REVIEW: Such Sharp Teeth
Every twenty-eight days, my body changes. My stomach bloats, my skin dulls, my cravings blossom, and I am wracked with horrific cramps that I always mistake for appendicitis, cancer, maybe a new bone growing in my lower back. I am unrecognizable, I am in pain, I am mean, and the entire time I am wholly aware that this will happen once a month for the next twentyish years.
Every thirty days, against their will, werewolves turn. They become unrecognizable terrors. Cravings become insatiable and no one is safe. Knowing what’s coming, they can prepare for their imminent transformation by isolating themselves, but no matter what precautions are taken, it’s a ghastly, painful experience.
Werewolves are so girl-coded…who else becomes a huge freak once a month like clockwork? Who else feels like their lives are affected like the cycle of the moon? And yet all popular depictions of werewolves that I’ve read are men! That is, until I had the pleasure of reading Such Sharp Teeth by Rachel Harrison. Harrison takes the typical myth of the werewolf and turns it on its head, comparing the idea of an unwilling transformation to the plights of the characters of twins Rory and Scarlett. Scarlett is pregnant, a beautiful, exciting, disgusting, terrifying part of life. Rory has yet to come to terms with the sexual abuse she experienced as a child. Both of them are dealing with their bodies not feeling quite like their own. When Rory is bitten by a monster, she experiences changes in her body that are both so alien and so familiar. Wanting, craving, needing are all human emotions that become heightened for Rory as she takes her first steps toward monstrosity.
After loving Nightbitch by Rachel Yoder, I was hesitant about reading another novel depicting a woman turning into an animal, but both authors beautifully talk about similar subjects in completely different ways. Rory’s transformation first occurs when she is in the middle of thinking about her childhood trauma. She turns into a disgusting beast. She feels like if she had been less palatable, she wouldn’t have had to deal with the abuse she was forced to endure. Our bodies are not our own, but sometimes losing beauty means gaining back a little control. Rory’s feeding montages are rife with gore and horror. She finally indulges the WANT that she’d never allowed to let loose. Not to be dramatic, but in becoming a monster, she becomes more human than ever before.
“It will hurt. Every time, it will hurt. And while I’m this monster, under the influence of the moon, I will have no control over what I do. I will lose myself. And the next day, I will wake up and have to go on. I’ll have to accept the suffering. The regular, involuntary surrender of my body. I have no other choice than to deal with it. What can I do? There’s no telling anyone. No sharing this burden. It’s mine. It’s my body.”
RATING: ☆☆☆☆