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SARAH Paperback – August 4, 2016

by Jt Leroy (Author)
4.1 4.1 out of 5 stars 572 ratings
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National Bestseller

Featuring a foreword by Billy Corgan

“JT LeRoy’s masterful imagination, command of story, and easy sense of the mythological are a rare combination that demands attention.” — Toronto Star

Sarah never admits that she’s his mother, but the beautiful boy has watched her survive as a “lot lizard”: a prostitute working the West Virginia truck stops. Desperate to win her love, he decides to surpass her as the best and most famous lot lizard ever. With his own leather mini-skirt and a makeup bag that closes with Velcro, the young “Cherry Vanilla” embarks on a journey through the Appalachian wilds, dining on transcendental cuisine, supplicating to the mystical Jackalope, encountering the most terrifying of pimps, walking on water, being venerated as an innocent girl saint—and then being denounced as the devil.

By turns exhilarating and shocking, magical and realistic, Sarah brings urgency, wit, and imagination to an unknown and unforgettable world.

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Previous page
  1. Print length
    160 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publication date
    August 4, 2016
  4. Dimensions
    5.31 x 0.4 x 8 inches
  5. ISBN-10
    9780062641250
  6. ISBN-13
    978-0062641250
  7. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

“Edgy but thoroughly...larger than life...comically Dickensian.” — San Francisco Chronicle

“Genuinely moving.” — Publishers Weekly

“Quick, lively, and fascinating.” — BookForum

“Wildly imagined, but described with a quiet sureness Sarah’s considerable originality testify to LeRoy’s wonderful ability to make up beautiful things.” — Village Voice

“JT LeRoy’s masterful imagination, command of story, and easy sense of the mythological are a rare combination that demands attention.” — Toronto Star

From the Back Cover

Sarah never admits that she’s his mother, but the beautiful boy has watched her survive as a “lot lizard”: a prostitute working the West Virginia truck stops. Desperate to win her love, he decides to surpass her as the best and most famous lot lizard ever. With his own leather mini-skirt and a makeup bag that closes with Velcro, the young “Cherry Vanilla” embarks on a journey through the Appalachian wilds, dining on transcendental cuisine, supplicating to the mystical Jackalope, encountering the most terrifying of pimps, walking on water, being venerated as an innocent girl saint—and then being denounced as the devil. By turns exhilarating and shocking, magical and realistic, Sarah brings urgency, wit, and imagination to an unknown and unforgettable world.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ 0062641255
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Perennial; Reprint edition (August 4, 2016)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 160 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 9780062641250
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0062641250
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 6.4 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.31 x 0.4 x 8 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.1 4.1 out of 5 stars 572 ratings

About the author

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JT LeRoy

JT LeRoy

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LAURA ALBERT (lauraalbert.org -- photo by Albert Sanchez) won international acclaim for her best-selling novels "Sarah," "The Heart Is Deceitful Above All Things," and "Harold's End," written as JT LeRoy. She is the subject of the acclaimed documentary feature "Author: The JT LeRoy Story" by Jeff Feuerzeig. Her speaking engagements include NPR's story-telling series The Moth, Radiolab, Foyles in London, and Brazil's international Book Bienal, where Laura and Alice Walker were the 2012 U.S. representatives. Laura was a writer for the HBO series "Deadwood" and wrote the original screenplay of Gus Van Sant's "Elephant," winner of the 2003 Palme d'Or at Cannes. She was also Associate Producer of both "Elephant" and Asia Argento's film of "The Heart Is Deceitful Above All Things." Laura has served as a juror for the Brasilia, Sapporo, and A SHADED VIEW ON FASHION FILM festivals. Writer of the films "We Vault" and "Dreams of Levitation" for Nowness, Laura has also written for The New York Times, the London Times, Spin, Film Comment, Filmmaker, Interview, and Vogue, and was a contributing editor to Black Book, I-D, SOMA, and 7x7. She is currently an editorial director for ContentMode, an editor for Diane Pernet's www.asvof.com, and a contributor to 429 magazine; she has also been an invited speaker at the annual conferences of dot429, the world's largest LGBTA professional network. Her breakthrough interview given to Nathaniel Rich was the cover feature of the Fall 2006 issue of The Paris Review. She also gave an extensive interview to Adam Langer for the August 2013 issue of Interview Magazine. Laura and JT have become the subjects of the hit Brazilian rock musical "JT, Um Conto de Fadas Punk" (JT, A Punk Fairy Tale).

