Candy Girl : A Year in the Life of an Unlikely Stripper

Die 30-jährige Diablo Cody ist ein Phänomen. Mit ihrem Internet-Blog machte sie sich einen Namen, dann schoss sie raketenhaft in den Himmel der US-Literatur. Für ihr erstes Drehbuch erhielt sie einen Oscar, Steven Spielberg beschäftigt sie als Dialogberaterin. Besser und höher kann man eigentlich nicht kommen Nackt zeigt, dass Cody diesen kometenhaften Aufstieg mehr als verdient hat. Rasant, packend und komisch erzählt sie, wie sie (oder doch zumindest ihre Ich-Erzählerin) trotz einer eher biederen Biografie die Leidenschaft fürs Strippen entdeckt. Wie sie gleich beim ersten, gänzlich missglückten Auftritt durch den Alltag mit menstruierenden oder gynäkologisch ausladenden Kolleginnen alle romantischen Vorstellungen ihres Gewerbes verliert – und trotzdem von der Stripperstange im positiven Sinne nicht mehr loskommt. Und sie erzählt von ihrer Liebe zu ihrem coolen, (fast) perfekten Partner Jonny – und das, ohne auch nur eine Sekunde dem Kitsch zu verfallen. Nackt gibt sich als Enthüllungsroman. Aber er enthält auch unglaublich lyrische Passagen und Kapitel wie das über die „zehn besten Songs zum Strippen“. So kann man das Buch auch als Anleitung zum Auftritt bei Table-Dance-Partys oder Burlesk-Shows lesen. Aber egal, warum man Nackt zur Hand nimmt: so frisch, frech und frei von der Seele (oder Leber) weg – und dabei doch so strukturiert und gemessen – wie Diablo Cody hat lange niemand mehr geschrieben. Das ist eine völlig neue, von Teja Schwaner im Übrigen blendend ins Deutsche übertragene Stimme aus Amerika, von der man noch oft und viel lesen möchte. -- Stefan Kellerer

Decreed by David Letterman (tongue in cheek) on CBS TV's The Late Show to be the pick of “Dave's Book Club 2006,” Candy Girl is the story of a young writer who dared to bare it all as a stripper. At the age of twenty-four, Diablo Cody decided there had to be more to life than typing copy at an ad agency. She soon managed to find inspiration from a most unlikely source— amateur night at the seedy Skyway Lounge. While she doesn't take home the prize that night, Diablo discovers to her surprise the act of stripping is an absolute thrill.

This is Diablo's captivating fish-out-of-water story of her yearlong walk on the wild side, from quiet gentlemen's clubs to multilevel sex palaces and glassed-in peep shows. In witty prose she gives readers a behind-the-scenes look at this industry through a writer's keen eye, chronicling her descent into the skin trade and the effect it had on her self-image and her relationship with her now husband.

Publishers Weekly

Why, you might ask, would a healthy, college-educated young woman start stripping for a living, when she could work in a nice, clean office? Cody, now an arts editor for Minneapolis's alternative weekly, had spent her whole life (all 24 years) "choking on normalcy, decency and Jif sandwiches with the crusts amputated." When she moved from Chicago to Minnesota to live with the new boyfriend she'd found on the "World Wide Waste of Time," she took a job at an ad agency-a setup with good "porn shui" (desk well angled for undetected online porn surfing) but not much else. Attracted by a local bar's amateur stripping contest, Cody soon moved from stage stripping to lap dancing, from tableside to bedside customer service and, finally, peep-show sex. Removing her clothes and dry-humping strangers in sex clubs had become her way of escaping premature respectability. Quite inexplicably, her boyfriend was completely cool with her new occupation, even joining her on occasional sex jaunts. When the inevitable burnout set in, Cody switched to phone sex, until that, too, got old, and the 9-to-5 straight world beckoned. Cody's so alarmingly entertaining, readers will wish the book were longer, though they'll be glad it ends before anything really ugly happens. Agent, Paula Balzer. (Jan.) Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.

Full of insight and wit, Candy Girl is the seductive memoir of a young woman who dared to bare it all as a stripperDiablo Cody was twenty-four years old when she decided there had to be more to life than typing copy at an ad agency. On a whim, she signed up for amateur night at Minneapolis's seedy Skyway Lounge. She didn't win a prize that night, but she discovered that stripping delivered a rush she had never experienced before, and too many experiences to not write about it. While she didn't fit the ordinary profile of a stripper—she had a supportive boyfriend, was equal parts brainpower and beauty, was from a good family, and was out to do a little soul searching—she soon immersed herself in this enticing life full-time.In Candy Girl, Diablo tells the captivating fish-out-of-water story of her yearlong walk on the wild side. In witty prose she gives readers a behind-the-scenes look at this industry through a writer's keen eye, from quiet gentlemen's clubs to multi-level sex palaces, with all of her wry observations along the way. Some of her discoveries? Blondes make more money; it takes a pro to master The Pole; and while the girls wield much sway over the customers, in reality the power is totally out of their hands. Eventually, the lucrative skin trade began to drain Diablo emotionally, but her foray into this world had a profound and, surprisingly, positive effect. Funny and fascinating, Candy Girl is a seductive treat. Diablo Cody was 24 when she decided there had to be more to life than typing ad copy. On a whim, she signed up for amateur night at Minneapolis's seedy Skyway Lounge. She didn't win a prize, but she discovered that stripping delivered a rush she had never experienced before. While she didn't fit the ordinary profile of a stripper--she had a supportive boyfriend, was equal parts brainpower and beauty, was from a good family, and was out to do a little soul searching--she soon immersed herself in this enticing life full-time. Here she tells the fish-out-of-water story of her yearlong walk on the wild side, giving readers a behind-the-scenes look at this industry through a writer's keen eye, from quiet gentlemen's clubs to multi-level sex palaces, with wry observations along the way.--From publisher description At twenty-four, Diablo Cody decided there had to be more to life than typing copy at an ad agency. On a whim, she signed up for amateur night at a seedy Minneapolis strip club. She didn't win a prize that night – but she discovered that stripping delivered a rush she had never experienced before. In Candy Girl , she tells the captivating fish-out-of-water story of her year-long walk on the wild side. With insight and wit, she takes us on a behind-the-scenes tour of the industry, from quiet gentlemen's clubs to multi-level sex palaces. Funny and fascinating, Candy Girl is a seductive treat. "Diablo Cody was 24 years old when she decided there had to be more to life than typing copy at an ad agency. On a whim, she signed up for amateur night at Minneapolis's seedy Skyway Lounge. She discovered that stripping delivered a rush she had never experienced before. In 'Candy Girl', Cody tells the captivating story of her year-long walk on the wild side. She gives readers a behind-the-scenes look at this industry through a writer's keen eye, from quiet gentlemen's clubs to multi-level sex palaces, with all of her wry observations along the way."--Provided by publisher A Journalist Recounts Her Decision To Work As A Stripper Despite Her Profile As An Intelligent Woman With A Supportive Boyfriend And Positive Family Life, Describing The Lessons She Learned In Gentlemen's Clubs And Sex Palaces.