A review by rj42
Candy by Terry Southern

funny lighthearted fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

It is hard to describe what Candy is. Probably it's best to see it as an attempt at an ironic erotic novel, in which our eponymous heroine gets into a series of sexual entanglements caused by her desire to be more 'giving'. But does it work as such? Not really – it contains plenty of farce (it goes without saying this is mostly pretty explicit in nature) but it doesn't really satirise the genre it is attempting to send up, even though it is very funny in places. Keen readers of Terry Southern will see elements of the style he would carry with far more success into novels such as The Magic Christian, but really this is a period curiosity which is fun and frivolous at times rather than a classic.