Candy: A Novel of Love and Addiction

Title: Candy: A Novel of Love and Addiction
Author: Luke Davies
Published: 1998
Synopsis from Goodreads

"Candy is beside me, drenched in sweat. She's breathing gently, long slow breaths. I imagine her soul going in and out: wanting to leave, wanting to come back, wanting to leave, wanting to come back. The day will soon harden into what we need to do. But for now we have each other. . . ."

He met Candy amid a lush Sydney summer. Gorgeous, sexy, free-spirited Candy. They fell in love fast, lots of laughter and lust, the days melting warmly into each other. He never planned to give her a habit. But she wanted a taste. And wasn't love, after all, about sharing lives? Candy had a bit of money and in the beginning, everything was beautiful. Heady, heroin-hazed days, the world open and inviting. But when the money ran out, the craving remained, and the days ceased their luxurious stretch.

But there was still love. Only now, it was a threesome. Heroin had its own demands, its own timetable, and thoughts of nabbing the next fix hurled them into each day. Then, when desperation sets in, Candy will stop at nothing to secure a blast, as she and her lover become hostage to the nightmarish world of addiction.

Painful, sexy, tender, and charged with dark humor, Candy provocatively charts the daily rituals of two lovers maintaining a long-term junk habit. Told in stunningly vivid prose and set against the backdrop of suburban and urban Australia, Candy is both an electrifying and frightening glimpse of contemporary life and love.

I honestly did not want this book to end!!

It was brilliant, haunting, utterly cruel and true love story. It wracks your brain, wrecks your heart, and leaves you wanting more. There were times when I couldn't put it down, times when I wanted it to end because I thought something really really bad was going to happen, and times when I fell so madly in love that I just didn't know how much more I could handle.

This has to be one of the most real books I have read. I kind of wonder if it is real or not. Is there any truth to this story?

Told in 1st person pov you never learn the name of the man telling the story. NEVER once!! I thought we would learn it on the last page but never once. So, was it the author? Or was it just a man inside his head? A character that I fell so deeply in love with that I wonder if he is now my own private addiction.

The man telling the story is a heroin addict. He meets a nice girl. An innocent girl who he falls in love with and wants to share everything with... even his habit.

From cover to cover you learn how they lived their lives in Australia, exploring each other, and scamming the masses to get more money for drugs. Candy seems to be the main bread winner by working in a brothel. The man in the story does most of the deals or scams or sells books that he stole for a bit of extra cash.

It's a beautiful story. I recommend it to everyone. I feel this will probably replace Party Monster for me. I can't tell you how many times I have read that story and there is no way I can predict how many times I will be reading this one.

Differences between the movie and the book

The man telling the story's name is DAN in the movie and in the book they never tell his name.

In the movie they are in a swimming pool many times. I don't remember once when they went swimming in the book.

In the movie CASPER has a big part. He doesn't have a very big part in the book. He's mentioned a bit but not as much in the movie.

The little girl in the movie at the wedding is (in the book) Candy's aunt's kid. I guess that would make her a cousin.

In the movie Candy is really into art but in the book Candy wanted to be an actress.

Final Thoughts
There is a lot more but I think everyone should watch the movie first then read the book. That's the way I did it and I wasn't at all disappointed. I'm not sure how I would feel if I had done it in reverse. The poetry in this book is just unreal. You can tell that the author really put his heart and soul in this book. I absolutely loved it!! IF I could five it more stars I would. Super duper loved!