Plot Summary

This collection of stories constitutes a novel that is loosely connected by time but tightly intertwined by the experiences of Jeremiah and his mother, Sarah. The true author of the book is Laura Albert, but for several years, the literary world wondered about the person who played J. T. LeRoy. Her real name is Savannah Knoop. For a long period of time, Savannah's work is deemed a hoax and fraudulent. However, within certain legal contexts, the literary value of Albert's work is universally accepted.

The stories follow the abusive childhood of Jeremiah from the age of four to an undetermined older age. His abusers include his mother, her men, and his grandfather. The unrelenting pressure and pain warp the boy sexually until he desires to be a girl and a prostitute like his mother. Meanwhile, his mother falls steadily into madness from drug...