Sharp Teeth Quotes

“he knows that it's impossible to tell a wolf
from a man if
he keeps his chin up
and his teeth clean.”
― Toby Barlow, Sharp Teeth

“The bullet we're running from is almost never the one that hits us.”
― Toby Barlow, Sharp Teeth

“Call him Judas if you want
but he did it for reasons
much older than silver.”
― Toby Barlow, Sharp Teeth

“And were you cornered by her,
eye to eye,
you would see that
there are still some watchful creatures
whose essence lies unbound by words.
There is still a wilderness.”
― Toby Barlow, Sharp Teeth

“Some things don't pass, the injuries don't heal they merely find a place in our guts and in our bones where they fitfully rest, tossing and turning between our knuckles and ribs waiting to wake as the shadows grow long.”
― Toby Barlow, Sharp Teeth

“The secret must stay and- according to scientists- the love will live. The heart is quite comfortable with secrets. After all, its home is a dark wet place tucked in among all the other organs who aren't talking either.”
― Toby Barlow, Sharp Teeth

“Everyone is always looking in the wrong direction,
we worry about our lovers while losing our jobs
we stress out about cancer while our children run away
we ponder the stars while burning the earth.
Lark used to say the buller we're running from
is almost never the one that hits us.”
― Toby Barlow, Sharp Teeth

“That's what love does/ It chases the dragons away/ before their claws can sink in.”
― Toby Barlow, Sharp Teeth

“As she stared at the ceiling that first night
her body softly falling back into itself,
she thought of how we dream of journeying
on spaceships to other universes, other worlds,
but really, for the forever,
we're stuck here on the dirt and
the only time we will travel anywhere truly unknowable
is when we slip into the skin of another,
venturing into their mysteries,
always hoping for
a safe landing.”
― Toby Barlow, Sharp Teeth

“There are two things that make
the conscious world move,
decision and desire.”
― Toby Barlow, Sharp Teeth

“You either trust or you distrust coincidence. It 's either small doses of magic pulling you to your appointed destiny or the devil trying to lead you down to the thorns.”
― Toby Barlow, Sharp Teeth

“Like so much of the trouble in the world
it ends simply with exhaustion.”
― Toby Barlow, Sharp Teeth

“The theory is simple.
Every boy, every man, is really
a bit of a golden retriever
or a big chocolate Lab.
Watch any man's eyes
at the bounce of a ball.
His head tilts slightly sideways, just a hair,
as a primitive focus
comes to life.”
― Toby Barlow, Sharp Teeth

“Each dog marks a section of our lives, and in the end, we feed them to the dark, burying them there while we carry on.”
― Toby Barlow, Sharp Teeth

“Their love is eternal because time seems to have fled, embarrassed to be sharing such a small apartment with so much dumb affection.”
― Toby Barlow, Sharp Teeth: A Novel

“He said, You know, whoever hurt you
dies every time they look in the mirror.
That is how they pay."
She crossed her arms.
"And one day, Maria, you will die too,
but there's no reason for you to die
every day.”
― Toby Barlow, Sharp Teeth

“This coyote is a wily dog born
from ancient trickster bones,
Loki, Hermes, the northwestern Raven of lore”
― Toby Barlow, Sharp Teeth

“Minimum wages tends to elicit minimum attention.”
― Toby Barlow, Sharp Teeth

“She says nothing of the loneliness, but she knows it's there, she wears it like a perfume.”
― Toby Barlow, Sharp Teeth

“And one day, Maria, you will die too, but there's no reason for you to die every day.”
― Toby Barlow, Sharp Teeth

“There in that embrace, she feels something shuffling around, moving warily fumbling through the dusty rooms of her heart, and, one by one, turning on the lights.”
― Toby Barlow, Sharp Teeth

“We ponder the stars while burning earth.”
― Toby Barlow, Sharp Teeth

“He doesn't worry about money. He's got a job and a girl and a slight smile which doesn't even disappear.”
― Toby Barlow, Sharp Teeth

“But in all these tales the dog is the innocent shooting star we all wish upon until it burns up, aging fast and disappearing behind our jagged horizons. Each dog marks a section of our lives, and in the end, we feed them to the dark, burying them there while we carry on.”
― Toby Barlow, Sharp Teeth: A Novel

“Monkeys

What! His partner said.

Monkeys are funny, said Peabody.'So why didn't we we pick monkeys.

His partner sighed and shook his head with sad dismay.

Monkeys? Jesus.

Monkeys' idea of fun is throwing their shit at you. Monkeys always take the joke a step too far.”
― Toby Barlow, Sharp Teeth