Sarah: A Novel by J. T. LeRoy
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Book Reviews of Sarah: A Novel
Book Review: In response to those who review the author and not the work
Summary: 5 Stars
There are now a number of reviews which, after it was revealed that JT LeRoy was a fictional persona, have taken to castigating the author rather than evaluating the merits of the work. This is a response to those who have taken this position.
Which part of novel, ahem ... fiction, don't you understand.
Let's do this one step at a time. You appear to be upset that the artist represented herself as HIV positive. Excuse me, would you mind pointing out where she did that. The answer, which you may not want to hear, is never. While there may be reviewers who carelessly made that claim, the truth is that Laura never made such a representation.
Second, you seem to object to the artistic use of another persona as the predicate for her writing. May I remind you that there are many female authors who represent themselves as male, particularly in the 19th and 20th centuries, and many male authors who went the other way. If you have seen the recent film based upon Bob Dylan's life (I believe his real name was actually Robert Zimmerman), you will note that they used 6 different characters to play him, mainly because he had "misrepresented" his past. What about Borat? At the time the movie was shot, the public figures thought they were talking to a foreign journalist. Did that deception inflame your passions in the same way?
Third, as to the lawsuit, the final chapter has yet to be written. That matter is on appeal and Ms. Albert has supplemented her team with a nationally known firm that will give her the representation that is appropriate to the important literary issues involved in this matter.
Finally, you should think of why you are so offended. Is the writing good; is the novel -- remember that word -- touching you. If so, you need to look into yourself as to why you are so enraged, particularly when you have not even bothered to check out the truth of the errors you espouse.
Book Review: So different it makes you weep
Summary: 5 Stars
With contemporary fiction and bestseller lists chock-o-ful of "My poor childhood" books:¡§Angela Ash's," "The Child Called It." et all ad infinium. J. T Leroy is a breath of fresh air. Thank god. Our hero/heroine in this book tops the "painful, horrible, abused" childhood category by not only having a mother who is a prostitute but follows her footsteps into the land of "lot lizards" at the mere age of 13. He then runs away from the cloistered protection of his caring pimp and finds himself caught up in a far more sinister ring in an even more horrific town. Fueled by secrets of his identity over his confusion of how the body works, ¡§Sarah¡¨ life just goes downhill from there. So what is the big deal about this book? Yes, the language is beautiful, the landscape foreign and the characters unforgettable due to their inherent strangeness and oblique lifestyles such as the Geisha like, Cheerleader like boys who are his teacher and savior. But the reason this book comes out of the smothering ashes of another tragic mother, is the fact it is written with HOPE. The story is slathered with deep southern magic of saints and artifacts, mixed in with Native American powers of redemption and curses. These people, and the hero/heroine herself are proud of their place in the wide chain. Sarah along with the others wants to be a lot lizard, and what we perceive as horrors is magical to him. Not for a moment does Sarah compare himself/herself to those of his/her suburban peers and mire in his fate because in this world they merely do not exist. We read this book on its own terms and our heroine/hero does as good as he can and we root for him at every turn.Book Review: Hail all ye saints and sinners!
Summary: 5 Stars
SARAH by JT Leroy is one of the most original and funny stories I've read in a long time.If you've read any of the promotional blurbs, I took special notice of one that refers to SARAH as a cross between Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland and William Burrough's Naked Lunch. I'll take that tangent a step further and say I saw elements of Hansel and Gretel, the 3 Little Pigs, Humpty Dumpty, Rapunzel and Rumpelstilskin, to name a few childhood fairy tales. This story of a "lot lizard" who takes his mother's name on a moment's notice, and joins the world of truck-stop whores, hustlers and even a 5-star chef in a diner named the Three Doves, had me laughing out loud, sighing and absolutely drawn into the "religious" symbolism that jumps off some many pages.
Not only do these women and "women" service their truckers rain, snow or shine, they also can raise the roof with a medley of old Gospel songs that'll bring tears and laughter at the same time. I CANNOT wait to see that scene brought to life in movie form by Gus van Sant, who evidently is working on the film right now. My first thought was John Waters to direct, but Gus van Sant has the modern homosexual/hustler/alt culture down to a T. If you've seen My Private Idaho, you know to what I'm referring. This "novel" is a mix of drama/comedy, sin/redemption, joy/heartbreak, etc. etc.
I cannot recommend this highly enough as a truly original voice in modern literature. I have to go now and read THE HEART IS DECEITFUL ABOVE ALL THINGS, Leroy's collection of short stories just published recently. Have a gay ol' time enjoying "Saint" Sarah's life story with her friends Pooh, Stella and the gang....
Book Review: The Mozart of contemporary American literature
Summary: 5 Stars
Most writers of self-consciously "literary" fiction are people who are widely read but narrowly experienced. Things could be worse, of course: most writers of genre fiction are simply morons, hard-working morons, but morons nontheless. Occasionally, however, a young person comes along whom fate puts through the ringer--repeatedly, and while he or she is very young--and then, by some miracle, this person comes through the experience intact, and has an inborn genius for language to boot. JT Leroy is one such person.Leroy is not widely read, but it doesn't matter. His ear has registered enough voices to sustain a lifetime's career. His sentences have a lilting, feminine cadence, and are shot through with beauty, desire, pain, and humor. But nothing is overdone, nothing is arch or self-conscious or heavy-handed, everything is inviting, mysterious, and deeply humane. His language and his atmosphere are thoroughly haunting. He puts his characters through the ringer, just as he once was, but in so doing he shows (and is himself an example of) the indestructability of human goodness. "Sarah" sketches a world at the margins of society, of civilization even, and slowly, slowly begins to show us that that is where we all live.
He was only 20 when he wrote this. Forget the other 20-something poseurs who get licked up by the New Yorker for their pitiful concoctions pasted together from the styles of other writers. This is the real stuff. This is the one and only Mozart of contemporary American literature.
Book Review: One of the Most Heartfelt book i have ever 5 Stars
JT LeRoy's novel Sarah is the most sincere and heartbreakingly beautiful book i have ever read and i'm emotionally paralyzed. Sarah, is a semi-autobiographical book based heavily on Mr. Leroy himself. Sarah is the name of the protagonist's mother who by the way is a truck stop [prostitute] and doesn't want anyone to find out that she's a mother, but Sarah is also the name of the protagonist, i for one think its better than the one his kind pimp gave him "Cherry Vanilla". So here's the clincher Cherry Vanilla is this twelve year-old boy slash girl slash truck stop [prostitute] (or lizard as they are called in the book and in the south) slash saint. It may sound overwhelming but trust me Mr. Leroy is a genius he takes all these crazy characters and puts them in a burlap sack and shakes it up to make it come together into this beautiful written story. Besides everything thing that happens to Cherry Vanilla slash Sarah you can't help but think that there is something more deeper than a thirteen year-old boy slash girl turned truck stop [prostitute] and saint, but just a thirteen year old boy scared who just wants to be with his mother. To tell you the truth after reading this book it made me want to find my mother and hug her. Caution this book isn't for the weak hearted and elderly there is a lot of provocative material written in this book. But read it anyway, trust me, i never lie.