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Harold's End
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.
100 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2003
3 people are currently reading
440 people want to read
About the author
J.T. LeRoy
10 books288 followersLaura Victoria Albert is the author of writings that include works credited to the fictional teenage persona of JT LeRoy, a long-running literary hoax in which LeRoy was presented to the public and publishers as a gender-variant, sexually questioning, abused, former homeless drug addict and male prostitute. Albert described LeRoy as an “avatar” rather than a “hoax,” and claimed that she was able to write things as LeRoy that she could not have said as Laura Albert. Albert was raised in Brooklyn, and she and her former partner Geoffrey Knoop have a young son. She has also used the names Emily Frasier and Speedie, and published other works as Laura Victoria and Gluttenberg.
Albert did not publish her writing as “memoir” – she published her writing as “fiction.”
Albert attests that she could not have written from raw emotion without the right to be presented to the world via JT LeRoy, whom she calls her “phantom limb” – a style of performance art she had been undertaking to deal with experiences even as a little girl, according to a 2006 interview in The Paris Review.
In November 2010, Laura Albert appeared at The Moth to tell her story on video.
Laura Albert has also written for the acclaimed television series Deadwood. She collaborated with director and playwright Robert Wilson for the international exhibition of his VOOM video portraits, and with the catalog for his “Frontiers: Visions of the Frontier” at Institut Valencià d’Art Modern (IVAM). In 2012 she served on the juries of the first Brasilia International Film Festival and the Sapporo International Short Film Festival; she also attended Brazil’s international book fair, Bienal Brasil do Livro e da Leitura, where she and Alice Walker were the U.S. representatives. Brazil’s Geração Editorial has re-released the JT LeRoy books in a boxset under Laura Albert’s name, and she and JT are the subjects of the hit Brazilian rock musical JT, Um Conto de Fadas Punk (“JT, A Punk Fairy Tale”).
She has taught at Dave Eggers’ 826 Valencia and the California College of the Arts in San Francisco, and has lectured with artist Jasmin Lim at Artists’ Television Access with SF Camerawork's Chuck Mobley, in conjunction with a window installation about her work. She has also written for dot429, the world’s largest LGBTA professional network, and been an invited speaker at their annual conferences in New York.
Albert did not publish her writing as “memoir” – she published her writing as “fiction.”
Albert attests that she could not have written from raw emotion without the right to be presented to the world via JT LeRoy, whom she calls her “phantom limb” – a style of performance art she had been undertaking to deal with experiences even as a little girl, according to a 2006 interview in The Paris Review.
In November 2010, Laura Albert appeared at The Moth to tell her story on video.
Laura Albert has also written for the acclaimed television series Deadwood. She collaborated with director and playwright Robert Wilson for the international exhibition of his VOOM video portraits, and with the catalog for his “Frontiers: Visions of the Frontier” at Institut Valencià d’Art Modern (IVAM). In 2012 she served on the juries of the first Brasilia International Film Festival and the Sapporo International Short Film Festival; she also attended Brazil’s international book fair, Bienal Brasil do Livro e da Leitura, where she and Alice Walker were the U.S. representatives. Brazil’s Geração Editorial has re-released the JT LeRoy books in a boxset under Laura Albert’s name, and she and JT are the subjects of the hit Brazilian rock musical JT, Um Conto de Fadas Punk (“JT, A Punk Fairy Tale”).
She has taught at Dave Eggers’ 826 Valencia and the California College of the Arts in San Francisco, and has lectured with artist Jasmin Lim at Artists’ Television Access with SF Camerawork's Chuck Mobley, in conjunction with a window installation about her work. She has also written for dot429, the world’s largest LGBTA professional network, and been an invited speaker at their annual conferences in New York.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 40 reviews
January 30, 2022
A weirdly bizarre characterization of lost innocence.
