From Josh Kilmer-Purcell, the critically acclaimed author of I Am Not Myself These Days, comes the very odd adventures of a starry–eyed young man from the Midwest seeking fame and fortune in the flamboyant surreality of New York, Los Angeles... and everywhere in between.
Jayson Blocher is tired of worshiping pop culture; he wants to be part of it. So he's off, accompanied by an ever–changing cast of quirky extended family members, on an extremely bumpy journey from rural Wisconsin to a New York escort agency for Broadway chorus boys, to a Hollywood sitcom set. Somewhere out there his destiny awaits—along with the discovery of first love, some unusual coincidences, a kidnapping mystery... and the sobering truth that being America's sweetheart can leave a very sour aftertaste.
Kilmer-Purcell, Josh. “Candy Everybody Wants”, Harper Perennial, 2008.
Delicious Candy
Amos Lassen
“Candy Everybody Wants” is a very funny book. Kilmer-Purcell looks back at the 1980’s and the pop culture of the period and shows how the culture we have today is the result of what we had then. Our main character is Jason Blocher has been in awe of 80’s culture and decides that his turn has come to be a part of it. He is from Wisconsin and after tiring of rural living heads for the big city, New York where he lands a job as an escort and then eventually finds himself in Los Angeles on the set of a Hollywood sitcom. Jason is a composite character of a gay and totally absurd child star and every character in the book is an exaggeration. Yet all the craziness comes together to give us a read that will keep you laughing.
The book takes place in SoHo and we get to learn about this part of Manhattan in a way that no one has ever tried to give us before. Jayson’s celebrity status causes him to be surrounded with a cast of characters who make dysfunction an activity we would all like to take part of.
Some of the things we read about include disability and prostitution, scandals and crime, and pregnancy and drugs. And this is just part of the whole that is perhaps one of the gayest books I have ever read.
You will not forget the characters of this novel and Jayson’s quest for fame takes him into some wild experiences. If I had to choose one word to describe “Candy Everybody Wants”, it would have to be flamboyant with a capital “F”. It just makes for a great summer read that will keep you laughing for a very long time.
