Rating: 
Summary: Is the hype half-empty or absolutely true?
Review: If it was not for an interview read in the Brit gay glossy "Attitude," I may not have ever picked up SARAH. Intrigued by its enigmatic 20-something author, I sought out the book while on business in Vancouver. A surprsingly slight book, I read it quickly on the flight home. My first reaction -- it was the equivalent of a train wreck. A white trash fantasia that alternates between the beautiful and sordid, imaginative and pretentious. Still, I can't get this book out of my mind. At its most absurd, Leroy's clever dialogue saves it from being a mere surface experience. At its most human, SARAH is heartbreaking and unforgettable. If a conservative read is your thing, you will not be impressed. However, Leroy possesses a unique voice and that alone will prompt me into reading his next effort.
Rating: 
Summary: So different it makes you weep
Review: 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.
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: Don't believe the hype
Review: I might have enjoyed this book more if I hadn't first read all the gushing cover blurbs, written by the hot Hollywood types falling all over themselves to say nice things about LeRoy's work. I admire that at such a young age, LeRoy is able to write so well. But there was something missing; he just never goes far enough--either in his characterizations or his revelations. I'm not looking for out-and-out porn, but "Sarah" comes across as a naughty little fairy tale that's really not that naughty. LeRoy seems confident in HOW he writes, but not in WHAT he writes about. And the kiss of death: When it was all over, my first thought was, "So what?" Stylistically and tone-wise, "Sarah" reminded me more than anything of Joe R. Lansdale's science fiction dark comedy, The Drive-In. Only it's not nearly as good.
Rating:
Summary: all hail truckstop chicken boys!
Review: JT Leroy's Sarah had the same effect on me as Lynda Barry's Cruddy: It was skanky, outrageous and low rent and I loved every page of it. How astonishing that Leroy, a young protégé of Dennis Cooper, could turn out such an assured and imaginative first novel, even if much of it was clearly based on his own experiences as a truckstop chicken boy hustler in the Deep South. The story of an adolescent boy who disguises himself as a little girl, then falls into the clutches of a monstrous pimp who markets "Sarah" as a messiah for lonely, God-fearing pedophilic truckers, Leroy's novel reads like an intoxicating, scuzzy hybrid of Dennis Cooper and Flannery O'Connor. It's certainly not for everybody, but how could anyone turn their backs on a gifted young writer capable of writing lines like "The health department collected mouse droppings and Roach Motels so full they could be used as maracas." Sarah has all the makings of a skank classic and I can't wait to read what young JT Leroy, a.k.a.Terminator, serves up next.
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: To hell with the hype! This author is amazing!
Review: There is a whole world in Sarah. Sometimes it is topsy turvy, sometimes it is whimsical, sometimes it resonates with chords I never even knew I had. Characterization so strong that I would recognize Cherry Vanilla, LeLoup, Mother Shapiro or anyone else if they stepped off the page and into a crowded room. Since then, I've tried to read everything JT LeRoy has written, be it book or article or interview. He is a genius. His ability to paint word pictures, in both Sarah and The Heart is Deceitful Above All Things is astounding. I've never read anyone who can produce such clear images in my mind's eye as this author's writing can do. His analogies and descriptions are spot on and breath taking. His innate sense of timing gives the reader the perfect emotion (humor, poignancy, introspection) at the most opportune time so that the meaning sinks deepest. His writing can lull you into thinking that you know this situation, this scenario, this setting. Then, just as you're settling into complacency, he jerks the rug out from under you with a reality that can barely be imagined. He is a singular talent. I have no doubt at all that his writing will stand the test of time and he will be the Mark Twain of this generation.
Rating:
Summary: Oliver Twist from Hell...
Review: This is a very disturbing book. It is difficult to separate the novel from the myth of LeRoy himself. It is autobiographical fiction, but I'm not exactly sure where the autobiography ends and the fiction begins. LeRoy was a fourteen year old street-hustler whose therapist recommended he turn to writing in order to deal with his issues. He was put in touch with figures in the literary community, such as his hero, Dennis Cooper. He was first published at 16 and at 19 he wrote the novel Sarah. The book reveals a world I never knew existed (and now that I know, I'd like to forget). Apparently, there is quite a trade in child prostitution for truck drivers in West Virginia. The narrator is just one of those characters. Pre-pubescent, his mother Sarah is a prostitute and soon he (known as Cherry Vanilla) is indoctrinated as well. (This is nothing new to him as his mother's Johns have been molesting him as well.) The wrinkle is that he has to dress up to look like a girl. The story does bare a resemblance to Oliver Twist - instead of child pickpockets, they are child prostitutes. However, the drama of this story merely entails the escape from the "bad" pimp to the "good" pimp. Don't expect an overly happy ending for the book, but at least we know LeRoy's own life is turning out better. If you are interested I highly recommend viewing his homepage at www.jtleroy.com to get a better understanding of him (there is some speculation as to the veracity of his claims). LeRoy is now friends with many people in the entertainment industry and both his books are being made into movies. I was troubled with some of the cavalier blurbs on the book, as if it were a lighthearted romp. True there are funny moments but the world described is hell. I had trouble sleeping at night considering the implications of Sarah. Anyone who's seen Mystic River knows that victims of child abuse never really escape. If the author of this book really went through something like this, then the powers of human healing are truly miraculous indeed.
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: How sick. How disturbing. I couldn't put it down. An odd combination of Faulkner (think "Sanctuary") and Tom Robbins (ala "Even Cow Girls Get the Blues"). Not for the faint of heart.
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