September 9, 2017
Non so in quanti si ricordino ancora di J.T. LeRoy oggi, dopo che sono passati quasi dieci anni e soprattutto è saltata fuori la specie di truffa che J.T. LeRoy non esiste. Fatto sta che mi sono trovata a rileggere il raccontino "La fine di Harold" (tra l'altro, complimenti alla Fazi per la graziosissima edizione veste grafica e per l'edizione col testo a fronte), chiedendomi con che sentimenti l'avrei affrontato stavolta. Be', mi sono trovata a dirmi che non me importa un bel niente se l'autore del racconto si chiama J.T. LeRoy o Laura Albert. Sarò io che nonostante tutto ci sono affezionata, ma questa donna secondo me scrive anche piuttosto bene. Certo predilige il tema "sesso, droga e rock&roll", per cui da un lato si può credere in una sua volontà di fare sensazionalismo a tutti i costi, complice anche una certa passione per le scene forti; d'altro canto, però, è chiara la volontà di inserirsi nel medesimo filone di Dennis Cooper, scrittore non certo famoso per i temi "tranquilli". In realtà, Laura Albert non ha fatto che creare un personaggio e costruirgli attorno una storia, spingendosi forse un po' più in là. Anzi, la sensazione è proprio quella che le cose le siano semplicemente sfuggite di mano. Fatto sta che nel crearsi una doppia identità io non ci vedo niente di male, la storia è piena di scrittrici che hanno usato pseudonimi maschili (e non è detto che quel che ha scritto nei romanzi sia del tutto falso, ci sarebbe da sperare per lei di sì). Certo erano altri tempi, ma è vero pure che il contesto "underground" di certi romanzi è prettamente maschile e non so quanto possa essere facile per una donna farsi prendere sul serio. Resta il fatto che, cattive intenzioni o meno, l'abbia deciso lei o il suo agente, J.T. LeRoy fu una riuscitissima operazione di marketing.
Tornando al racconto, il protagonista è sempre il solito ragazzetto di "Sarah" e "Ingannevole è il cuore più di ogni cosa", nel solito contesto di marciapiedi e droga. Il ragazzetto viene circuito da un benestante signore, e proprio mentre ci si aspetta una violenza ai danni della piccola vittima, la storia vira verso un inaspettato agrodolce: non c'è violenza, c'è solo la scoperta di una certa "perversione sessuale", che comunque si conclude senza danni per nessuno. Il signore intanto ha regalato al ragazzetto la lumachina Harold, che verrà trattata e curata come un vero animale domestico.
Trama a parte, è vero che certe scene potrebbero esser state messe lì solo per "fare scena" appunto, per scandalizzare. Tuttavia, esse sono a parere mio anche il modo che ha scelto la Albert - chiamiamola col suo nome, a questo punto - per accentuare la grande purezza interiore del suo personaggio: poiché nonostante il suo corpo sia stato profanato in tutti i modi, nonostante sia stato praticamente ripudiato dalla madre ecc. ecc., in lui resta ancora il candore di un adolescente, capace di piangere per una lumaca. I personaggi del(la) LeRoy sono tutti personaggi "ai margini", anche Larry, di per sé benestante, ha in realtà un'ossessione, un lato di sé che deve tener accuratamente nascosto e che non verrebbe compreso dalla società benpensante. Tra l'altro, sono tutti personaggi tendenti al masochismo, che vivono in una realtà di grande fragilità e in momenti di buio ravvivati solo da immagini psichedeliche e allucinate; in un vuoto che cercano di riempire con qualsiasi cosa, una dose di eroina, sesso a pagamento, gentilezze inaspettate. Sono personaggi che vogliono, nonostante tutto, qualcosa a cui voler bene. Sono come cani randagi, in cerca se non di un padrone, di una carezza. Insomma, sono personaggi che a me fanno una gran pena. Non so neppure se consiglierei questo racconto, e in generale J.T. LeRoy, perché ha parlato di temi non facili e non si sa effettivamente con quanta cognizione di causa. Insomma è quel genere di narrazione che potrebbe far scappare schifati (dalle scene in sé o dal generale senso di vuoto e di desolazione) o che potrebbe restare nel cuore. Dipende. Va molto ma molto a gusti, con certi generi "problematici" (che spesso e volentieri passano per un vuoto di contenuti direttamente proporzionale alla presenza di scene scioccanti). Io, nel mio piccolo, questo raccontino l'ho riletto volentieri.
Tornando al racconto, il protagonista è sempre il solito ragazzetto di "Sarah" e "Ingannevole è il cuore più di ogni cosa", nel solito contesto di marciapiedi e droga. Il ragazzetto viene circuito da un benestante signore, e proprio mentre ci si aspetta una violenza ai danni della piccola vittima, la storia vira verso un inaspettato agrodolce: non c'è violenza, c'è solo la scoperta di una certa "perversione sessuale", che comunque si conclude senza danni per nessuno. Il signore intanto ha regalato al ragazzetto la lumachina Harold, che verrà trattata e curata come un vero animale domestico.
