Very lovely review of Harold's End

I'm just finishing up the second in the series. It's gonna be called "Labour." Prolly out in the spring. The wondrous Cherry Hood will be illustrating again. Stay tuned.

In the meantime, someone sent this to me and I jest love it. :)

Boldtype is an email-based book review that offers a monthly shortlist
of worthwhile reads. From new titles to past gems, the books in each
themed issue are hand-picked by a team of editors and writers who
suggest only works that they themselves personally recommend.

http://www.boldtype.com/issues/feb2005/

Synopsis
Accompanied by his pet snail, a teenage hustler experiences
fulfillment, loss, and redemption on San Francisco's harsh streets.

Review
One of JT LeRoy's earliest stories, this ode to street hustle is about
shit, in all its forms: heroin, feces, and the crap that a young San
Francisco urchin has to evade but trades in every day. Our nameless
hero is initially wary when an older, richer guy starts buying goodwill
among his clique of back-alley child prostitutes with presents of clean
needles, sugar donuts, and treats for the kids' many pets. But the
persistent stranger singles out the boy for special care, gives him a
pet snail named Harold, and offers him a window into a gentler life...
before revealing his uncommon turn-on.

"Harold's End" received such acclaim when it was originally published
in McSweeney's that it's now been elegantly repackaged as a whole book,
fleshed out with haunting prints by Cherry Wood, a brief but glowing
foreword by Dave Eggers, and an illuminating afterword by Zoetrope's
Michael Ray. For better and worse, the book epitomizes LeRoy as a brand
— brutal memoir-lit with cross-media self-promotion that would make
Warhol smile. Yet from beneath this stylish carapace, LeRoy's
undeniable talent slowly emerges to jolt readers with this brave,
searing tale. The unstable mix of very personal stories and personality
cult is precisely what makes LeRoy such a trendy writer and a darling
of fashion icons and celebrities. It's never clear whether his (not so)
public persona is a foil for his confessional style, or the other way
around.

The good news is that it doesn't matter. As always, LeRoy exposes and
shields the wretched lives of his characters with his unflinching but
sensitive pen. In addition to the deluxe packaging, LeRoy has actually
revised the story itself, appending a vivid new ending full of punches,
kicks, and — finally — redemption. (TW)