CW: This book contains a lot of potentially triggering things, both referenced and on the page, including Child Abuse, Child Sexual Exploitation, Sex Work, Sexual Assault, Transphobia, Addiction

I went from not having ever heard of this book or its author to having it randomly recommended on here, seeing a scathing review referencing the issues around the author, watching the Vice documentary, reading the Guardian interview with Savannah Knoop, and finally reading/ listening to the book in pretty much one sitting, in the space of a few days. I was initially not going to read it because of the subject matter, but the controversy around the author fascinated me, and seeing the reaction that people had to the book when it was published convinced me I had to at least try it.

Art that is hyped up invariably cannot live up to the story told about it, and after the utter wildness of the reaction of celebrities and fans I don't think anything could really measure up to that. However, Sarah is absolutely one of the most original, awfully beautiful, and exquisitely visceral and uncomfortable books I have ever read. Regardless of the issues around the author, the authorial voice is spectacular with a grimy poetry that makes the prose feel like being stuck in the gut with a filthy platinum blade. I'm hesitant to say I love a book that has the subject matter this one does and problems with its creator/s, but I do. I bloody adored it and my issues with the problematic mythology around JT LeRoy and discomfort at how truly harrowing this book is at times with things I normally try to avoid not dulling my enjoyment of this book as a work of art and a literary masterpiece. That said, this isn't some holy, magical book. It's not the greatest work of fiction ever and it certainly isn't going to appeal to everyone for all manner of reasons. It's not even my favourite book, but I would be lying if I didn't say it was up there.

Sarah follows the strange and traumatic life of a young person assigned male at birth who predominantly presents and views themselves as a woman. Her mother is a truck stop sex worker and it isn't long before the protagonist becomes drawn into child sexual exploitation (children cannot consent to sex work). She sneaks off to makes a pilgrimage to a spiritual site for sex workers to receive a blessing and is taken advantage of again and kidnapped. Taken away from everyone she knows she takes the name of her mother, Sarah, for herself and is stuck in a situation that begins in bizarre spirituality, before things take horrifyingly bleak turn.

Sarah's perspective and view of the world is uniquely shaped by her experiences and the strange world of sex work and exploitation which is all she has ever known. This is a world in which raccoon penis bones are magical relics and marks of prestige, a large elk holy site for sex workers, and the patron saints of truckers. As ridiculous as these things sound and as unquestionably awful and disturbing many of the situations and events are the tale the reader goes on with Sarah is wonderfully woven together with prose that is beautiful, ugly, exquisite, and hypnotic. It's immensely readable and undeniably art -- you can absolutely hate it if you wish, the joys of subjectivity, but I don't belive it can be denied that this is art. In my opinion this is utterly breathtaking and incredible, confronting art.

I have seen reviews that tear the book apart or recant previously glowing reviews based entirely on the controversy, which I will talk about in a moment. While it's totally valid that information we learn about an artist can have a serious effect on how we view the art and your relationship to it, I don't think it's accurate to say that one can revoke whether something is art or to change the actual quality of the art itself -- in an individual's eyes and subjective experience, absolutely, but not objectively. I don't care how anyone feels about this book and my feelings are just that, my feelings. I do think that discrediting art because of the artist is somewhat absurd. I personally believe Picasso was virulent misogynist, but that doesn't make me think Guernica is any less a powerful piece.

The JT LeRoy controversy in a nutshell was that he was a fictional persona and psudenum used by Laura Albert that was later played by her, at the time, sibling-in-law, Savannah Knoop, who has since come out as non binary. The real issue is that the character of JT LeRoy was presented as the novel, Sarah, being at least somewhat autobiographical, with the author having been sexually exploited as a child, being transgender or having a Genderqueer experience of some kind, and that he had AIDS. Albert and Knoop presented Knoop as LeRoy, becoming a megastar with relationships with many celebrities and keeping to the LeRoy being a real person, even vociferously defending him and explicitly lying when it started to be reported that LeRoy didn't exist. The Vice documentary gives a platform for Albert to tell her side of the story that is very sympathetic to her, both in her telling of the story and the cultivated narrative of the documentary itself, after all the investigative journalism at the time, and Knoop made a film that gives their perspective, which sees Albert as more of a manipulator, taking advantage of a teenage Knoop. Bias is everywhere and we will never know the exact truth.