Trama a parte, è vero che certe scene potrebbero esser state messe lì solo per "fare scena" appunto, per scandalizzare. Tuttavia, esse sono a parere mio anche il modo che ha scelto la Albert - chiamiamola col suo nome, a questo punto - per accentuare la grande purezza interiore del suo personaggio: poiché nonostante il suo corpo sia stato profanato in tutti i modi, nonostante sia stato praticamente ripudiato dalla madre ecc. ecc., in lui resta ancora il candore di un adolescente, capace di piangere per una lumaca. I personaggi del(la) LeRoy sono tutti personaggi "ai margini", anche Larry, di per sé benestante, ha in realtà un'ossessione, un lato di sé che deve tener accuratamente nascosto e che non verrebbe compreso dalla società benpensante. Tra l'altro, sono tutti personaggi tendenti al masochismo, che vivono in una realtà di grande fragilità e in momenti di buio ravvivati solo da immagini psichedeliche e allucinate; in un vuoto che cercano di riempire con qualsiasi cosa, una dose di eroina, sesso a pagamento, gentilezze inaspettate. Sono personaggi che vogliono, nonostante tutto, qualcosa a cui voler bene. Sono come cani randagi, in cerca se non di un padrone, di una carezza. Insomma, sono personaggi che a me fanno una gran pena. Non so neppure se consiglierei questo racconto, e in generale J.T. LeRoy, perché ha parlato di temi non facili e non si sa effettivamente con quanta cognizione di causa. Insomma è quel genere di narrazione che potrebbe far scappare schifati (dalle scene in sé o dal generale senso di vuoto e di desolazione) o che potrebbe restare nel cuore. Dipende. Va molto ma molto a gusti, con certi generi "problematici" (che spesso e volentieri passano per un vuoto di contenuti direttamente proporzionale alla presenza di scene scioccanti). Io, nel mio piccolo, questo raccontino l'ho riletto volentieri.
August 7, 2025
I read this novella? short story? sometime after it was published but before the J.T. LeRoy fantasy? fraud? delusion? collapsed. I've been meaning to post a review for years, I haven't reread the book but I remember very clearly what I thought then and I think it now, this is carefully crafted piece schmaltzy sentimentality in which there is not a honest emotion or thought and every word including 'and' and 'the' is a lie (full acknowledgement to Mary McCarthy). I would compare it to 'The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas' as one of the most shameful books ever written.
Please remember at the time I read this piece of trash I didn't know J.T. LeRoy was manufactured to sell fiction as truth. What I did know was that the author knew nothing about what it was like to be homeless, or abused, on heroin or relying on prostitution to survive. On the basis of the illustrations the illustrator was as unfamiliar with street kids or heroin addicts, never mind a boy heroin addict hustling on the streets as the author. This novel is poverty porn where middle class morons can peek into a sanitised version of hell, but with rosy cheeked urchins, who don't smell and their clothes aren't dirty. This is the poverty porn about the 'deserving poor' where the reader can weep tears over the 'good' poor boy, the one they never see when they the y doignore poor and dirty children the see on the way to work or to the mall because THEY DON'T EXIST.
Also and dare we admit it, they love the boy in 'Harold's End' because, like all J.T. LeRoy's boys, he is white. But even in the days when the streets of inner cities like New York were full of poor boys they didn't look like J.T. LeRoy's boys. Left me refer you to an excellent photo essay:
'Fernando’s Story – The life And Times of A Boy Growing Up In NYC’s East Village in the 1970s' (the link is https://flashbak.com/fernando-photo-s... and please note I am not suggesting that the boy Frenando in this piece is a prostitute.
J.T. LeRoy was pandering to the penchant of middle class Americans for tales of WHITE homeless, drug, addicted and sexual abused boys out on the streets waiting to be saved. It was the same taste that allowed Father Ritter to build an empire in which he hid his pederasty. White America doesn't want to read stories about real poor, abused, homeless children they see black and Hispanic kids on the streets but they don't really see them. They are just part of the urban vermin that gentrification hasn't banished. Which is why 'Butterfly Boy: Memoirs of a Chicano Mariposa' by Rigoberto Gonzalez isn't going to attract the readership that J.T. LeRoys rubbish still attracts.
To sum up this book is a marketing artifact designed to appeal to the emotions of an easily manipulated but callous consumer. They can only look at the poor if they see themselves.
