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| The Story of Edgar Sawtelle: A Novel |
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| Maltese Books from Amazon |
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The Story of Edgar Sawtelle: A Novel
List Price: $25.95
Amazon Price: $13.89
Average Customer Rating:  (68 reviews)
Editorial Review: Amazon Best of the Month, June 2008: It's gutsy for a debut novelist to offer a modern take on Hamlet set in rural Wisconsin--particularly one in which the young hero, born mute, communicates with people, dogs, and the occasional ghost through his own mix of sign and body language. But David Wroblewski's extraordinary way with language in The Story of Edgar Sawtelle immerses readers in a living, breathing world that is both fantastic and utterly believable. In selecting for temperament and a special intelligence, Edgar's grandfather started a line of unusual dogs--the Sawtelles--and his sons carried on his work. But among human families, undesirable traits aren't so easily predicted, and clashes can erupt with tragic force. Edgar's tale takes you to the extremes of what humans must endure, and when you're finally released, you will come back to yourself feeling wiser, and flush with gratitude. And you will have remembered what magnificent alchemy a finely wrought n...
Customer Reviews:
0 of 0 found this review helpful:
 Too many loose ends, 2008-07-14
Spoiler Alert...read only if you've read the book. I was really hoping that Edgar would bust Claude and reveal to everyone how he killed his own brother, Edgar's father. But then that other "clod," Glen, had to go and ruin what was rightfully Edgar's story to end, after having gone through everything he did, which in retrospect was all pointless now. I mean, wasn't Edgar's Murder-she-wrote ending all foreshadowed by the trick he had the dogs do by bumping into eachother and falling over, feigning death. All in all, very disappointing for having such a pointless, chaotic ending. Not surprised Stephen King loved it so much. Had the ending not been so completely disappointing, I probably would have liked it, but I'm feeling really cheated. One pleasant surprise, though, it took place in the little town my mother was raised in, Mellen, WI!!!
1 of 1 found this review helpful:
 Best read of the year, 2008-07-13
I nearly put the book down with 65 pages left simply because I did not want it to end. As a dog breeder and trainer as well as a teacher of Hamlet ( my favorite piece of literature), I was gripped by both storylines. I found all the elements of rearing dogs -- from breeding decisions to whelping to training -- to be spot on. I marveled at the way Wroblewski was able to allude to characters and situations in Hamlet without being obvious or forced. Parts of the novel were so lyrical, I had to slow down and reread. Kudos to this first time novelist for creating a wholly memorable read.
2 of 4 found this review helpful:
I hated this book..., 2008-07-13
It's been years since I've disliked a book as much as this one, and I can't remember ever being as angry at myself for slogging through to the bitter (understatement!) end. Like some other reviewers here, I wanted to like it. I love starting a thick, new novel that is getting great reviews, and almost always find something to love about the story. Honestly, I couldn't wait to finish Edgar Sawtelle, and found myself skimming much of the last 100 pages, just to be done with it. Modern Hamlet it may have tried to be, but I thought it was overwrought, badly edited, full of unsympathetic, shallow characters; and, with the exception of Almondine, even the dogs turned out to be just...dogs.
2 of 4 found this review helpful:
 I guess you have to be a dog lover, 2008-07-11
I decided to read this book on the recommendation of Stephen King, even though I'm a cat person. I thought it wouldn't matter if it were a really good book. Unfortunately, too much of the book was related to the finer points of dog training, which weren't at all interesting to me. I can see where this book will wind up being taught in high school English classes or will be chosen by Oprah, but it wasn't really enjoyable. The only character I liked in the book was Almondine, Edgar's favorite dog. For such a huge book, you would have thought he could have provided more details on how her story ended.
7 of 9 found this review helpful:
So glad I'm not the only one..., 2008-07-11
I'm sorry, but I couldn't wait for it to end. The Hamlet parallels are as subtle as a sledgehammer (Claude/Claudius, the Vet/Polonius, okay, but the dogs as players re-enacting the murder, and Almondine as Ophelia?). The plot is far-fetched (no pun intended), sinister and creepy. The poison(used twice, in the same way, same place, on father and son), the ether, the dog-fights--these are awful people. I wanted to get away from all of them. And what about Edgar's mother--what a horrible ending. Are we supposed to feel happy that Edgar is finally with the ones he loves? I wanted to like this book--it's obviously touched a lot of people. I shared that feeling briefly in reading the chapter that describes Almondine's grief after Gar's death--it's beautiful. But otherwise, I just tried to plod through, but found it all so depressing. And if I hear the word "mow" one more time, I'm going to scream.
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