A disturbing autobiographical portrait of the world of young male hustlers in San Francisco, involving a boy and his pet snail, Harold. With the beautiful watercolor images of acclaimed Australian artist Cherry Hood--known for her haunting portraits of adolescent boys--this harrowing novella lays bare the angst and sexual confusion of a new generation of lost boys.
"Everyone thought he was a vice cop when he started coming around, just cruising the block slowly in that big old silver Pontiac. -"
"- Around the third week, because he hasn’t busted anyone, most of us have concluded he’s an outreach worker."
Originally published by McSweeney’s as short story, Leroy’s reworking of Harold’s End now appears as novella, apparently the first of a series.
Still breathtakingly short, he wastes no time on scene setting, the above opening sentences putting you right there; Suspected predator viewed by cynical street kids, resigned to being seen as predators themselves.
The unnamed narrator, (envious of older kids who can hustle nearby bars) eventually goes willingly with the middle aged Larry on the promise of a free meal and drugs, conveying some sense of pride in the fact he’s been picked. Almost monosyllabic, yet unshockably anxious to please, he makes excruciating attempts at cool. Given a snail as a pet (Harold) he’s unimpressed, humorously confusing the ‘mesclun’ of his salad greens as some organic version of the drug.
Later, as it becomes obvious the piteous Larry has no further need of him, the previously ignored Harold takes on new significance, the boy frantically guilt ridden by his neglect.
JT isn’t the only writer possessing this sense of immediacy of course, but you don’t need to be familiar with his work to recognize from the first paragraph, that not only will his characters sound both naïve and world weary in the same sentence, but that our sympathies are already so firmly established. That’s what sets him apart. These are kids to whom all childhood seems lost, yet it’s existence still triumphs where you least expect it.
As in previous work, JT blurs the lines between user and used, tapping the sense of human failure and weakness recognizable to most of us, whatever our circumstances. Retaining innocence amongst those who would degrade it, uncovering humour and hope in demeaningly hellish worlds, makes this the heroic voice of survival.
A Grimm’s fairy tale for the dispossessed, this is unnerving, though truly essential, reading. ~Kathy Archbold, Slate Magazine ********************************** It is stunning... damned perfect book. —Dave Eggers
With my hand on my heart, the best I've read.....JT LeRoy writes straight from the hip, and the heart and the brain. —Zadie Smith
I'm reading JT LeRoy. He’s blowing my mind, just the directness of the prose. —Bono of U2
I was gripped by every page. I loved it! JT LeRoy is an original. What I love about JT is the truth--the truth is always new, the truth as one knows it. It shines from his pages. —Paula Fox
Good Lord, what a book! JT LeRoy’s writing is savagely authentic and appallingly beautiful. They don’t make ’em like this anymore. —John Waters
JT’s stories are like stitches, like exit wounds, dispatches, depositions. He is the brilliant, gifted and profound fly on the wall. You’ll need handkerchiefs and Novocain to get through this. —Tom Waits
JT is a sweet and tender alchemist without cynicism or judgment and Harold's End is pure gold - knowing he's in the world makes it easier for me to live. —Nan Goldin
It was an awe-inspiring piece of work that left me gnawing my own liver with envy. JT is one frighteningly talented and mysterious dude. —Anthony Bourdain
I am profoundly impressed by this amazing, absolutely brilliant writer, JT LeRoy. One of the most beautiful pieces of fiction I've seen years. You won't believe it until you've read it. It is crafted from careful, perfect language and buoyed up by a spirit so strong as to draw tears from my eyes.’ —Lewis Nordan
One of the reasons this book is so powerful and effective is because it is beautifully structured and written. JT LeRoy should have a most remarkable future as a writer. —Hubert Selby, Jr.