Please remember at the time I read this piece of trash I didn't know J.T. LeRoy was manufactured to sell fiction as truth. What I did know was that the author knew nothing about what it was like to be homeless, or abused, on heroin or relying on prostitution to survive. On the basis of the illustrations the illustrator was as unfamiliar with street kids or heroin addicts, never mind a boy heroin addict hustling on the streets as the author. This novel is poverty porn where middle class morons can peek into a sanitised version of hell, but with rosy cheeked urchins, who don't smell and their clothes aren't dirty. This is the poverty porn about the 'deserving poor' where the reader can weep tears over the 'good' poor boy, the one they never see when they the y doignore poor and dirty children the see on the way to work or to the mall because THEY DON'T EXIST.
Also and dare we admit it, they love the boy in 'Harold's End' because, like all J.T. LeRoy's boys, he is white. But even in the days when the streets of inner cities like New York were full of poor boys they didn't look like J.T. LeRoy's boys. Left me refer you to an excellent photo essay:
'Fernando’s Story – The life And Times of A Boy Growing Up In NYC’s East Village in the 1970s' (the link is https://flashbak.com/fernando-photo-s... and please note I am not suggesting that the boy Frenando in this piece is a prostitute.
J.T. LeRoy was pandering to the penchant of middle class Americans for tales of WHITE homeless, drug, addicted and sexual abused boys out on the streets waiting to be saved. It was the same taste that allowed Father Ritter to build an empire in which he hid his pederasty. White America doesn't want to read stories about real poor, abused, homeless children they see black and Hispanic kids on the streets but they don't really see them. They are just part of the urban vermin that gentrification hasn't banished. Which is why 'Butterfly Boy: Memoirs of a Chicano Mariposa' by Rigoberto Gonzalez isn't going to attract the readership that J.T. LeRoys rubbish still attracts.
To sum up this book is a marketing artifact designed to appeal to the emotions of an easily manipulated but callous consumer. They can only look at the poor if they see themselves.
February 28, 2021
I haven't reviewed something in a minute, but this deserves a review. This book was absolutely fantastic and riddled with so many amazing themes of life in a somber situation. Our main character, Oliver, is a homeless youth living on the streets with other homeless youths that are this friends. Just from the smaller interactions of these characters together, you can tell that their relationship is a strong one and one that will stand against the trials of time. Furthermore, one can tell that their relationship is strong, too, because of their shared experience of being homeless together.
There are also a lot of sad realities in this book. Oliver is such a sweet child who has been dealt a shitty hand. From just smaller mentions of this and that, you can infer that he's had to do things that most children shouldn't ever have to do to be able to survive. When he woke up at Larry's house and his immediate reaction was to feel if he still had his clothes on, it speaks so many untold tales. And when he thought that he had found someone to trust and someone who cared about him in Larry, he would soon find out that it was all just a farce. That the only Larry was treating him like he cared about him was because it would all lead to a sexual favor that Larry wanted from Oliver. But Oliver fails to deliver in the way Larry wanted and so it ended. Oliver, who thought he had someone who cared about him, spent the next few days distanced from Larry at Larry's behest. Until the day came when Larry wanted him gone and so he left. I know that somewhere deep inside of Oliver, he understood what Larry was implying when he said that he needed Oliver out of the house for the day because he was having some friends over.
I don't know how much else I can say about this book except for the fact that it displays how gifted the character is at writing characters who only the truly marginalized can relate to. She writes in such a heart wrenching yet heart warming way and it shows truly in her incredible character work. Though, with everything that I said, I only give this book 4 stars because I WISH it had been longer. I would high recommend it.
There are also a lot of sad realities in this book. Oliver is such a sweet child who has been dealt a shitty hand. From just smaller mentions of this and that, you can infer that he's had to do things that most children shouldn't ever have to do to be able to survive. When he woke up at Larry's house and his immediate reaction was to feel if he still had his clothes on, it speaks so many untold tales. And when he thought that he had found someone to trust and someone who cared about him in Larry, he would soon find out that it was all just a farce. That the only Larry was treating him like he cared about him was because it would all lead to a sexual favor that Larry wanted from Oliver. But Oliver fails to deliver in the way Larry wanted and so it ended. Oliver, who thought he had someone who cared about him, spent the next few days distanced from Larry at Larry's behest. Until the day came when Larry wanted him gone and so he left. I know that somewhere deep inside of Oliver, he understood what Larry was implying when he said that he needed Oliver out of the house for the day because he was having some friends over.
I don't know how much else I can say about this book except for the fact that it displays how gifted the character is at writing characters who only the truly marginalized can relate to. She writes in such a heart wrenching yet heart warming way and it shows truly in her incredible character work. Though, with everything that I said, I only give this book 4 stars because I WISH it had been longer. I would high recommend it.
