The Story of Edgar Sawtelle

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I had such high hopes for this book. Just read these descriptive passages: Red light, morning light.

High ceiling canted overhead. Lazy click of toenails on wood. Between the honey-colored slats of the crib a whiskery muzzle slides forward until its cheeks pull back and a row of dainty front teeth bare themselves in a ridiculous grin. The velvet snout dimples…. Fine, dark muzzle fur. Black nose, leather of lacework creases, comma of nostrils flex I had such high hopes for this book. Black nose, leather of lacework creases, comma of nostrils flexing with each breath.

As slowly as he can, he exhales, feigning sleep, but despite himself his breath hitches. At once, the muzzle knows he is awake. Angles right and left. Her head is reared back, her ears cocked forward. A cherry-brindled eye peers back at him…. He pitches to his side, rubs his hand across the blanket, blows a breath in her face. Her ears flick back. She stomps a foot. He blows again and she withdraws and bows and woofs, low in her chest, quiet and deep….. Hearing it, he forgets and presses his face against the rails to see her, all of her, take her inside him with his eyes, and before he can move, she smears her tongue across his nose and forehead!

Such a perfect dog nose description! I expected this stuff through the whole book! The book opens with a mysterious prologue and even more mysterious description of the farm and particularly the barn. Then an even MORE mysterious kind of wolf puppy is discovered that somehow predicts something then dies. The novel lays out a nice plot — family raises dogs — has created their own breed — not because of the way it looks — but the way it behaves. Gar and Trudy try to have children, Trudy has several miscarriages, and finally after the mysterious wolf cub is found and dies they have a boy who is not deaf, but is completely mute.

He has this marvelous relationship with the dogs, and a particularly close relationship with the above described Almondine. There is a tiny hint of magic as the plot progresses — just enough to make you warm and cautious at the same time. But somewhere between when the watery image of his dead dad appears and Page, the vet falls down the steps and dies and Edgar and 3 of his dogs run away, the book just falls apart for me. And during the rest of the read I hoped that the next page would pull away from the tedium that had set in and get back to business and answer some of the mysterious questions that the author had set floating around in his misty prose.

But it did not happen. View all 22 comments. Jan 08, Paul rated it it was ok Shelves: I know many people adore this book and it had lots of hype some years ago via Oprah, but I'm afraid I didn't love it. It reads easily enough and flows well. The story is straight forward as well. Edgar Sawtelle is born mute and is the only child of Edgar and Trudy Sawtelle.

They own a farm and breed dogs, very special dogs known as Sawtelle dogs , which they then sell. It's all very idyllic until Edgar's uncle turns up from abroad bringing family tensions and history. The problem is that all th I know many people adore this book and it had lots of hype some years ago via Oprah, but I'm afraid I didn't love it. The problem is that all the hype and the info on the back and in the quotes in the front tell you it's based on Hamlet; and it is as you realise from quite early on in the book, even without being told.

You know then that it isn't going to end well and Wroblewski sticks fairly closely into the plot despite a very brief foray into King Lear , even if some of the characters from the original are played by some of the dogs. This doesn't work well, particularly with the Ophelia character a dog called Almondine.

The reasons for the tensions between the brothers is just not clear and very unconvincing. The villain Claude is very two-dimensional, underworked and there is too little there to make him believeable. He just appears to be psychopathic and it is never clear why or how; too little nuance.

I learnt more than I ever wanted or needed to know about dog training and it's way too long and rambling. It's also over sentimental; if you're going to rewrite a tragedy and keep it a tragedy, don't add loveable dogs into the mix! And as for the main female character Trudy , she must be onr of the most unlucky characters in literature.

Portraying Hamlet as mute is interesting, but the idea doesn't go anywhere as Edgar spends most of his time relating to the dogs and as a result the dogs I think are given over complex thoughts and reactions. The Hamlet angle was a mistake; there was the germ of a good if sentimental story here, but throw in the plot of the play and you have a recipe for disaster. View all 11 comments. Jul 19, Andrew rated it it was ok. Problems with rewriting Hamlet as a story about dog-breeders in Wisconsin: Yes, Claude did it! By the way, DW, why did he do it? No, it's not Claude listening to your conversation with mom!

