Customer Reviews

The SHARP TEETH OF LOVE: A NOVEL

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

The Sharp Teeth of Love is a novel that while you enjoy reading it and following the story - the author makes you work for it. Many times authors will spoon feed you a story with charcters that you know could only come from a book, Betts aludes to events long before she lets you in to the whole story. Not only was I interested in what was currently happening, I was curious about what had happened in the past events of the characters and what were those circumstances were going to take them.

I do wish that at some points Betts had slowed down and allowed more exploration of the characters and the situation they were in. But at the same time, the lack of information she gave allowed my mind to fill in the rest.

I like being challanged by a novel, without it seeming as though it is trying to be difficult. I was impressed with some of the issues the Betts offered into the story. The characters were beleiveably flawed, which gave a somewhat far fetched plot more reality.

The characters, the plot and the dialogue of this novel were what I'd expect to find in typical romance novel. The characters were trite: the self-absorbed fiance, the longsuffering, misunderstood woman who just needs a warm, sensitive man, the warm, sensitive man, and the loveable child-abuse victim. The writing was good, the plot a bit predictable,and it would have been fine if I had been looking in the Harlequin section.

I enjoyed the book quite a bit. It does start off a bit slow. I felt the book kept hitting me over the head with David Koresch and Waco references. I never quite figured out what the analogy was.
But once the story gets going, it's interesting and charming in it's own way.
It's one of those books that I looked forward to picking back up and seeing what was going to happen next. It's a quirky story of three misanthropes who somehow find each other.
The book was a very pleasant read.

I picked up the hardcover edition of this book simply because I liked the cover - the paperback edition's photo isn't nearly as interesting.

This book has some very dynamic, well thought-out scenes - although it does tend to flounder a bit at times. The ending is also a little too predictable and anticlimatic. But the characters are compelling and there's just enough excitement and suspense to keep the reader on edge.

I look forward to reading more of this author's work.

Although it had a rough start and I wasn't immediately intrigued by the story, this book works its way up to being great. I love Betts' use of the different points of view. It adds a whole new dimension to an otherwise somewhat simplistic storyline. I thoroughly enjoyed the story, especially Paul's character. I don't know what it was that intrigued me so much about Paul.. he's just a very well written character.

This book was erratic. Some of the writing was beautiful, some terrible. The slowest parts of the novel were the best; when Luna was alone in the mountains, when she first met Paul and Sam, and when Betts writes about Luna's development as an artist and time living in Chapel Hill. But once the action started, the language becomes painful. (i.e. when, from a tight, third-person point of view - Paul's - Betts writes something like 'he was tired from the horse he rode and the woman he didn't," I laughed out loud.) It seemed like Betts was trying too hard to use clipped, trendy language. Once the rescue started the novel took on a racing, thoughtless pace. It's OK for the characters to be racing, but one wants the author to maintain control. The Luna character was too interesting and complex to deserve such a silly ending. The thoughtful parts of the book were completely sold-out by the last third of the book. I was disappointed because I liked the Luna character didn't think she deserved TV movie treatment.

Doris Betts was named Best Writer of the Year by the Presbyterian Church (USA) and in my book she is best of the decade. I loved all her other novels but Sharp Teeth of Love contained so many memorable characters. I particularly liked Erica and cried when I realized she had taken Sam and will try to raise him with love that may redeem him from the abusive past. This book showed males at their worst and at their best. One of the best scenes was in the restaurant when the three men got together to arrange her life. Love is difficult and "sharp" but also selfless.

I'm not "in love" with this book, but I certainly liked it. A sort of crunchy find-yourself-in-the-Nevada-woods narrative that borders on overly optimistic (while hiding out in the woods to escape her old life, Luna finds, naturally, a wonderful and off-beat man that just happens to live in a tent nearby. Oh, and a son of course. Who, despite his cavities, may just fit in just fine). Despite all this, however, Doris Betts managed to keep my interest with strong writing and interesting observations from the characters.

I stumbled upon this book and now eagerly anticipate reading every word Doris Betts has ever written. Thanks to a cast of fascinating characters and a plot with more twists than a tornado, I was completely enraptured. This is one of the best novels I've read in my life: unique, satisfying, and absolutely unforgettable.

Betts came to me as a recommendation for my book club. I picked this novel based on that information and was sorely disappointed after 20 pages. It doesn't take long to realize that this story of a runaway fiancee, a (sort of) lovable wanderer, and a disturbed child will not work out like a movie of the week ending. The plot drags, zig zags, and loses it way, much like the main characters. I have it on good authority that Doris Betts is a wonderful writer but I urge you to skip this novel if you're a first-timer. I wish I had.