March 22, 2014
Ci sono libri che fanno male, a prescindere dal modo in cui sono scritti.
Ti tagliano l'anima e preferiresti non averli mai letti, ma forse non è poi tanto vero nemmeno questo. Quando poi lo stesso scrittore se ne esce con una novità, ti scordi forse o fai finta, e lo ricompri e la ferita che si era rimarginata torna a sanguinare, ancora ed ancora. J.T. è così, a metà strada tra il grottesco e l'agghiacciante, racconta storie tristissime e mentre le leggi ti ritrovi anche a sorridere. Quando ho letto Ingannevole è il cuore sopra ogni cosa, mi sono ripromessa che una delle sue opere era più che sufficiente, poi l'occhio mi è caduto su Sarah e ho pensato che visto che conoscevo l'argomento, stavolta sarebbe stato più semplice..... ingenua. La fine di Harold è più delicato, a modo suo più sfumato e sottile e poi dura pochissimo, ma lascia l'amaro in bocca, come tutti gli altri.Non so se consigliarvelo e poi scappare o negare di averlo mai fatto, oppure dirvi che forse non è il caso, il mondo è già abbastanza brutto ad una prima occhiata e forse non è così poi tanto necessario scendere nei dettagli...
Ti tagliano l'anima e preferiresti non averli mai letti, ma forse non è poi tanto vero nemmeno questo. Quando poi lo stesso scrittore se ne esce con una novità, ti scordi forse o fai finta, e lo ricompri e la ferita che si era rimarginata torna a sanguinare, ancora ed ancora. J.T. è così, a metà strada tra il grottesco e l'agghiacciante, racconta storie tristissime e mentre le leggi ti ritrovi anche a sorridere. Quando ho letto Ingannevole è il cuore sopra ogni cosa, mi sono ripromessa che una delle sue opere era più che sufficiente, poi l'occhio mi è caduto su Sarah e ho pensato che visto che conoscevo l'argomento, stavolta sarebbe stato più semplice..... ingenua. La fine di Harold è più delicato, a modo suo più sfumato e sottile e poi dura pochissimo, ma lascia l'amaro in bocca, come tutti gli altri.Non so se consigliarvelo e poi scappare o negare di averlo mai fatto, oppure dirvi che forse non è il caso, il mondo è già abbastanza brutto ad una prima occhiata e forse non è così poi tanto necessario scendere nei dettagli...
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January 12, 2014I take issue with the whole hoax situation! It's fiction! It was always in the fiction section! Yes the real writer hid behind a fake public figure but that doesn't change how moving this work is. Many authors throughout time, well regarded authors, wrote under false pen names and pretended they were someone else.
November 17, 2015
I really didn't know what to expect from this book; I only knew that the author was a female writing as a male. I think that intriqued me, but it's clear now why she felt she had to hide her identity. I wouldn't recommend this book to anyone, except to share Cherry Hood's beautiful watercolor portraits.
October 13, 2007
I don't care who wrote this book. whoever it was wrote well.
July 11, 2010
Literary fraud.
May 17, 2017
Well written, of course. Just a little too short to be satisfying.
August 17, 2024
Harold's End by JT LeRoy is a short but powerful novella, illustrated by Cherry Hood, which takes readers into the rough and messy life of a young street kid. The book is about his struggles with addiction, his search for connection, and the tough situations he faces.
The writing is both beautiful and gritty, a poetic language that makes a strong contrast with LeRoy’s dark themes. The story moves quickly, and you are pulled along as this boy tries to find his way in a world that is both scary and familiar. LeRoy does a great job of making the boy feel real, showing us his weaknesses as well as his strengths.
Harold is the boy's pet snail, an important figure in his life, representing the safety and love that he desperately wants but finds hard to obtain. Through their relationship, the story explores tough themes like power, control, and the need for love, even in the worst situations.
What stands out about Harold's End is how honest it is. LeRoy doesn’t sugarcoat the harsh realities of this world, yet there is also a sense of hope and humanity throughout the story. It’s a quick read at just over 60 pages, but this story sticks with you long after you have finished reading.
Harold's End is a moving and unforgettable novella that shows off JT LeRoy’s talent for storytelling. It’s a must read for anyone interested in stories that tackle the tougher sides of life with honesty and heart.
The writing is both beautiful and gritty, a poetic language that makes a strong contrast with LeRoy’s dark themes. The story moves quickly, and you are pulled along as this boy tries to find his way in a world that is both scary and familiar. LeRoy does a great job of making the boy feel real, showing us his weaknesses as well as his strengths.