It's like kicking the reader in the groin: Almondine should have been Horatio, not Ophelia -- I was quite willing to see all the main characters die if it meant the dog made it out alive. The second chapter of this book was absolutely beautiful. The rest made me grumpy -- Wroblewski obviously has enormous desciptive talent, and there's a sense of joy in his description of dogs that made me want to love the book, but I think his good intentions were hijacked by a misguided interest in Hamlet that gave him cover for his failure to figure out what to do with all these interesting ideas.

View all 7 comments. Jul 18, Jen rated it it was ok. I feel like I'm one of the only people missing something here. I just finished a book about family, loyalty, dogs, and I just didn't get it. I didn't find myself connecting with the characters and as soon as I was starting to feel a connection the last two hundred pages , Wroblewski throws out a half-baked ending leaving me saying, "What? I'm not one that requires a tidy ending, but there should be some well-reasoned meaning. Please, Logan, no "I told you so" about Oprah. Jul 15, Kristy rated it it was ok. After reading so many reviews of this book I was excited to start it It is very detailed and although I had some chapters I did enjoy reading very much - I thought the story was much longer then it needed to be and was frustrated by the fact that Edgar did not confront his mother when he first suspected his uncle since he and his mother had such a close relationship.

It's hard for me to understand how they could be so close then he hides so much from her.. I know Trudy would of believed in After reading so many reviews of this book I was excited to start it It is very detailed and although I had some chapters I did enjoy reading very much - I thought the story was much longer then it needed to be and was frustrated by the fact that Edgar did not confront his mother when he first suspected his uncle since he and his mother had such a close relationship.

I know Trudy would of believed in him before taking the side of the uncle that was the black sheep of the family anyway I did enjoy the point of view from ALmondine when she was looking for , " her boy , her essence ,her soul" and it made me teary eyed. I do enjoy a sad ending NOW AND THEN and I always don't have to have things wrapped up nice and neat - BUT COME ON- the ending to this one spoiler don't read more if you don't want to know the uncle poisions the kid and then leaves him in the barn to die in the fire , he also dies in the fire , and the police friend is blinded and the dogs run away -- that is a feel good read of the summer!

Jun 22, Anne rated it it was ok. Like so many movie previews these days, the book jacket on this one gave away pretty much the entire story. Jake's The book has received an incredible amount of hype including here on goodreads , and I would not be surprised to see it on the short list for the Pulitzer. But, alas, this is not because I found the book to be particularly enjoyable. Edgar Sawtelle is a mute boy living on a farm with his mother and father. They breed an imaginary species of dog that has somehow been created by happ Like so many movie previews these days, the book jacket on this one gave away pretty much the entire story.

They breed an imaginary species of dog that has somehow been created by happenstance and intuition through years of mating dogs with characteristics Edgar's grandfather and father just knew would be right. The dogs have an eerie sixth-sense about them, yet it never really becomes clear in the novel why their strange pedigree actually matters. Rather, it all just seemed to be a gimmicky device - perhaps something animal lovers would glom on to.

The basic plot is a Hamlet rip-off. Edgar's uncle conveniently named Claude comes to town - and in another inexplicable plot device - he has a long-standing grudge against Edgar's father. They argue and fight, and Edgar's mother explains that it all goes far back and has nothing to do with Edgar, but it never becomes clear where it comes from or why the reader should care.

Edgar's father then suffers a somewhat mysterious death perhaps involving poison don't worry, I'm not spoiling anything the publisher didn't already spoil on the jacket. Edgar becomes convinced his uncle played a role, and when the uncle gains the affections of his mother, Edgar becomes hell-bent on exposing the crime. Akin to Hamlet's little play within a play, Edgar sets up a scenario to prove his uncle's guilt, but alas the plan backfires.

Edgar is then forced to run away - and we spend hundreds of pages following Edgar and three of his dogs through the forest, as their clothes become dirtier and they all become hungrier. In the end, Edgar returns home, and the overly dramatic ending, I found unnecessarily tragic. This is a strange book because it has so many laudable characteristics - it is at its core, very well written. Because of this, the plot itself is almost irrelevant and I found myself wanting to read more even though I couldn't put my finger on anything I actually found interesting in the narrative.

