Written in a style most commonly associated with “Beowulf,” Toby Barlow’s “Sharp Teeth” has a rhythm all its own. It tells the story of a pack of lycanthropes (werewolves — sort of) who are silently manipulating the chaotic city of Los Angeles to meet their own ends. But someone in the pack has betrayed them, joining a rival pack and slaughtering those who wouldn’t join.
Lark, the leader of the old pack, is in hiding with a plan to raise a new pack, and “the girl” (as she’s only known as) of the first pack has gone AWOL and fallen in love with Anthony Silvo, a naïve, mild mannered dogcatcher. Worlds collide and nothing is really what it seems in this epic story about wanting to belong and discovering your true self.
I found this story riveting, and what really caught my eye is the actual style the story is written in and how Barlow takes the fantastical idea of werewolves and makes it seem a part of our reality. “Sharp Teeth” is epic poem style, with sentences spanning four or five lines. If you’ve ever read “Beowulf,” you know the basic structure of this book. It will take a little while for you to get used to the way it reads (after all, how often do you come upon the epic poem style in today’s fiction novels?), but soon everything clicks and you just fall into the story’s lyrical flow; three pages soon turn into 50.
Now, “Sharp Teeth” isn’t a fantasy. The book is classified being strictly fiction, with a touch of horror (if you get squeamish, I would not suggest this book for you, there is a lot of detailed killing). Do not be fooled by the whole werewolf idea; the characters act and reason like real people — they just have an added ability to change their shape. You’ll find that there are only a few characters that are actually human, but they’re just as lovable as the furry ones.
The book does start off a little slow, but stick with it because you’ll soon be caught up in the story, unfolding with every page you turn. I give it four teeth out of five.
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