Eden Robinson’s novel Blood Sports (McClelland and Stewart) forces readers to confront exactly what we’d prefer to avoid—the raw world of junkies, crazies and twisted souls. What we don’t expect is the love story of Tom and Pauline, two recovering addicts who try to stay clean, struggle to make a legal living, set up a house of sorts and try to do right by their baby daughter. All of their efforts are threatened when Tom’s vindictive cousin re-enters their lives to exact his sadistic revenge. Robinson, a Haisla writer, balances earthy truths with biting humour in all of her books, but the gore content of this latest novel may put off some readers. In a recent interview she admitted that the book’s scenes of torture and its puzzle-like format (intended to mirror Tom’s nervous breakdown) could make it a tough sell: “I’m just hoping the book gets banned—that would be great for sales!”