Edgar is a very likeable character - he is quite clever, with an appropriate mix of naivete and precociousness. I also really loved the character of Henry - an older gentleman Edgar meets during his forest wanderings. But, there were just too many aspects of the story that went unexplained, or were too implausible to wrap my head around. I'm all for suspension of disbelief, but the lack of originality coupled with the over the top outcome was a bit too much. Aug 15, Stefan rated it it was amazing. The Story of Edgar Sawtelle is the type of book that seems to come along only once and a while.

A book that provokes such varied reactions both mentally and emotionally within me is a rare book indeed. Yet somehow I both love the story of Edgar Sawtelle and hate it with a passion. Very few books disappoint me so completely as the story of Edger Sawtelle. Yet there are few books I admire more. The Story Of Edgar Sawtelle was an immensely annoying and irritating in it's vagueness, the disconnected The Story of Edgar Sawtelle is the type of book that seems to come along only once and a while.

The Story Of Edgar Sawtelle was an immensely annoying and irritating in it's vagueness, the disconnected series of events, a back story that only partially existed, and a series of characters that were immensely frustrating. The thing that really bothered me about Edgar was the fact that after reading a whole book about him I did not actually understand him as much as I would have expected from such a long book. The lack of motivation and justification for the actions and reactions of the characters within the novel was confusing and for me created a sense of confusion in reference to the back story.

The plot was well done yet parts of it did not seem to fit together. The settings were undoubtedly superb and the mental imagery was second to none yet there was a vague sense surrounding the whole book. Parts of the book felt drastically out of proportion: The ending bothered me immensely: This is a type of book that is incredibly powerful, profoundly tragic, and rare is a writer that can create a work that can compare to it.

Highly recommended in every sense of the word. View all 14 comments. Jul 14, Leslie rated it did not like it. I finally finished this book! I closed the hardcover thinking: There were so many times I felt like the story kept going it felt terribly strung out -- could tell the same story in fewer -- much fewer pages and for what reason? I have been taught that every sentence should lead the reader forward and serve a purpose.

I kept pulling myself out of the story and saying: The ending is terribly sad.

The Story of Edgar Sawtelle

I am not opposed to sad endings I just didn't get it, I guess. I got distracted quite a bit while reading this book. The boy and the dogs were great characters, though. She was my favorite of all And one reviewer brought up a great point: Why did the uncle do it? View all 3 comments. Jun 15, E. The Story of Edgar Sawtelle received a lot of advanced hype. The writer was mentored by Richard Russo and Stephen King wrote the mother of all blurbs for the book. While I didn't love it as much as he did, I did like the book very much.

I wouldn't call it a classic piece of American literature, but it's probably one of the best books of the year. The story is a retelling of Hamlet, but focuses on an american boy who is mute. He works at his family's farm where they train the finest dogs in the c The Story of Edgar Sawtelle received a lot of advanced hype.

He works at his family's farm where they train the finest dogs in the country. The strength of the writing really comes via the prose. It is unpretenious, simple and direct, but that's what makes it so good. It's honest writing and I never got a sense that the writer was trying to create literature, rather he simply wanted to tell a tale. That's the best kind of writing in my humble opinion.

The book is a little long and could probably have been better had it lost around pages. There's a section in the late first half that feels overly repetitive despite the beauty of the langugage. The other "problem" I had with the book was that I didn't really feel the author needed the Hamlet template. The story is good enough on its own. Edgar, Almondine and the other dogs all grew on me and I think over time, this book won't diminish as quickly as others. It's not a perfect book by any means, but it's a perfectly good story told with heart.

I recommend it for those who enjoy good, literate Americana stories. Sep 20, Karen rated it it was ok Recommends it for: Don't be sucked in by the hype- it just isn't that good. The story really wanted to be a tragic work of art, but it ended up being a disjointed collection of thoughts. The writing was excellent. There were great descriptions of the dogs and the landscape, but the characters missed the mark entirely.

The story of Henry was promising, however after all the build up we find out that inciting turmoil of the character is that he is "ordinary". Like the Winchester mansion, the story Don't be sucked in by the hype- it just isn't that good. Like the Winchester mansion, the story was filled with unexplained oddities that just seemed to go nowhere.

