Reviews

In Blood Sugar, Kraus takes an urban legend, treats it as though it were borne of a men's adventure magazine, and gives it the voice of an impoverished and uneducated child. He treats the subject with a certain amount of respect, adding sufficient nuance and empathy to the story through his adolescent narrator to keep the story immersive.

And immersion is definitely the name of the game here. The narrator's voice is distinct (and apparently divisive to those unable or unwilling to grapple with its grammatical inaccuracy), but what surprises me most is its consistency. Jody, the narrator, seems as understandable as any children in his situation, and although his pop culture references and unique diction may turn some readers away, I find Kraus's consistency with the character's voice adds a kind of verisimilitude that kept me turning page after page.

The story, too, is surprisingly nuanced, drawing from multiple sources to craft what feels like an uncontrollable spiral for each of the characters. The theme of the story is definitively the ways in which our society helps create these disenfranchised sociopaths, and while it's easy to see their rage as misguided, it's also easy to see how easily we can be misled through the continual cynicism we are fed through an economic system that casts us off when we lose our utility to it.

Kraus certainly has a finger on the pulse of American life in 2019, and although this may not be an actual story of literal events, his allegorical purpose is powerful. I really loved every line of this "diseased" narrative, and although it is not perfect, it's far more subversive and beautifully decrepit than the purposefully cheesy cover might suggest. It's a perfect example of why Hard Case Crime is one of the best publishers today: it offers a story so entertaining that readers can almost forget it's actually saying something worth reading.

smkean's review against another edition

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4.0

Blood Sugar has tempted me in with it's cover but completely hooked me with it's weirdly unique storytelling. The narrator is young, underprivileged and tells the entire story in street talk/ghetto slang which takes a few pages to get used to, after that his voice becomes familiar and it's much easier to hear it in your head as you read. This story is dark, bringing naive humor to terrible situations with characters who seem to normalize situations the reader may find disturbing or disgusting. It's so entertaining to read though, feeding you little tidbits about these characters and making you absolutely need to know what happens next. This twisted tale left me thinking about it even days later.

caitlyn888's review against another edition

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4.0

This is a gross book with an alluring cover. I found it equally humorous and downright sad at times. This is a REALLY quick read (finished it in one sitting in just a few hours), and I truly had no idea how the story was going to end. If you're looking for a gnarly book for this Halloween season, this would be a good choice.