Werewolves in Los
Angeles

By Tony DuShane, Mother Jones. Posted July 12, 2008.

The author of the future cult novel Sharp Teeth talks
about his tale of werewolves in Los
Angeles.
In his debut novel, Sharp Teeth, Toby Barlow introduces us to a Los Angeles filled with
werewolves who don't need a full moon to go from human to lycanthrope. They're
everyday people, leading normal lives right under our noses, but that they can
switch to animal form at will, and even become pets for lonely housewives when
the heat is on. These werewolves are pack animals. Alone they are vulnerable,
together they are strong, and they are bent on fighting other packs to take
over the City of Angels.
There's more to Sharp Teeth than fantasy and horror. There's the love
story of a dogcatcher who ends up in a relationship with a woman who is more
than she appears. There's homage to Bukowski and Chandler as well as poets of millennia past.
And to completely tweak us out, Barlow's written his five-part tale entirely in
free verse. Reading the first 10 pages is a bit jarring, but once the rhythm
kicks in, Sharp Teeth is hard to put down. It's completely engaging on
every level, with sympathetic characters and a driving plot that grabs you by
the throat like a pit bull and doesn't let go until page 308.
Barlow has broken the rules of conventional novel writing, gaining a
readership that continues to grow by word of mouth. Sharp Teeth is a
future cult classic that will continue to be discovered by readers hungry for
sex, violence, and a fantasy world wrapped up in a literary work. Its sudden
success has caught Barlow, whose day job is as a creative director of an ad
agency, somewhat by surprise. A decade ago, when he was going through a rough
patch, a psychic offered an unsolicited look into his future and told him to
wait until he was 42 years old. On the day of his 42nd birthday, he kicked off
his book tour and the LA Weekly gave Sharp Teeth a stellar
review. Nick Hornby has also praised the book, saying, "Sharp Teeth will end up being clasped to the collective bosom of the young, dark, and
fucked-up." Barlow spoke to Mother Jones from Minneapolis.
Mother Jones: I have this weird thing about dogs now. The next time a dog
humps my leg, I think I'm going to have sexual thoughts because of your book.
Toby Barlow: I was just going on a walk around a lake here in Minneapolis, and I find
myself making eye contact with all the dogs in a slightly deeper fashion than I
used to.

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