Sharp Teeth
by Toby Barlow
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Book Summary Information
Author: Toby BarlowEdition: Hardcover
Published: 2008-02-01
ISBN: 0061430226
Number of pages: 320
Publisher: Harper
Book Reviews of Sharp Teeth
Book Review: This odd combination of werewolves and verse is engrossing, visceral, and meaningful. Very successful and highly recommended
Summary: 5 Stars
Unknown to the rest of us, L.A. is populated by packs of werewolves, humans that change into dog-like beasts at will. In Sharp Teeth, three packs fight for power and vengeance, a dog catcher falls in love with a female werewolf, and a detective investigates a string of dog-related murders. The plot is tight and closely interweaving, the content is brutally violent, and the text is written in blank verse; somehow this unusual novel works, moving at a swift pace through a large cast and complex plot while still creating a poetic atmosphere which is unexpectedly moving. This novel's content and form caught me by pleasant surprise--it's a wonderful book unlike any other, and I highly recommend it.
When I first heard of this book through a friend's review, I was thrown by the combination of werewolves and verse, but sufficiency impressed by her love for the book to put it on reserve. I hope that readers come away from my review with the same impression, because I was surprised and pleased by this book and I urge others to read it. Yes, the combination of werewolves and verse is unusual, but at Barlow's hand it is successful. After the first page, I was no longer consciously aware of reading verse, but the effect of the style is aways there: the line breaks create a style that is quick and tight, capturing the reader as it moves swiftly through the plot. At the same time, the style is poetic, engaging a number of beastial metaphors to describe the violence of this interaction, the wild nature of this character, the primal love of this relationship.
The book's werewolves are very literal, real creatures, but they are also an analogy for the dog-on-dog nature and violence of the world that they inhabit. As such, the book places an expansive plot of dog packs, gang wars, and meth labs against the experiences and emotions of the characters, and entertains the unforgiving violence of a werewolf alongside a wide emotional register that moves from dry wit to surprising poignancy. To say that this book is ultimately "human" is to miss the point: it is neither wolf nor human, but (like the style) a hybrid of both, combining simple animal drives with human complexity, exaggerating human nature until it has become, although similar, something entirely new.
Barlow is unforgiving in both content and style, and while werewolves and verse may not seem to go together, here they do, and the result is remarkable. The text is engrossing and swiftly readable, the language brings both style and story to life, the plot is quite complex but never impossible to follow, the werewolves are strongly imagined, and through violence and love the book is potent and visceral. Books like this are rare, and not just because of the odd combination of the premise. Sharp Teeth is clever, engrossing, and truly satisfying both in plot and in meaning. I'm lucky to have heard about it, glad I had the chance to read it, and I highly recommend it.
Summary of Sharp Teeth
An ancient race of lycanthropes has survived to the present day, and its numbers are growing as the initiated convince L.A.'s down and out to join their pack. Paying no heed to moons, full or otherwise, they change from human to canine at will—and they're bent on domination at any cost.
Caught in the middle are Anthony, a kind-hearted, besotted dogcatcher, and the girl he loves, a female werewolf who has abandoned her pack. Anthony has no idea that she's more than she seems, and she wants to keep it that way. But her efforts to protect her secret lead to murderous results.
Blending dark humor and epic themes with card-playing dogs, crystal meth labs, surfing, and carne asada tacos, Sharp Teeth captures the pace and feel of a graphic novel while remaining "as ambitious as any literary novel, because underneath all that fur, it's about identity, community, love, death, and all the things we want our books to be about" [Nick Hornby, The Believer].
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