Edgewise: A Picture of Cookie Mueller

This book exceeded my expectations - I was surprised that this is her first book because it was so well done. One of the things that comes through is the author’s genuine fascination for CM and how she finds her life inspiring. You can tell from the interviews how well the author got to know the people she loved and the rapport she had with them. I especially liked the first person interview style (much like the book “Edie”, about Edie Sedgwick). I also enjoyed the timeline: it follows a standard liner format, more or less, but about 1/3 way through there is a chapter about her childhood. It really works - somehow it emphasizes just how much she shaped her own life, how adventurous she was and how complicated.As a teenager, women like Cookie fascinated me and gave me view of what kind of things you can get out of life if you follow your heart. Female heroes don’t have to be perfect mother’s or selfless martyrs - they can be a great friend, an adventurer, a bit of a hustler, etc all mixed together.

Like many, before reading this book, I only knew Cookie Mueller from her early work with John Waters. This amazing book explores the many sides of a complex, brilliant woman--a poet, a columnist, an art reviewer, a socialite, a fashionista and trend setter, a club kid (before such a concept existed), a mother, a wife, a bisexual lover, a drug addict, a victims of the AIDS epidemic, and an incredibly kind and generous soul. This book was leagues better than I expected it to be, neither tabloid expose, nor an after death white-washing of the more sordid side of her life, this biography is told by the people who knew her best--her lovers, her son, her friends, her colleagues, etc. I just couldn't put this one down and wish it could have went on forever.

Loved this book and brought back so many memories of the 70's and 80's for me and nowI even had a performance in the movie just made in Scotland - yeah.. my first movie role.

A well researched tome with lots of interviews with Waters and Max Mueller .Great insight into the 80s art scene in NYC

I love this book with all my heart

If you lived in Provincetown in the seventies and eighties this is a poignant, interesting book to read, or if you want to learn more about the scene around John Water's and his films. The way these peoples lives intersect with the drug and culture scene and AIDS crisis in downtown New York in the eighties is told beautifully and describes the sadness and confusion of the situation with a powerful simplicity. This is a good book.

Fantastic book. Absolutely FELL IN LOVE with this woman. Looked forward to getting in to bed with her every night til I'd finished reading it. (Also, surprised to find a friend of mine (Tommy Myers) mentioned, but that's not important). Great, great read!

An excellent read. If you loved Cookie when you were watching all those old John Waters films then you will love this, too. My one complaint: the first printing was too small. I wanted one for a friend for her birthday and finding a copy at a decent price was harder than it should be at only three months after its release date!

Absolutely amazing. I only knew Cookie's work through the John Waters films and I read her book Walking Through Clear Water. I never knew she did so much more and it is really nice to hear about her life from people who really knew her, not some Fleet Street hack trying to make a few quid. I read it every day on my way to work and although you find out a lot about Cookie, you find out about 80's New York and the on set of AIDS. This book is beautifully put together with gorgeous pictures, and it made me cry. Wonderful :)

Ein faszinierender Einblick in das Leben und private sowie künstlerische Umfeld von Cookie Mueller. Leuten, die mit John Waters etwas anfangen können, sei dieses sehr liebevoll aufgemachte Buch ans Herz gelegt.