The Heart is Deceitful Above All Things

This book of interconnected stories depicts the chaotic life of a young boy on the run with his teenage mother. When Sarah reclaims Jeremiah from his foster parents, he finds himself catapulted into her world of motels and truck stops, exposed to the abusive, exploitative men she encounters. As he learns to survive in this harrowing environment, Jeremiah also learns to love his mother, even as she descends into drug-fuelled madness.

Told in spare, lyrical prose, rich with imagination and dark humour, THE HEART IS DECEITFUL ABOVE ALL THINGS transforms the savagery of Jeremiah's world into an indelible experience of compassion. This special edition includes an additional seven stories, previously uncollected, by JT LeRoy, the literary persona of Laura Albert.

“A startling achievement”

An eyewitness's imagination burns in his language ... as vivid as a match held close to the face - New York Times

[The Heart Is Deceitful Above All Things] is a fascinating book, a book that instantly stirs the emotions and involves the readers in the lives of the people. It did not take long for the judgments to come fast and furious. That's what can be so deceitful about this book: you get so caught up in the circumstances and lives of the people you can easily overlook the quality of the writing, which is exceptional. 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., author of Last Exit to Brooklyn

JT LeRoy's first two books, Sarah and The Heart Is Deceitful Above All Things, will prove to be among the most influential books of the last ten years. This is not because they are read and understood by everyone; it's because they are read and loved, rabidly, by thousands of young and very sensitive people who believe that JT speaks for them. He does speak for them, and does so without knowing that he does, and does so with a perfect and bizarre eloquence - Dave Eggers, author of A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius

JT's stories are like stitches, like exit wounds, dispatches, depositions. He is the brilliant, gifted, and profound fly on the wall - Tom Waits

JT LeRoy is the literary persona created by Laura Albert. She is the author of Sarah, The Heart Is Deceitful Above All Things, and Harold's End

This book of interconnected stories depicts the chaotic life of a young boy on the run with his teenage mother. When Sarah reclaims Jeremiah from his foster parents, he finds himself catapulted into her world of motels and truck stops, exposed to the abusive, exploitative men she encounters. As he learns to survive in this harrowing environment, Jeremiah also learns to love his mother, even as she descends into drug-fuelled madness.Told in spare, lyrical prose, rich with imagination and dark humour, THE HEART IS DECEITFUL ABOVE ALL THINGS transforms the savagery of Jeremiah's world into an indelible experience of compassion. This special edition includes an additional seven stories, previously uncollected, by JT LeRoy, the literary persona of Laura Albert.

This item is eligible for free returns within 30 days of delivery. See our returns policy for further details.