Something that is very clear in Albert's life story is that she was a troubled child, she was sexually abused by a family repeatedly, was sent to a mental institution by her mother a number of times, and eventually emancipated from her parents and lived in a group home. This trauma and neurodivergence was something she explored and processed through creative writing using a male voice to grant her the distance she needed, something a creative writing professor refused to allow her to do, which is abhorrent. I believe the persona of Terminator, who became JT LeRoy, began as needed creative and cathartic outlet and a cry for help. It only crossed a line when he was presented as a real person with intersections of marginalisation that Albert had not experienced and the potential manipulation of Knoop and their subsequent portrayal of him. There is appropriation of trauma in the character of JT LeRoy that, while I don't think was originally incarnated to do so, was certainly used to create the mystique around him that played a huge part in his success and becoming a megastar. This is entirely unacceptable to me as is Albert's unwillingness to truly admit to the wrong done by her. I don't think it is anywhere near the level of awful things many creators and celebrities have done, so I find the level of animosity, specifically from those not in the groups effected by her appropriation, mind boggling.

For the record I am a Genderqueer trans femme and I do think the appropriation is awful. I also see a severely traumatised and neurodivergent person who had a much needed outlet that became something more, becoming something that was no longer OK. I can sympathise and understand about how things got out of control, but the opportunities, both to come clean as the author and those that were granted Albert on the back on the somewhat artificial fame of LeRoy were many. I think she did wrong and needs to truly accept that, just as Knoop did wrong and has been much more open about their own culpability. I just don't think there is anything to be gained by putting any energy into hating either of them, especially when those they appropriated and lied to face far more serious threats and dangers posed by governments and celebrities around the world. Your feelings are valid regardless, harassing them is not.

Regarding the content of the book, I think the subjects and themes are all treated with an appropriate respect and understanding, with the exception of Grady being portrayed as too good, caring, and paternal for a pimp who sexually exploits children. We should not demand writers only write about their own experiences, as long as they do so with the respect and care they need and are not speaking over own voices. The book and its independent quality as a literary work of art, at least for me, is not tainted by everything else around it.

Ultimately, I adored the book, as troubling as it is, I don't think what Albert and Knoop did with JT LeRoy was at all acceptable, and I don't hate either of them and have sympathy and empathy for them both. I do hope Albert will be honest with herself and her audience and give a genuine apology. I wish everyone involved the best and as much healing as they can get. The sake goes for anyone who has read this, especially if you wildly different takes and energy about the whole situation. ( )

Scandal aside, it seems like this book's only point is to attempt to shock the reader ( )

God, what a good book! You know the type, you really want to get to the end but when its over you wish there was more to come? Sarah is that type of book. What a great story, I mean the writing was very good too, but the story had me sucked right in. Its about a young boy who dresses up as a girl to work as a truck-stop whore, apparently loosely biographical. I'm dying to read The Heart is Deceitful Above all Things now, but I'm trying to pace myself! ( )

Es ist nicht einfach dieses Buch mit seinen knallharten Worten zu lesen. Mit aller wahrscheinlichkeit stammt es aus erfahrene Realität. ( )

A fascinating, disturbing and odd story of teenage, cross-dressing prostitutes at trucks stops in West Virginia. Aside from the disappointing backstory involving the author's true identity, the book ended on a weak note, with psuedo-redemption, but nonetheless, was a head-scratcher. Not sure how I made it through the entire book, but overall it was an interesting read that I finished in about three hours. ( )