Customer reviews

4.1 out of 5 stars
4.1 out of 5
572 global ratings
SARAH - A hero's journey through a seedy rural underground among guilty bystanders.
5 Stars
SARAH - A hero's journey through a seedy rural underground among guilty bystanders.
Just finished SARAH, by J.T. LeRoy. Best book I've read since YOU CAN'T WIN by Jack Black.Imagine Woody Guthrie, William Burroughs, Jean-Paul Sartre and Judy Bloom writing a book set in West Virginia truck stops.
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Top reviews from the United States

fala_la
5.0 out of 5 stars bad pimp". I want to snuggle into its sentences
Reviewed in the United States on April 2, 2018
Verified Purchase
Ever look out the car window while passing through the Blue Ridge
Mountains and imagine an alternative life? SARAH paints a strange
nightmarish dreamscape far beyond what most could imagine. It has
spontaneity, deep empathy, and characters that you can smell, feel,
pinch – as well as a subject matter that balances between refreshingly
original and disturbingly taboo.

This book has powers, too. It can turn your judgment, a system that's
been curated for an entire life, upside down, transforming "All pimps
are evil" to "good pimp, bad pimp".

I want to snuggle into its sentences. They make the story flow like a
river, smooth at points, tumultuous at others. The prose is simple
where it needs to be, careful not to call attention to itself, but
rather used in the mission of telling a great American tale.

I am floored by some of the 1 star reviews that claim the characters
are one-dimensional. The narrator – aka Cherry Vanilla aka Sarah aka
She-rah aka Saint Sarah aka Sam – evolved before the first page was
even written. Ancillary people are lightly sketched, but the ones
closer in are so real, silky, bristly, damp, odoriferous, creepy.

I re-read SARAH after coming across the documentary "Author: The JT
LeRoy Story". I had read it many years before, and like so many people
was intrigued by this gender-fluid it-lit boy.

When the NY Times story broke that the author was probably a much
older woman, I was exuberant. Not knowing the backstory, I empathized
with the need to hide behind a male persona. After all, whenever I had
a dispute with a bill or bank or landlord, and I wasn't getting
anywhere, I'd have my elderly father call. Problems were solved in
minutes.

Regardless of how SARAH was created, it is a gem and one of the best
books I will ever read. I highly recommend it for voracious or
occasional readers, and especially for aspiring writers. I'm looking
forward to this author's future works, under any pen name or persona.
12 people found this helpful
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Colin Carr
4.0 out of 5 stars Sarah (by JT LeRoy)
Reviewed in the United States on April 2, 2014
Verified Purchase
I havent read a book in a long time. In fact, haven't heard of author Laura Albert until recently viewing the film adaptation of The Heart Is Decietful Above All Things. Then decided to check out this JT Leroy fella (who really isn't a fella which caused a huge uproar from fans). Downloaded the kindle version of Sarah which I surprisingly finished. That's probably the biggest compliment, because I could never stick a book. It was that appealing to me.

Miss Albert deserves a lot of credit. She delves into a world that most are either unaware of or choose to ignore. She's just the person you'd want to represent that, being a victim of child abuse (physically, sexually, and emotionally). It's my belief that people tend to overlook those things because of how depressing they are. They don't want to know. From my understanding, Sarah is an easier book to digest than The Heart because it's more humorous. In fact, alot of the characters are more likeable. Even had quite a few laughs.

That's not to say there aren't any disturbing moments. It kind of comes with the territory. The second half of the novel is where it gets darker.

Its a quick read (166 pages), but doesnt feel rushed. The content is whats really important. If the content is good and story written well, sometimes you wont even realize. All the little details have charm and even put a smile on my face. This dark world can surprisingly feel welcoming. The book talks alot about the diner Cherry Vanilla goes to back home (even mentions the kind of meals served).

There are alot of similarities with The Heart. Jeremiah's relationship with Sarah mirrors Cherry Vanilla's relationship with Sarah. The scene where Jeremiah seduces his mother's boyfriend is another example. It seems to me Laura Albert has a thing for identity, and how it can be taken from you.