Harold is the boy's pet snail, an important figure in his life, representing the safety and love that he desperately wants but finds hard to obtain. Through their relationship, the story explores tough themes like power, control, and the need for love, even in the worst situations.
What stands out about Harold's End is how honest it is. LeRoy doesn’t sugarcoat the harsh realities of this world, yet there is also a sense of hope and humanity throughout the story. It’s a quick read at just over 60 pages, but this story sticks with you long after you have finished reading.
Harold's End is a moving and unforgettable novella that shows off JT LeRoy’s talent for storytelling. It’s a must read for anyone interested in stories that tackle the tougher sides of life with honesty and heart.
July 22, 2024
It’s easy to get lost in “ Harold’s End” In one breath, you are scooped up into the humorous tales of drugs and pet snail. The rhyme of the book will you have begging to spend more time in this dark pocket of the world.
November 2, 2022
JT, you son of a bitch, you’ve done it again 😎
February 24, 2023
ngl after reading all of laura albert’s work i deadass think she might have a scat fetish…
December 30, 2023
found it very interesting and i liked the way its written
January 11, 2025
Very short 20 minute read and surprisingly hard to get hold of
All of jt works are hard to read (cf child sx abuse etc) but always so…incredibly interesting and insightful
All of jt works are hard to read (cf child sx abuse etc) but always so…incredibly interesting and insightful
March 10, 2017
Lo primero que he leído de J.T. LeRoy (a falta de encontrar el maldito El corazón es mentiroso, que no hay forma) me ha parecido un relato brutalmente desgarrador. Historia sencilla, escritura sin florituras, un punto de bizarrismo y una forma de detallar las escenas tan cinematografica y acojonante que... en fin, hay que catarlo. Son tan solo 80 paginas pero cada una merece la pena. Me lo he leido del tirón y a la espera de Sarah y el encontrar el otro puede que, junto a Lucía Berlin, J.T. Leroy haya sido mi descubrimiento más interesante en lo que va de año.
A destacar: Que se le pueda coger tanto cariño a un caracol y se pueda escribir algo tan bueno y con tanta información en tan solo 80 páginas.
A destacar: Que se le pueda coger tanto cariño a un caracol y se pueda escribir algo tan bueno y con tanta información en tan solo 80 páginas.
November 27, 2008
I've decided to re-read "Leroy's" ouvre, and I started with this one, working my way up. I did not read this one before I found out about the hoax, but I managed to read it without too much prejudice towards the LeRoy situation.
The first thing I have to say is that the artwork by Cherry Hood is gorgeous. I'm glad that this book was able to give her some exposure, which she richly deserves.
The story itself is rather week. It reads as a good first draft with some promise. I have to say, that after I went on and re-read The Heart is Decietful, it seems that LeRoy is very much a "one-trick-pony"...pun was unintentional but then turned intentional...sorry. There's a term often used in the world of RPG called "Mary Sue", meaning a character who either has nothing but good luck, nothing but a Pollyannaesque outlook, or nothing but tragic things happen to them that leave a sense of doubt in the reader. I think it's safe to say that Laura Albert is a number one culprit with her Mary Sue/Mary Stu. There's really so much I can take of a little child prostitute street urchin with curly blonde hair who is always treated like absolute crap. His name is OLIVER for Christ's sake.
This novel had the potential to be interesting, but it was not very fully formed.
The first thing I have to say is that the artwork by Cherry Hood is gorgeous. I'm glad that this book was able to give her some exposure, which she richly deserves.
The story itself is rather week. It reads as a good first draft with some promise. I have to say, that after I went on and re-read The Heart is Decietful, it seems that LeRoy is very much a "one-trick-pony"...pun was unintentional but then turned intentional...sorry. There's a term often used in the world of RPG called "Mary Sue", meaning a character who either has nothing but good luck, nothing but a Pollyannaesque outlook, or nothing but tragic things happen to them that leave a sense of doubt in the reader. I think it's safe to say that Laura Albert is a number one culprit with her Mary Sue/Mary Stu. There's really so much I can take of a little child prostitute street urchin with curly blonde hair who is always treated like absolute crap. His name is OLIVER for Christ's sake.
This novel had the potential to be interesting, but it was not very fully formed.
October 18, 2013
This one sneaks up on you.
Harold’s End is a short story by JT LeRoy, printed here in a beautifully designed hardcover with illustrations from Cherry Hood. It’s a lavish package for such a short text, and it wouldn't be justified unless the story was worth it.
