Not Simply Divine

Rating:
Summary: "I'm less trashy than I used to be."
Review: After reading Francis Milstead's delightful biography, "My Son, Divine," my attention was drawn to the biography "Simply Divine," written by Divine's personal manager, Bernard Jay. I read many reviews of Jay's book, and Francis Milstead also referred to the book with a hint of negativity. As a Divine fan, I wanted to read the book and gain my own opinion.

Bernard Jay became Divine's (Glenn Milstead) manager in 1977 until Divine's sudden death in 1988. "Simply Divine" provides Divine fans with details of Divine's film roles, recording career, and disco engagements, and Mr Jay, in his introduction writes that this is a "warts and all" portrayal of the star. Jay explains that he is aware Divine is often shown to be a "selfish and insensitive person," and he contends the book is a honest portrayal of the Divine he knew. The book includes scanty details of Divine's life prior to Bernard Jay (reasonably enough), and for the details of Divine's childhood and teen years, fans must read "My Son, Divine," written by Glenn's mum.

Bernard Jay had a somewhat turbulent relationship with Divine. Obviously, Mr Jay believed, ultimately, in Divine's potential for stardom--after all--he committed to Divine's career--but managing Divine was not an easy job. Jay and Divine agreed that their mutual goal was to alter the perception that Glenn was simply a drag queen, and establish Glenn as a character actor--whose most successful character was Divine. Jay's task was fraught with problems--for starters, Divine didn't earn enough money to warrant the entourage who accompanied him on tour. It was even questionable that Divine's income warranted a personal manager (whose only client was Divine). Bernard Jay's attitude to his subject is problematic--at times he is extremely complimentary--extolling Divine's work ethic, charisma, and talent, but at other times, Jay sneaks in a snide comment--and one example is Jay's description of Glenn eating "feverishly."

Divine is no longer here to defend himself, but this is one case in which being maligned in print after death, backfires, and the negative comments about Divine reflect badly on the author. I can't imagine that anyone other than a Divine fan would buy this book, and so Jay created an interesting dilemma in writing a book that includes several rather negative comments about Divine--that will, it is hoped, sell to Divine fans. I have no difficulty accepting that Divine was a flawed human being, but the glimpses of revulsion Jay shows for his subject are quite gratuitous--hence the four star rating.

However, on the plus side, the book, "Simply Divine," filled in many of the gaps and detailed Divine's career. As a result, at the end of the book, I was not shocked by Divine's flaws--in fact I had even more respect for this hard-working actor who kept going in spite of the fact that he suffered many set-backs in his career(including never receiving adequate compensation from several record labels).

I think a Divine fan can read "My Son, Divine," and have a fairly good idea about Divine--his career and the flawed human being that he was, but "Simply Divine" is an essential supplementary book--especially if you want specific details about Divine's career. BUT, the reader should be aware that there are several very unpleasant and negative comments made by Mr Jay (and I'm not talking about the fact that Divine was a compulsive spender)--the comments that I found a bit much were cruel and gratuitous. But consider the source--Bernard Jay's star slipped away just as he was about to prove that Jay's faith was warranted. Jay was left the rather thankless job of mopping up the financial mess left after Divine's death, organizing an auction of Divine's belongings,and paying off the IRS.

This is a well-written book, and I enjoyed it--although I do wish that Mr Jay had been a little more forgiving with some of his nastier comments, and although there really weren't that many nasty comments (and once unleashed, they seemed to arrive on a page in waves), this would have been a better book without the nastiness, and I'd hazard a guess that the book would have enjoyed more success--displacedhuman--Amazon Reviewer--

Rating:
Summary: An Attempt To Cash In On Divine's Name
Review: Bernard Jay states in the introduction of this book that he is not bitter. I have never read a more bitter account in my life! In my opinion he didn't make enough money from Divine while Divine was alive, so this is an attempt to squeeze more money from Divine's name.
The author constantly makes catty remarks in reference to Divine's size. I realize Divine was large and that can't go unmentioned. However, is it necessary to say, "soon after discovering his huge bulk" (upon finding Divine dead in his bed). I find the descriptions unnecessary.
The constant insults make the book less interesting. As if the author is out for revenge or something.
It is an entertaining read, simply because Divine led such a twisted life as an internationally known drag queen. However this book won't win over any new fans, and may disgust the old fans.