I really enjoyed Sarah, and despite its disturbing side can be quite fun. It's definitly not for kids, though I'd say could be fine for someone over sixteen. The Heart Is Decietful Above All Things is probably a different story.
5 people found this helpful
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D. David
5.0 out of 5 stars In response to those who review the author and not the work
Reviewed in the United States on December 16, 2007
Verified Purchase
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.
8 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Unique and enlightening and moving - WOW!
Reviewed in Canada on November 1, 2021
Verified Purchase
The characters were heartbreakingly beautiful and I will carry them with me forever. It was a unique voice rarely explored and streetwise poetic storytelling. WOW . I read the book then listened to the Audio book with Winsome Brown narrating (super star) Then read the book while I listened to Winsome's Brown bring the characters to life WOW. Run and read/listen to this story!
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Letícia R.
5.0 out of 5 stars great read
Reviewed in Germany on July 11, 2021
Verified Purchase
great read
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Leven1
5.0 out of 5 stars Dark Surreal Southern Gothic Tale - Try to ignore the good and bad hype
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 17, 2010
Verified Purchase
Personally I came to this book having missed (being in the UK) all the hype and subsequent backlash. So I treated the book as a work of fiction. I thought it was very very good. To me it was in the traditional of many southern writers (I know Albert is not genuinely southern but who cares) with a dark gothic but also comedic surrealness that made it more than a story of a child prostitute. The use of religious imagary, weird strange characters, backwood setting, good vs evil only add to this feel. Similar themes to what you would find in books by writers I love like Harry Crews, Larry Brown or William Gay.
The book, although dealing with a very disturbing subject, avoids being too graphic early on and the humour helps to dilute the nastiness of the situation Cherry/Sarah/Sam is in. The story is fairly simplistic - a naive child frustrated by being held back by those trying to look out for her (relatively speaking) inadvertantly wanders into a much more dangerous situation. There then follows a battle of sorts between good (again relatively speaking) and evil. The story then takes on elements of religeous fanaticism and charlatanisem before it becomes nastier in feel as Charry/Sarah/Sam's situation really worsens.
I feel the author has shot herself in the foot by not just admitting it was a work of fiction. Had she admitted it was fiction it is possible that this book would have become a cult classic over time. I think the problem with her claims that JT Leroy was real and the subsequent charade that ensued left people feeling cheated and foolish and no one likes to feel like that (look at the tags in on the US Amazon site - scam, faker, lame, dishonest). I also think the publicity brought many people to this book who would not have normally read a book like this with such a subject matter. Many people cannot read books about uncomfortable subject matters unless they feel it is true and the victim has managed to survive and rebuild their life. As soon as it was discovered JT was not real a lot of sympathy for the character disappeared. It was seen as exploitative and the matter of fact way acts most of us would consider unthinkable are described or mentioned only worsens this. However, I consider this a fairly realistic portrayal of how an abused child may think (the story itself is not that realistic but neither do I think it is meant to be). Many child victims of abuse become conditioned to it so it is not unusual to them and they would not think to complain about their lot in life as it is all they and the people around them know. Although not as good a book and certainly a more graphic book The Heart is Deceitful Above All Things describes the sort of lifestyle and experiences that shape an abused child's development and thinking and it is sort of a prequel to this book.

This is not a book for everyone and no matter what would probably have been controversial (how many other books deal with child prostitution without them being over the top "real life" exposes with a life affirming ending where the victim finds god and all is well such as A Piece of Cake by Cupcake Brown). Be aware everybody in this book who is not a child but including some children are either abusing, exploiting or assisting in the exploitation of children. That said while the book does not openly condemn what is going on (the "good" guy is a pimp of children) it does not attempt to glorify child exploitation. It is merely written from the point of view of an adult remembering a part of their life as a child. Dark, funny, bizarre, unsettling and very sad but a very good book all the same.
11 people found this helpful
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Hanna Dias Leoncio
3.0 out of 5 stars Ok.
Reviewed in Brazil on August 30, 2022
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Bem triste, nada além disso...
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Angharad Stephens
4.0 out of 5 stars Controversial topic, but a great read!
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 6, 2018
Verified Purchase
I was presented this book as part of a reading list for one of my modules that I am taking. Our lecturer allowed us to continue with it after reading the extract she gave us, if we do wished to due to the topic of the book.

I am so happy I did. The story manages to envoke so many different emotion throughout reading, whilst still engaging the audience with the wonderfully written characters! It is a real page turner, and I did not realise how the time flew whilst reading it, as I got so engrossed with the narrative and characters!

I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who was to branch out into a different style and genre of reading. Although Sarah is shocking at times, it is well worth a read!
One person found this helpful
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