This is the second time I have bought a book that was lauded by Stephen King. Apr 11, Maciek rated it liked it Shelves: I was ready to love The Story of Edgar Sawtelle. It was one of the biggest publishing hits in - it captured the attention of writers such as Richard Russo and Stephen King. Quite a feat for a debut novel! David Wroblewski spent 10 years writing this bool - both a classic "boy and his dog" coming of age story and a sweeping saga of an American family set in rural northern Wisconsin in the 's.

It's big - over pages. It's ambitious and captivating, becoming increasingly more difficult to put down as the pages turn. With Edgar Sawtelle Wroblewski has created a protagonist who might have been fondly remembered with other famous personas of American literature in years to come - but at the same time his work is recognizably flawed, with the third act particularly to blame. En route they are hit by a tornado. In the aftermath, Edgar decides to return home. Edgar returns home and leaves a note in his house for his mother. Claude finds it before Trudy and tells Glen, a police officer and son of Dr.

Papineau, who is suspicious that Edgar caused his father's death. Spooked by Edgar's appearance, Claude moves a bottle of poison in the barn and Edgar catches him. Later, Edgar sees his mother and convinces her to give him a night alone in the barn, so he can search for the poison Claude moved.

Glen surprises Edgar in the barn and tries to kidnap him using a rag soaked in ether. Edgar manages to grab some quicklime and douses Glen in it. It gets in Glen's eyes and he stumbles out of the barn, blinded. The ether hits a lamp and the barn lights on fire. Edgar, worried for the dog's files, his father's life's work, starts moving them out of the barn while it burns up.

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Trudy tries to stop him, but she is held captive by the now blinded Glen Papineau. Claude has hidden the poison with the papers, though. He pretends to help Edgar take the files out of the barn, grabs the bottle of poison, and when he is not looking, stabs Edgar with a syringe in the burning barn. As Claude waits for the poison to work on Edgar, Claude tries to get out of the burning barn but sees his brother's figure in the smoke.

All of a sudden, the barn fills with smoke, as if Gar is not letting Claude escape. Claude ends up not being able to get out, and he and Edgar die in the barn. The Sawtelle dogs, who have escaped the fire, leave into the wild. In , writer Wentworth Miller acquired the rights of the novel for a feature film for producers Tom Hanks and Oprah Winfrey.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The New York Times. Retrieved 9 July William Shakespeare 's Hamlet. Dumbshow Induction Quiddity Substitution. The scope of this book, its psychological insight and lyrical mastery, make it one of the best novels of the year , and a perfect, comforting joy of a book for summer. You haven't heard of the author. David Wroblewski is a year-old software developer in Colorado, and this is his first novel. It's being released with the kind of hoopla once reserved for the publishing world's most established authors.

The Story of Edgar Sawtelle is an enormous but effortless read, trimmed down to the elements of a captivating story about a mute boy and his dogs. That sets off alarm bells, I know: Handicapped kids and pets can make a toxic mix of sentimentality.

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But Wroblewski writes with such grace and energy that Edgar Sawtelle never succumbs to that danger. Inspired improbably by the plot of Shakespeare's "Hamlet," this Midwestern tale manages to be both tender and suspenseful… Most of the story comes to us through a masterful, transparent voice: The author, the narrator, the pages -- everything fades away as we're drawn into this engrossing tale…. The final section gathers like a furious storm of hope and retribution that brings young Edgar to a destiny he doesn't deserve but never resists.

It's a devastating finale, shocking though foretold, that transforms the story of this little family into something grand and unforgettable. Instead, Wroblewski creates a tender coming-of-age story and grafts onto it a literary thriller with strong echoes of Shakespeare and The Jungle Book. Yet every few years or so, we trip across some semblance of one. Fortunately, David Wroblewski seems on the evidence of this extraordinary debut to be the sort of fellow who will oblige us much, much more.

I actually found myself slowing down my reading, fearing I would gobble it up. Now only was I mesmerized, but I discovered I had used half a box of tissues in the end, not something a guy admits freely. It is a class apart—a page literary novel that has as much emotional punch of anything I have ever read. David Wroblewski's got storytelling talent to burn and a big, generous heart to go with it.

Dog-lovers in particular will be riveted by this story, because the canine world has never been explored with such imagination or emotional resonance. Yet in the end, this isn't a novel about dogs or heartland America — although it is a deeply American work of literature. It's a novel about the human heart, and the mysteries that live there, understood but impossible to articulate.

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