The Heart Is Deceitful Above All Things: Stories

At first, I found the premise of the main story hard to swallow. Why would child services hand a foster child from a comfortable environment into the hands of a biological mother who is clearly unable to raise her own. My mother, who is a retired social worker, said there's no way in hell she would permit that to happen. But then, she took her job seriously, and I have to come to terms with the fact that some people in the field of child services clearly do not care.Yes, yes, yes, JT LeRoy is as much of an invention as the character of Jeremiah, but kids like Jeremiah do slip through the bureaucratic cracks in real life. The way Sarah mindf***s Jeremiah scares him out of seeking.the proper authorities, and the repulsive characters whose hands he is shuffled between could be as real as the transients we hurry past in real life. One small clue that betrays the inauthenticity of the persona of JT LeRoy, and that would be his large vocabulary. For a street kid turned hustler, he most likely would not have had the formal education to know multisyllabic words. (Spoiler follows) Another tell, in my opinion, is the last chapter where I was left to wonder how in the hell a fifteen year old Jeremiah scraped together enough money for hardcore BDSM sessions. I can only conclude that Laura Albert (the true JT LeRoy) cobbled together the accounts of genuine runaways and hustlers with her own pure flights of fancy. One of the more outstanding short stories that follows the main story is "Stuff," which is a truly human story of scarcity, desperation, personal treasures, and charity. So that is my assessment of the novel and its accompanying short stories post hype. They're still worth reading.

As a musical listener I am struck by Laura’s cadence and flow. Her adjectives and descriptions are always a surprise. This is so refreshing as, these daze, there is much predictability in what people say….mostly trying to impress.As I read I find it painful to understand and feel the truth that humans are actually treated in such hideous and harmful ways. Such a full spectrum of human behavior.The author’s statement at the beginning of the book melted my heart.“ The things I’ve written about are happening to people all the time. And when they happen to you, you believe nobody knows and nobody cares. But I know and I care, and I’ve written this book for you”.Thank you Laura for your compassion.

I read "Sarah" and thought it was good at first, then it got nutty. At the time, I regretted buying this book at the same time. But this book started of GREAT! Until about the last couple chapters that is. Then it got nutty. I do love JT's writing style, but the way she transfers to different settings can get really confusing. I watched the movie (LOVE ASIA!) which helped it make more sense. Basically, it time jumps to yet another different, horrible situation the little boy has to endure. Will I read another JT book? Maybe. But I'll buy it second hand.

This book is full dark. But the beauty in the writing is transcendent. This book is full of moments that are so painful they make you cringe at the idea that they could be real. But the dark is couched in an artfulness that is unique, brilliant, and unblinking. If Bukowski wanted to show Americans the things they didn't want to see, Albert, as Leroy, wants to show Americans the things they are desperately afraid to think might be real. There is an unflinching, driving rhythm to this work that forced me to keep reading in spite of the real horror it delivers. I loved this book, but I had to read it in spurts. Not because it's so dark, but because it rings so true that it is one of the few books I've ever read that is truly frightening and gorgeous at the same time.

I bought this book and "Sarah" after seeing the Amazon documentary "Author: The JT Leroy story". Fascinating documentary. And Sarah lives up to all the hype. A twisted coming of age story that takes you down a very dark Alice in Wonderland rabbit hole. This novel however is...less compelling. Seems to rely more on the shock value of exploring themes such as child sexual assault, drug addiction, child abuse, neglect, child abandonment, casual racism, extreme poverty, mental illness and gender confusion than actually telling a cohesive tale. Sarah also had all these themes (excluding racism). But there was a point to the darkness. It truly seemed more of an inside view of a culture that polite society wishes didn't exist. Humanity at it's worst but also it's best in a setting where all the characters are the dregs of society living on skid row a.k.a a truck stop in West Virginia. The characters, although cartoonish are well written and sometimes even weirdly relatable. The story simply is "what happened". This novel seemed more like exploitation of pain. Trotting out the dark underbelly of society for no good reason other than the titillation of readers who couldn't even imagine the horrors contained therein. It drags you under the sea and drowns you sheerly for......entertainment. Would not recommend and will not read again.

Book was well printed and sturdy. Story was very disturbing, which is exactly what I was expecting. No complaints, not for the faint of heart.