This book lacks the realism of "The Heart is Deceitful..." and reads more like a reimagined fairy tale or Orpheus myth. For me, this really weakened the emotional punch that was the strongest element in Heart. ( )

This book blew me away when I first read it back in 2002. This account of a horrible life as a child prostitute along American highways, written not as the black story of opression it actually is, but as a sort of starry eyed, twisted fairytale, wasn't quite like anything I had ever read before. It was, as someone put it, like reading the story of Alice in the wrong Wonderland, a world where jackalopes and penis bones of raccoons give you magic powers, where pimps are kings and magicians and where the "lot lizards" and she-males are knights in shining armour. And this without shying away from the violence and horror of that environment. That the book claimed to be partly autobiographical made the tone of it even more a wonder. How was it possible to describe an upbringing like that in such a way???

Since then JT LeRoy has been outed as a literary persona, and I was afraid this would affect my reading of it. I read LeRoy's other "autobiographical" novel The heart is decietful above all things after the unveiling of the hoax, and that book felt speculative and cold to me, leaving a bad taste in my mouth.

Sarah, while behaps not knocking me out this time (lowered the rating by half a star) fares much better, and I think it has to do with the fairytale element of it. It's a strange and at times disturbing book this, but there are also elements of sweetness and quirkyness in there. It remains a book unlike any other, even without the autobiographical claim. ( )

Disturbing and fascinating with an excellent grasp on slang and mannerisms, but lacking a narrative that compels outside of the shock value. Not that the shock value is bad, per se, it just didn't feel like a means to an end. Some sections were a little haphazard, and while the characterization is the strong point, the actual plot lags behind the limited character growth. Pooh and Sarah/Sam's interaction is among some of the strongest and simultaneously weakest in the novel, with similar issues between Sarah/Sam and his various pimps. Interesting, though, and excellent use of the disturbing to find something resembling beauty in a putrid swamp of disease, whores, greed and Barbies. ( )

When I first read the novel years ago, the LeRoy hoax was in full bloom; "JT" was even selling replica 'coon-bone charms on his website. Every effort was made to make this seem like a slightly-fictionalized autobiography.

I fell for it. I found the book very touching and I was impressed. Impressed that an author at most a year younger than myself published to such critical acclaim. Impressed by the courage it took to bare his soul in such a way. And, embarassingly, I had a bit of a nerdy reader-crush on him.

Against my better judgment, I reread it recently, knowing full well that "JT" was a lie. Without the rose-coloured glasses of the hoax, the novel is shallow crap. The surreality seems forced, the subject matter and themes exploitative. It no longer has a shred of honesty. I suppose it never did in the first place.

Am I angry? Yeah, a bit. Mostly due to the position that Laura Albert has taken about any negative fan reaction to her hoax. It seems as though she thinks the only appropriate reaction to the hoax's exposure is reverent clapping or Beatnik finger snaps, and that any resentment for having been taken on a ride is evidence of a deep character flaw in the disgruntled reader.

I'd give one star, but I did enjoy the book once upon a time. So, two. ( )

So very boring and gratuitously weird. I honestly couldn't finish it. ( )

The very strange story of a teenage boy prostituting himself at truck stops. I didn't find any of the characters particularly engaging and the plot was thin and sketchy at best. Although a couple of scenes have stuck in my mind for their gratuity there is very little to recommend this book. ( )

Sarah by J.T. LeRoy is an odd novel.

First, I found it odd because despite its subject matter (mostly male prostitution at truck stops), its cover boasts the book as a national bestseller. Even an uber-liberal like myself wouldn't expect a novel dealing with that subject matter to earn the title of national bestseller. Of course, if it did I would expect it to be amazing.

Also, since this is another book that comes with praise from Chuck Palahniuk himself, I would expect it to be amazing.

However, while both these facts are true about Sarah, the novel just isn't amazing. It's a cute little story of the losing and homecoming of a young male cross-dressing truck-stop prostitute. Yes, I mean a cute tale, despite the subject matter.

The problem with this novel seems to be that despite the harrowing subject matter the story isn't harrowing. The characters, not even Sarah, are not characters you sympathize with. The novel is well crafted and the writing is superbly structured, but it's not compelling. It doesn't mirror the true horror of the situations it describes. Its flat.

Hopefully, we can blame this on amateurism, because there is definitely potential here, and from what I remember I believe LeRoy published this story at the age of twenty, which leaves a lot of room for growth.

Originally written 01/07/05 ( )

'Sarah' is a 12-year-old boy dressed as a girl who is forced to be a prostitute. ( )

Has some beautiful moments, but ultimately lacks a coherent storyline, or real characters. There is no depth here, only half-finished thoughts and a few graphic scenes. ( )