Rating:
Summary: Unnecessarily rude
Review: I didn't know this book existed until I read Frances Milstead's book on her son. This book does give insight on his disco career that John Waters' "Shock Value" and "My Son Divine" miss out on. Bernard Jay was there with Divine the entire time, and there are a lot of interesting stories. In "My Son Divine", Ms. Milstead brings up Mr. Jay's memoirs and denounces some of them, and it makes you doubt the stories in "Not Simply Divine" and makes you wonder how much is made up for dramatic effect. The worst part of the book is that Mr. Jay goes out of his way to insult Divine, by refering to how fat he is, his 'flabby' skin, and even brings up Divine farting in cars and airplanes. OK, maybe he didn't like Divine that much as a person, but how is he helping himself by being unnecessarily rude?

Rating:
Summary: Simply Divine!!
Review: I have just finished reading this wonderful book and I felt compelled to share my thoughts. I could barely put it down for the last week. It was written with such emotion and feeling that when i got to the last chapter I was brought to tears by the sad and heartfelt ending the book was simply divine! x

Rating:
Summary: Caustic and Degrading
Review: I have to say that I can understand Mr. Jay's bitterness. I would probably be a little resentful too, if I had been forced to put up with Divi's excessive spending, laziness, overindulgence, and occassional bratty behavior on a day-to-day basis for eleven years. I have no doubt that Divine was a kind and sweet person much of the time, but after all, nobody is perfect, and I'm sure that at least some of the things Mr. Jay writes about really happened.

What surprises me is the author's mercilessness toward his subject. Since Divine was supposedly such a close friend, and since the book was published only four years after his death, I would have expected at least some degree of sympathy and respect for his life and work. Instead, his story is told in an overwrought, sensationalized style that seems very unlike the personal memoir it purports itself to be. The author goes out of his way to emphasize his subject's errors and weaknesses, making Divine seem every inch the talentless hack that Roger Ebert and his ilk would have you believe.

One more thing that nobody else has mentioned thus far - if you are considering buying this because you are a fan of John Waters, don't bother. The author obviously dislikes Waters and his films intensely, and often uses selective quotes from film reviews to make it sound as though Divine's presence as an actor is the only saving grace of said films. He also suggests that Waters viewed Divine only as a marketing tool, and that their personal relationship was entirely fabricated for the benefit of the media.

Rating:
Summary: Simply disrespectful
Review: I totally agree with some of the other reviews about this book. The way Bernard Jay talks about Divine in his book is just plain rude. OK - We know that you didn't like Divine, Mr. Jay - but is it essential for you to make personal attacks about Divine's size and bodily functions? I don't think anyone deserves to be spoken of like that - celebrity or otherwise. No one is perfect, and I'm sure Divine wasn't either. However, if you wanted to write a book about him, you could have eliminated the sophomoric attempts to belittle him. If you obtain any degree of celebrity yourself, Mr. Jay, other than dedicating your career to someone you didn't like, maybe someone will write a book about how often YOU farted. Fair?

Rating:
Summary: DIVINE THE PERSON
Review: THIS BOOK IS A FASCINATING LOOK AT DIVINE'S HUMAN SIDE. I RECOMMENED THIS BOOK TO ANY DIVINE FAN. IT CHRONICLES DIVINE'S TURBULENT LIFE GROWING UP, BECOMING A CULT STAR, HIS CAREER UP'S AND DOWN'S, HIS CAREER REBIRTH, AND, FINALLY, HIS TRAGIC DEATH. THIS BOOK HAS IT ALL.