Well, it’s a stunner. There’s a power here that’s difficult to put into words.
Harold’s End is narrated by Oliver, a child prostitute who lives on the street and becomes involved, in various strange dimensions, with an older man. There’s a distinct tension between the grimness of Oliver’s circumstances and the matter-of-fact, emotionally detached tone of his narration: what seems unimaginable, unbearable, has become normal for him. As hints of feeling, as well as the details of his past, gradually emerge Oliver’s humanity comes into focus and the full tragedy of his character is revealed. The effect is both hypnotic and devastating. That LeRoy is able to evoke such emotional resonance from this subject matter is the sign of an artist with a daring vision.
The illustrations, of Oliver and other street children featured in the story, perfectly suit the text: gritty yet dreamlike watercolor portraits of lost souls.
Harold’s End is a short story by JT LeRoy, printed here in a beautifully designed hardcover with illustrations from Cherry Hood. It’s a lavish package for such a short text, and it wouldn't be justified unless the story was worth it.
Well, it’s a stunner. There’s a power here that’s difficult to put into words.
Harold’s End is narrated by Oliver, a child prostitute who lives on the street and becomes involved, in various strange dimensions, with an older man. There’s a distinct tension between the grimness of Oliver’s circumstances and the matter-of-fact, emotionally detached tone of his narration: what seems unimaginable, unbearable, has become normal for him. As hints of feeling, as well as the details of his past, gradually emerge Oliver’s humanity comes into focus and the full tragedy of his character is revealed. The effect is both hypnotic and devastating. That LeRoy is able to evoke such emotional resonance from this subject matter is the sign of an artist with a daring vision.
The illustrations, of Oliver and other street children featured in the story, perfectly suit the text: gritty yet dreamlike watercolor portraits of lost souls.
April 2, 2010
There needs to be a separate star for books that haunt you. I definitely didn't "like" this book, but it left its impression on me that went deep into my unconscious mind. I almost feel like I should give it five stars for its impact.
I read this book about 5 years ago I picked up because of the attractive cover and small size and it has been haunting me since. I have never forgotten the disgusting, but empathic feeling it gave me. A similar feeling I get when I read Adam Rapp's books.
I couldn't remember the title for years but that image for the boy and the snail stuck in my mind like a family member's. I had a dream earlier this year and I met Harold and his snail sitting on a leather benchat some public library.
I work in a bookstore and was just updating my goodread's page and remembered Harold from my dream. Searching ipage for title keyword "Harold” I found the cover featuring him and his snail. And here we are together again. Creepy...
I read this book about 5 years ago I picked up because of the attractive cover and small size and it has been haunting me since. I have never forgotten the disgusting, but empathic feeling it gave me. A similar feeling I get when I read Adam Rapp's books.
I couldn't remember the title for years but that image for the boy and the snail stuck in my mind like a family member's. I had a dream earlier this year and I met Harold and his snail sitting on a leather benchat some public library.
I work in a bookstore and was just updating my goodread's page and remembered Harold from my dream. Searching ipage for title keyword "Harold” I found the cover featuring him and his snail. And here we are together again. Creepy...
May 16, 2011
Non so nemmeno io perché scrivo questa recensione.
Vediamo.
Prendetela con come una cronaca, ma come un consiglio di lettura.
Se volete delle pagine che all'inizio confondono, per poi deflagrarvi in faccia con un misto di meraviglia, dolore ed amore puro...ecco il libro che fa per voi.
Si legge in un lampo: il tempo di fermarvi per un caffè.
E come il caffè vi lascerà in bocca l'amaro assoluto, quello che resta ancorato in fondo alla lingua dove, di norma, i sapori non si dovrebbero avvertire.
Provate però a muovere appena la lingua.
Più veloci...ancora...ecco...sentite che qua e la sono rimaste delle particelle di zucchero?
Saranno loro a condurvi, discrete, durante la lettura.
Vediamo.
Prendetela con come una cronaca, ma come un consiglio di lettura.
Se volete delle pagine che all'inizio confondono, per poi deflagrarvi in faccia con un misto di meraviglia, dolore ed amore puro...ecco il libro che fa per voi.
Si legge in un lampo: il tempo di fermarvi per un caffè.
E come il caffè vi lascerà in bocca l'amaro assoluto, quello che resta ancorato in fondo alla lingua dove, di norma, i sapori non si dovrebbero avvertire.
Provate però a muovere appena la lingua.
Più veloci...ancora...ecco...sentite che qua e la sono rimaste delle particelle di zucchero?
