TV all night? How can I care about Candy, who goes from aspiring actress to thousand dollar a day escort to street-hooking in the projects? But I wound out caring a LOT, staying by them just as they stayed by each other, through all the highs and the bitter lows. Their love for each other is immense, innocent, and touching; making you believe just as they did that love can conquer all. The book follows approximately ten years of their lives, from high-end apartments, to projects, to a run down farm in the country; through crimes and arrests and prostitution; through love and marriage and the loss of a baby; through the languid highs and the horrors of trying to kick the habit; Davies makes you actually feel their love, and their pain. I am not a crier, but I almost did after Candy, the ache I felt inside was so huge and hopeless that it left me weak with sadness. With all the emotion spilling out from the pages, remember to prepare yourself for some rough scenes; like graphic descriptions of vein hunting and needle usage, along with a disgusting crab lice incident that almost made me hurl. Plain and simple, this is a `Wow' book; an all-nighter so well written you will feel that you just stayed up with your old friend, listening to him pour out his heart to you. Very highly recommended. Enjoy!!

I am a narcotics prosecutor in the US who deals with this problem on a daily basis. I have friends who have ruined their lives and others who seem to funtion to a point. This book is the real deal and should be read by anyone concerned with or just wants to educate themselves. If someone you care about has this problem, the book will not help you help them. It will give you an idea of what you are up against. There is always hope and education is a powerful tool. I purchased copies of this book and distributed it to my entire narcotics unit with the hope that compassion will coincide with enforcement.

After reading Trainspotting by Irvine Welsh, a hard, relentless novel with no space for tenderness, Candy came as both a shock and a surprise. I had not heard of Luke Davies before I read this novel but would reccomend this book to ANYONE. At the core it is a love story filled with hope, tenderness and that clinging desperation that only lovers can feel and that is what makes the book so challanging and moving. It isn't just about another junkie it's about two almost anonymous people, anyone really. I could not put this book down and it is the only book I have read twice with as much lustre the second time round as the first. The unnamed narrator and his wild girlfriend are strangely endearing and I couldn't help but sympathise with the downward spiral of thier lives. As a British person I could identify with the style of this book a lot better than any novel from America, apart from the setting the book could be about British people and I liked the ambiguity of that.If you liked Trainspotting then you'll love this.

Candy is an excellent and compelling story well told. The honesty is brutal and beautiful. Being a heroin user, I found it interesting to hear another's story. Although my story is very different, it was very clear to me that the author knew what he was talking about. One of the books assets is it's tragi-comic nature, something I've found very true in junkie life, and rarely mentioned when discussing heroin. I suppose my only concern is a personal one, in that my father read the book and presumed my life was the same, which it is not. (I've been a relatively good middle class junkie, no crime etc.) The book has been well edited. It is tight and lean. There is not a wasted word, which makes for good reading. Clearly Luke Davies walks it like he talks it. A brave book.

I read Candy when I was living in Australia (I am an Australian citizen), and was shocked by the fact no one I knew in the States had read it. Then I tried to find it here, and understood why none of my friends have read it. Being a first novel, being written by an Australian, and being set in Australia, I guess I may have been asking too much to expect to see it in US book stores. This is however, an exceptional novel. I have never seen the heroin and drug scene portraid so honestly. The reader feels the addiction and pain of experiencing a life that is one moment pure agony, and the next excruciating joy. This novel provides a particularly important depiction of the drug culture, because it is neither condemnatory nor glorifying. It reminds us (well it did me at least) that we all have addiction in our life (if not pharmecuetical then an addiction to love, friendhsip or recognition). This is not an inherently evil thing, it merely makes a happy or stable life difficult.I was most impressed by Davies' ability to portray male identity and sexuality in such an honest light. I remember hearing an interview on Radio National in Australia, where a critic stated that it was the most honest attempt to show how males really approach life and relationships. That may sound kind of depressing (the protagonist being a junky and all), but the reference is to the protagonist's attempt to find love and happiness, and his failures and successes in realising this.I hope that this foreshadows a new move for new literature. I sure have had enough of the grunge/Gen X/hopelessness garbage that has been attempting to ape Easton-Ellis style realism. Books of that ilk litter the bookshelves of both Australia and America. Bring on Davies and his attempt to actually offer some catharsis and hope.