Behind the Candelabra

My Life with Liberace

By: Alex Thorleifson, Scott Thorson

Narrated by: Peter Berkrot

In this unusually frank book Scott Thorson, Liberace's longtime lover, tells all: the good, the bad, and the ugly truths about the legendary entertainer who went to outrageous extremes to prevent public knowledge of his homosexuality.

Liberace's unhappy childhood, dominated by a mother determined to force him into a concert career, serves as the prologue for a story that goes on to detail Liberace's early appearances in honky-tonks, his move to New York to seek fame, and, finally, his first booking in Las Vegas, where he was courted by the Mafia.

As Thorson attests, such successes provide a bright counterpoint to a darker tale of a man hungry for power, given to every excess. Liberace's credo - "too much of a good thing is wonderful" - is reflected here in his acquisition of new lovers, luxurious homes, a large collection of pornography, and a total of 26 house dogs.

Behind the Candelabra above all explores the fundamentally tender love affair between Liberace and Thorson - whom Liberace sent to his own plastic surgeon to have his face remodeled in Liberace's own image!

This fast-paced story, sprinkled with anecdotes about famous entertainers such as Michael Jackson and Shirley MacLaine, ends with an intimate look at Liberace's final days as he lay dying of AIDS - and his deathbed reconciliation with Thorson. Thorson's story will also appear in the upcoming biopic of the same name starring award-winning actors Michael Douglas and Matt Damon.

©1988, 2013 Scott Thorson with Alex Thorleifson (P)2013 Tantor

Viciously honest, candid, sad, fascintating!

Reading this book was like witnessing a violent car accident. You can't turn away, you have to see (read) it through even though in many places you just want to stop and you kind of know in advance that there will be no happy ending and indeed there is not.

The writing style is nothing to "write" home about but one must remember that this book was written in the latter 80's, early 90's for readers' sensibilities back then. It's especially annoying when Mr. Thorson editorializes about gay life and culture using simplistic and hackneyed cliches that are entirely laughable now-a-days.

The narration by Peter Berkrot was spectacular. One felt one was listening to Thorson in person, and the narrator's vocal inflections of Mr. Liberace are worth any downside that the rather bland narrative otherwise presents.

As for the actual events and behaviors presented by the book of Mr. Thorson's life with Lee Liberace and what to think of them, it would be unfair to judge either party. There was presented enough nauseating dysfunction for both men to last ten families ten lifetimes.

In the end, I felt very sad for Mr. Thorson. I believe to this day that he still loves Lee Liberace and will die doing so. It's just such a shame that people have to go through this soft of thing as it affects them until their death. Best of luck to Mr. Thorsen. Rest in peace, Mr. Liberace.

Loved it

Great insight to how crazy celebrities are! Very well written enjoyed every page!great read

What is Better Than Real Life?

Is there anything you would change about this book?

I didn't think the performance was that good. I didn't think "overall" should be rated more than mediocre. But what is better than real life told by someone who participated in it? Whether or not it is all true or unbiased, it is a slice of several people's lives and I wanted to hear about it. I wept, I sighed, I cringed, and thought to myself, why isn't life more fair and all children be loved and cherished? I skipped some parts because they were repetitive, but more than not, I listened to enlarge my compassion. No one's life is easy. Some are a lot harder than most. Love is what all of us want. I liked this real life story because it taught me that love is hard to find.

interesting read..I was left feeling sorry for all

What did you love best about Behind the Candelabra?

The narrator was able to make me feel like the actual characters were in the room with me.

What was your reaction to the ending? (No spoilers please!)

The ending was easy to guess

Have you listened to any of Peter Berkrot’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I have not

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

The guilty queen

Bad narrator

It sounded like he was trying to do an impression of Michael Douglas doing Liberace...poorly. That was quite annoying - good thing it was an interesting story!