Saranno loro a condurvi, discrete, durante la lettura.
November 2, 2017
Well, this wasn't the quirky fun read I was expecting! I'm glad that I hadn't read any reviews of this book as it wouldn't have had the same impact on me. So, I pick up this lovely looking book, green satin bookmark, glossy pages, watercolour illustrations...& am straight into a world of street kids, drugs & prostitution - talk about not judging a book by it's cover :-)
I can't say I liked the book, from the start I found it uncomfortable reading, mainly because of the matter-of-fact way the story was related & the sad fact that for these kids this life was the norm - although despite being quite disturbing, the trip to the vets however, tweaked my heartstrings! It's certainly left an impression & isn't a tale I'll forget in a hurry.
I can't say I liked the book, from the start I found it uncomfortable reading, mainly because of the matter-of-fact way the story was related & the sad fact that for these kids this life was the norm - although despite being quite disturbing, the trip to the vets however, tweaked my heartstrings! It's certainly left an impression & isn't a tale I'll forget in a hurry.
February 1, 2011
"Adesso mi prenderò cura di te come si deve."
J.T. LeRoy torna con un racconto sulla stessa scia dei suoi precedenti scritti, questa volta attenuando il senso dell'assurdo e la violenza. "La fine di Harold" è un racconto breve, più leggero di quanto ci si possa aspettare. Si parla ancora di ragazzi sbandati che si prostituiscono, di emarginati ed eroinomani, ma non c'è nessuna ricerca della compassione, nessun gusto ironico dell'orrido. Solo la storia tenera e commovente di un ragazzino che presta anima e corpo alla cura di un animaletto, una lumaca di nome Harold.
Una piccola chicca che mira a dipingere con dolcezza e semplicità un amore semplice e sincero.
J.T. LeRoy torna con un racconto sulla stessa scia dei suoi precedenti scritti, questa volta attenuando il senso dell'assurdo e la violenza. "La fine di Harold" è un racconto breve, più leggero di quanto ci si possa aspettare. Si parla ancora di ragazzi sbandati che si prostituiscono, di emarginati ed eroinomani, ma non c'è nessuna ricerca della compassione, nessun gusto ironico dell'orrido. Solo la storia tenera e commovente di un ragazzino che presta anima e corpo alla cura di un animaletto, una lumaca di nome Harold.
Una piccola chicca che mira a dipingere con dolcezza e semplicità un amore semplice e sincero.
September 1, 2009
Who needs Kindle when there are books like this one; a satin ribbon book marker, watercolor illustrations of each of the characters (minus the one grownup, Larry) protected by sheets of rice paper. This is a book!
It is also a very disturbing story. It is difficult to read. The primary story chronicles and interaction between a heroin addicted child hustler and his trick. And yet it coaxes out a fragile bit of humanity over its few short pages.
On a final note, I am so impressed with the watercolor portraits. They directly contribute to the story, I think.
It is also a very disturbing story. It is difficult to read. The primary story chronicles and interaction between a heroin addicted child hustler and his trick. And yet it coaxes out a fragile bit of humanity over its few short pages.
On a final note, I am so impressed with the watercolor portraits. They directly contribute to the story, I think.
August 29, 2024
I was obsessed with this book in high school. At some point I lost my copy or gave it to someone and forgot about it. I've had my eye out for it in the last few years and the nice hardcover came in to my bookstore job recently, so I bought it and reread it for the first time in like 10+ years. I'm really glad it still holds up now.
July 11, 2007
Short story with beautiful large watercolor portraits of the young characters. The story itself just didn't do much for me. Ms. Knoop writing about yet another tragic teenage drug addict hustler. Not as engaging as Sarah or The Heart....
December 3, 2013
Jeremia Terminator Leroy non esiste. Non è mai esistito. È un'invenzione.
Ma questo racconto, di poche pagine, è un piccolo capolavoro di scrittura. Oltre ad essere una storia d'amore, senza amanti o amati.
Ma questo racconto, di poche pagine, è un piccolo capolavoro di scrittura. Oltre ad essere una storia d'amore, senza amanti o amati.
November 21, 2016
Beautiful story of caring for ourselves while learning to care for something else in our life. The message spoke to me, made a suggestion subconsciously that maybe it's time for me to take care of an animal of my own.
December 16, 2019
The paintings in this book are to die for. The story itself is really strange, a boy taking care of a pet snail in a setting where he and his street kid friends have animal familiars like witches do.
September 21, 2007
(see review for A Million Little Pieces)
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