Do You like book Blood Sports (2007)?
I read Eden Robinson's other novel, Monkey Beach, and so I was really drawn to read her other novels. This one was much, much different. I liked the story, characters, and setting, but I did not like how it was written. It's strange because part of why I loved Monkey Beach was because of the writing style. Blood Sports jumps from letters, films, regular novel writing, and it doesn't follow a chronological flow. Everything is all mixed up and I found it really difficult to navigate through the novel. I did like the creativity (film, letter, etc) but the mixed up order is what made it difficult for me to follow.The imagery is very vivid, horrific, and obviously for mature readers. There are scenes of torture, pornography, and drug use. Essentially it is a novel about how messed up your life can get from being involved with the wrong people. If you liked Monkey Beach and are looking for a book that is similar to it, then look elsewhere. If you are looking for a true horror then this is the one for you. Eden Robinson herself claims that Blood Sports is similar to a modern day Hansel and Gretel. I haven't figured out exactly what she meant by that, so I cannot comment just yet. But besides being difficult to navigate, I did like the book. I think it was suppose to make me feel uncomfortable, but it didn't really hit the spot. I can tell that for others, this book would be very uncomfortable and frightening.
—Crystal
