The Story of Edgar Sawtelle: A Novel (Oprah Book Club #62) | 
 enlarge | Author: David Wroblewski
Publisher: Ecco
Category: Book
List Price: $25.95
Buy New: $14.00
You Save: $11.95 (46%)
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Rating:  723 reviews
Sales Rank: 10
Media: Hardcover
Pages: 576
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 2
Dimensions (in): 9.1 x 6.3 x 2
ISBN: 0061768065
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.6
EAN: 9780061768064
ASIN: 0061768065
Publication Date: September 19, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Amazon.com Review
bAmazon Best of the Month, June 2008/b: It's gutsy for a debut novelist to offer a modern take on iHamlet/i 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 iThe Story of Edgar Sawtelle/i 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 novel can work. --iMari Malcolm/i pHR class=bucketDivider noShade SIZE=1pp span class="h1"strongBook Description/strong/spanbr\ pBorn mute, speaking only in sign, Edgar Sawtelle leads an idyllic life with his parents on their farm in remote northern Wisconsin. For generations, the Sawtelles have raised and trained a fictional breed of dog whose thoughtful companionship is epitomized by Almondine, Edgar's lifelong friend and ally. But with the unexpected return of Claude, Edgar's paternal uncle, turmoil consumes the Sawtelles' once peaceful home. When Edgar's father dies suddenly, Claude insinuates himself into the life of the farm--and into Edgar's mother's affections. /p pGrief-stricken and bewildered, Edgar tries to prove Claude played a role in his father's death, but his plan backfires--spectacularly. Forced to flee into the vast wilderness lying beyond the farm, Edgar comes of age in the wild, fighting for his survival and that of the three yearling dogs who follow him. But his need to face his father's murderer and his devotion to the Sawtelle dogs turn Edgar ever homeward./p pDavid Wroblewski is a master storyteller, and his breathtaking scenes--the elemental north woods, the sweep of seasons, an iconic American barn, a fateful vision rendered in the falling rain--create a riveting family saga, a brilliant exploration of the limits of language, and a compulsively readable modern classic. /p p align=left span class="h1"strongiDouble Life, with Dogs/i: An Amazon Exclusive Essay by David Wroblewski /strong/span p img src="http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/images/G/01/books/harper-gms/wroblewski250.jpg" border="0" hspace="5" vspace="5" align="right" We write the stories we wish we could read. There's no other reason to do it, to spend years pacing around your basement, mumbling, pecking at a keyboard, turning your back on a world that offers such a feast of delicious fruits. iThe Story of Edgar Sawtelle/i came about because some time ago I wished I could read a novel about a boy and his dog, one that integrated our contemporary knowledge of canine behavior, cognition, and origins with my experience of living with dogs; if possible, something flavored with the uncynical Midwestern sense of heart and purpose so familiar from my childhood (and something which, in truth, I've spent much my adult life being slightly ashamed of, as if either heart or purpose were embarrassing attributes for a grown-up to display). I'd recently come to know a good dog, maybe the best dog I'd ever met, and the subject of people and dogs and ethics and character suddenly seemed urgent. But when I went looking for such a story, I had to go back almost a hundred years, back to Jack London's iCall of the Wild/i. That was a surprise. A little while after that, an idea for a story came to me--not the whole thing, but enough to start. /p pbContinue Reading iDouble Life, With Dogs/i/b p align=left span class="h1"strongPraise from Stephen King/strong/span p "I flat-out loved iThe Story of Edgar Sawtelle/i, and spent twelve happy evenings immersed in the world David Wroblewski has created. As I neared the end, I kept finding excuses to put the book aside for a little, not because I didn't like it, but because I liked it too much; I didn't want it to end. Dog-lovers in particular will find themselves riveted by this story, because the canine world has never been explored with such imagination and 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. Yet in the person of Edgar Sawtelle, a mute boy who takes three of his dogs on a brave and dangerous odyssey, Wroblewski idoes/i articulate them, and splendidly. I closed the book with that regret readers feel only after experiencing the best stories: iIt's over,/i you think, iand I won't read another one this good for a long, long time./i/p pIn truth, there's never been a book quite like iThe Story of Edgar Sawtelle/i. I thought of iHamlet/i when I was reading it, and iWatership Down/i, and iThe Night of the Hunter/i, and iThe Life of Pi/i--but halfway through, I put all comparisons aside and let it just be itself./p pI'm pretty sure this book is going to be a bestseller, but unlike some, it deserves to be. It's also going to be the subject of a great many reading groups, and when the members take up iEdgar/i, I think they will be apt to stick to the book and forget the neighborhood gossip./p pWonderful, mysterious, long and satisfying: readers who pick up this novel are going to enter a richer world. I envy them the trip. I don't re-read many books, because life is too short. I will be re-reading this one."/p
Product Description
p Born mute, speaking only in sign, Edgar Sawtelle leads an idyllic life with his parents on their farm in remote northern Wisconsin. For generations, the Sawtelles have raised and trained a fictional breed of dog whose thoughtful companionship is epitomized by Almondine, Edgar's lifelong friend and ally. But with the unexpected return of Claude, Edgar's paternal uncle, turmoil consumes the Sawtelles' once peaceful home. When Edgar's father dies suddenly, Claude insinuates himself into the life of the farm#8212;and into Edgar's mother's affections. /p p Grief-stricken and bewildered, Edgar tries to prove Claude played a role in his father's death, but his plan backfires#8212;spectacularly. Forced to flee into the vast wilderness lying beyond the farm, Edgar comes of age in the wild, fighting for his survival and that of the three yearling dogs who follow him. But his need to face his father's murderer and his devotion to the Sawtelle dogs turn Edgar ever homeward. /p p David Wroblewski is a master storyteller, and his breathtaking scenes#8212;the elemental north woods, the sweep of seasons, an iconic American barn, a fateful vision rendered in the falling rain#8212;create a riveting family saga, a brilliant exploration of the limits of language, and a compulsively readable modern classic. /p
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| Customer Reviews: Read 718 more reviews...
 Must Every Ending Be Happy? December 1, 2008
Julie Kucinski (Mpls, MN)
I just read this book while in Ashland, Wisconsin (where I grew up). Perhaps the environs and my own history there helped me like and embrace this book. br / br /As many have stated, the ending doesn't wrap up the loose ends, doesn't feel "deserved" and it is sad. It does feel a bit rushed. That's one reading of it. