Works by
Laura Albert
(aka JT Leroy)
(Writer)
[1965 - ]

Sarah: A Novel (1999)
Sarah is the story of the prodigal son recast in the carnivalesque world of the highway truck stop and its environs. The narrator, an androgynous twelve year old boy, idolizes his mother Sarah, a "lot lizard", or truck-stop whore. He leaves the safety of the lot-a perversely idyllic kingdom ruled by Gladening Grateful Etc., a benevolent pimp who sent one of his boys to chef's school to cook gourmet meals at the truckstop diner-on a quest to become as famous as his mother. Adopting her name and sex, "Sarah" stumbles into dangerous and fantastic worlds pocketed away in the West Virginian wilds. He hitches a ride to the famous luck-restoring Jack-a-lope, is mistaken for a saint and must prove himself by walking on water. When he is captured by LeLoup, Glad's violent rival, "Sarah"'s life is all but over. Will he perish at the hands of LeLoup, or will "Sarah" find his way home?

J.T. LeRoy has created a hauntingly memorable world, strangely reminiscent of Lewis Carroll's Wonderland. Heartwarming as it is bizarre, beautiful and stunningly original, Sarah heralds the debut of an inimitable new talent.

The Heart is Deceitful Above All Things (1999)
The extraordinary stories that brought the author a cult following at the age of sixteen.

These are the stories of a young boy on the run, away from his past, hellbent towards an unknown future. Connected, they form a sometimes harrowing, sometimes bleakly funny, and often tender portrait of a complicated life. Like a modern-day Voltaire, LeRoy bounces his characters from adventure to adventure, each of them unyielding in the belief that the best of all possible worlds lies just around the next corner. Fresh, raw, and absolutely unforgettable, The Heart is Deceitful Above All Things has further established the acclaimed author of Sarah as one of the most compelling voices in contemporary fiction.

Jeremiah (2002)

Da Capo Best Music Writing (2005)

Harold's End (2005) by J. T. Leroy and Cherry Hood, Illustrator
The international best selling author of Sarah and The Heart is Deceitful Above All Things presents his new and tremendously moving novella, Harold's End. A San Francisco street kid hustling to feed his heroin habit. A middle-aged rich guy with an uncommon turn-on. Oh yeah, and a snail. The authentic tale uniquely allows the sweetness of childhood to seep through muck in unrivaled literary finesse. Harold's End features illustrations by Australian artist Cherry Hood.