Reviews

Sarah by J.T. LeRoy

leeann20's review against another edition

1.0

didn't finish

squirrelfish's review

4.0

I don't care if it's true, I really enjoyed this book. I don't care about the author's backstory, or drama.

This was an enjoyable, entertaining read that I would put in a sort of American Romantic Surrealism genre.

odearrr's review

3.0

I actually did not know how to rate Sarah. It was not all that well written, but the story behind the author is fantastic and the the book sort of freaked me out so much I could not just give it two stars.

michasia347's review against another edition

3.0

3 stars

deerling's review against another edition

challenging dark tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pedophilia and Child abuse

urmada's review

4.0

I was going back and forth trying to decide between giving this book three or four stars. Finally I settled on four because I was so engrossed in the book and didn't really want to put it down. It is a fast read and what I really liked were all the different characters. It was a very interesting story throughout, it never really lets up and allows you to catch a breath.

ETA: Wow, I had no idea about any story behind the author and that whole thing so that was interesting to learn about. I just picked the book up off the library shelf because it looked interesting.

nharkins's review

4.0

Read this back when it was "A Thing". Just saw the documentary. Holy shit, the truth is even weirder. I remember thinking it odd that the author provided their email in the afterword, but in retrospect, it was an invitation to be one of her special secret victims, beyond the many celebrities who were duped.

ellethoughts's review

4.0

After watching the documentary, "Author: The J.T. Leroy Story" I wanted to read the actual fiction. It is a well-written novel. I was brought into a fantasy-world unlike any other; I could see what all th ehype was about when the book was originally released.

rat's review

dark tense fast-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

Sarah is gorgeous and it deserves five-stars, sadly LeRoy rips this from me. He rips away from me any sense of closure or simplicity that I crave in a novel. As fiction, Sarah is well written, encapsulates the messiness of being a child in a horrifying situation. LeRoy does an amazing job asking the reader about nature vs. nurture, and also the notion of gender.

But I can't give LeRoy this, the second he published his as a memoir was the second that made this book impossible to like. By publishing this novel as truth LeRoy grants himself authority of the subject of prostitution and I find this horribly disrespectful to the real people out there going through this. When Sarah ended I was left feeling so listless, I knew these characters are not real, but I cry as if they were. I feel so robbed of this whole story,.., and I can't fully explain it.

Note: Although LeRoy isnt real, I'm using he/him pronouns from him to differentiate him, as a persona, away from the real Laura Albert.