10 of 10 people found the following review helpful: 
 Love, loss, and blood, February 18, 2008 
 One may at first be put off by the notion of a werewolf novel as an epic poem. In the minds of many - too many - poetry is an aged, calcified form, difficult to penetrate, and approached not for fun but out of a sense of intellectual obligation. Yet any such concerns should be immediately thrust aside by any potential reader of Toby Barlow's clever, compelling debut novel, "Sharp Teeth." 
 Barlow's plot, at its surface, is a straight forward modern werewolf tale - a pack living in LA under the command of Lark have big plans, having to do with dog pounds. From there the story branches our into many directions - a love story between a werewolf woman and the novel's protagonist, several survivors of a decimated pack dealing with their loneliness, and other wolves hungry for the vengeance of blood. The poetry in which all of this comes is delivered in language at once subtle and raw, visceral as Barlow's topic and modern his book's setting. For example, when writing about a lovers wonder about how well he knows his love. 
 He worries that this 
 Is beginning to feel like 
 driving a car through the mountains, 
 finding a great song on the radio 
 and then as you pass out of its range 
 hearing it flicker and fade. 
 Snap, pop and 
 then its gone. 
 Or another musing 
 Tomorrow she knows 
 the tactics will have to change 
 her luck has held three times 
 and Lark has always said, 
 luck is stupid as a cow 
 and blind as a bat. 
 What would you do 
 to protect the love you have? 
 Would you kill? 
 Would you hunt to kill? 
 Would you kill without mercy? 
 And if you wouldn't 
 Then how precious is your love? 
 Yet for all of this pretty poetry, Barlow never forgets the tradition from which he springs, that Homer and Shakespeare never meant for their audiences to be left to a narrow band of dutiful intellectuals, but saw themselves as appealing to a mass audience. And so, like these predecessors works, "Sharp Teeth" offers no shortage of breathtaking violence, and lurid bawdy details, and fine humor (a group of dogs hustling cards being my personal favorite). Barlow milks moon and dog imagery for every drop of entertainment, all delivered to the reader in a spectacular package. 
 Readers will recognize much of "Sharp Teeth" as familiar, a crime noir taken to the next level, with all of the twists, turns, and character archetypes one might expect. The crime boss down on his luck plotting his way back, his scheming second in command, the beautiful dame who isn't sure what love is, the haggard cop who thinks once too often about eating his gun. Yet again, Barlow's rich vivid language and his mastery of imagery bring all of these things to us in a way that is both fresh and rewarding. 
 Readers who allow themselves to be put off by thoughts of epic poetry will be the loosers, never having enjoyed the bite of "Sharp Teeth."