Rating: 
Summary: Deranged fairy tale
Review: As with J.T. LeRoy's other book, "The Heart is Deceitful Above All Things", it's hard to tell while reading "Sarah" whether what you're reading is a memoir, fiction, or some combination of the two. Whatever the case, "Sarah" is an entertaining, provocative and often funny read. Whereas the stories in "Heart" were realistic, disturbing accounts of horrific child abuse and the ramifications, "Sarah" reads more like a deranged fairy tale, set in the strange world of southern truck stop prostitution. The main character is an abused and neglected 12-year-old boy who decides to become a truck stop prostitute both as a way to compete with and reach out to his prostitute mother. While pursuing his "dream," he comes across a vast array of colorful, crazy and over-the-top characters, including deified pimps, superstitious hookers and perverse trucker johns. Although missing in action for most of this book, the presence of the title character and main character's mother, Sarah, is always felt, as he is constantly yearning for her approval, her attention, and her love. Sometimes there's a good reason behind "hype": J.T. Leroy is a remarkable talent.
Rating:
Summary: Deranged fairy tale
Review: As with J.T. LeRoy's other book, "The Heart is Deceitful Above All Things", it's hard to tell while reading "Sarah" whether what you're reading is a memoir, fiction, or some combination of the two. Whatever the case, "Sarah" is an entertaining, provocative and often funny read. Whereas the stories in "Heart" were realistic, disturbing accounts of horrific child abuse and the ramifications, "Sarah" reads more like a deranged fairy tale, set in the strange world of southern truck stop prostitution. The main character is an abused and neglected 12-year-old boy who decides to become a truck stop prostitute both as a way to compete with and reach out to his prostitute mother. While pursuing his "dream," he comes across a vast array of colorful, crazy and over-the-top characters, including deified pimps, superstitious hookers and perverse trucker johns. Although missing in action for most of this book, the presence of the title character and main character's mother, Sarah, is always felt, as he is constantly yearning for her approval, her attention, and her love. Sometimes there's a good reason behind "hype": J.T. Leroy is a remarkable talent.
Rating: 
Summary: gender and the truck stop
Review: i am unsure whether this book is autobiographical or not and i do not mean my comments to be negative towards this persons experiences real or fictional. i was disappointed by some of the topics which were touched on briefly but not expanded upon at all. the issue of gender with sarah is only briefly mentioned and is never explained as anymore than a little experience. the fact that sarah believed he was a woman because of how he was treated as one, how he was loved [in comparison to when he was treated as a snake and man] was not explained enough for my liking and you are looking to read between too many lines to try and understand her experiences. this book has brought many ideas to light but the light is dim... too dim for many people who would love to hear more of gender identification with children especially abused/mistreated/otherwise living adult lives in childrens bodies. i thought that the story was believeable in many respects although the characters were not developed enough for me to believe them to be non-fiction. many of the events/reactions of characters were hard for me to understand being from the north and knowing little of southern culture other than from tv or movies. i would have enjoyed the book much more if it had a more overall look at child prostitution or gender identity on a more broad applicable to all walks of life and not just the truck stop. i would recomend it to a friend on a rainy afternoon or who was going on a train/bus/plane ride and wanted something entertaining and somewhat enlightening.
Rating: 
Summary: DIsturbed
Review: I think this was a good read, and I never was compelled to stop reading because it was bad. I read this in one evening so in that respect it was quite engrossing, but I was disturbing in an outlandish way that I would have thought comical had I not read some interviews with the author. It's hard to critique autobiographical works, especially ones like this. Is it a poorly written book? No. Is it difficult to read? Yes, because of the subject matter. I read some of the other reviews and some of them are kind of harsh, but who are we to criticize other people's lives. I think in some ways this should be read by everyone. Because the more people who know about the real and awful things that happen to children, the better. The major drawback for me, was the tone. I thought this was going to be much more graphic and dark. Despite the subject matter, the book seemed like it was trying to make things funny. Funny has it's place, but it doesn't seem like this is it. But to play devils advocate with myself, humor often doubles as a mechanism for dealing with trauma our rational brains can't handle. So that could be the place of humor in this novel. If so it was done very subtly. Overall, I recommend it. I have to congratulate the writer: Good for you for getting this on the page, it's hard and you did a wonderful job.
Rating:
Summary: Out of the Curiosity Shop Comes a Sustained Intrigue
Review: JT LeRoy made a noisy splash on the literary scene when SARAH was published in 2000 when he was a mere 19 years old. Something of the nature of a cult was born and was encouraged by his subsequent work THE HEART IS DECEITFUL ABOVE ALL THINGS and now HAROLD'S END. This reader read them in reverse order and perhaps that is the reason for a 4 star vs a 5 star rating.
LeRoy has talent: there is no question about his skills at writing interesting fiction. The subject matter is certainly edgy, provocative, and seems bound to ply the shock treatment of his works as the main driver. But the same has been said about many fine writers in the past who successfully grabbed the audience by the collar and demanded to be heard. Genet, Lawrence, Gide, Burroughs, Rechy, etc. come to mind. Having read the three books of his output there does seem at this point to be a sameness that one hopes will dissipate into other arenas, enough to justify his '15 minutes of fame'.
SARAH, simply, is a young boy, son of a truck stop prostitute, who has managed to survive his 'home culture' by dressing as a little girl and pandering to the lusts of his mother's tricks and of pedophilic truck drivers at truck stops in West Virginia. It is a tale of survival, of tenuous dreams misguided, of sexual promiscuity and perversion, and of the 'family' of lizards (prostitutes) and pimps who manage to exist in a squalid environment. The language is razor sharp, the characters are well drawn if at times caricatures, and LeRoy manages to gain the readers' compassion for nearly every person who populates this strange curiosity shop of living.
LeRoy is at his best when he waxes poetic and it is those passages that his latent talent feels most secure. Young writers like LeRoy are fascinating to watch, to see if the initial burst of flame is sustainable. I hope it is. Grady Harp, February 2005
Rating:
Summary: Definitely a good read.
Review: JT LeRoy received so much high acclaim that I felt I just had to buy this book. On the cover there are quotes by well-known people who compare LeRoy to the likes of Burroughs, etc. So the standard is set very high, I think.... Consindering this publication "only" has 166 pages, it is quite something that I did not fully get into it until around page 100... And even after having finished it I am not totally sure what to think of this book - but I can recommend it nevertheless. JT LeRoy describes life of a male teenage prostitute. He also talks about Sarah, his mother. What I liked about the book is the way it made my brains work - Sarah could be the mother, but could also be an alter ego, sort of schizophrenic. JT shows the ugly side of the prostitution trade, but at the same time makes religious comparisons, talks about a certain holiness of the business.
Rating:
Summary: One of the Most Heartfelt book i have ever read.............
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: One of the Most Heartfelt book i have ever read.............
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: Hail all ye saints and sinners!
Review: 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....
Rating:
Summary: A Twisted and Delicious Fairy Tale
Review: Sarah is the edgy and engrossing tale of a cross-dressing pre-pubescent prostitute in rural West Virginia and the surreal world he/she inhabits of truck stops tricks and pimps and the meaning of family and redemption. Almost like a modern day Flannery O'Connor in the strange symbolism and religious connotations. Harrowing and hilarious and rich with an abundance of folklore as well as superb idiomatic flourishes. Wholly original.
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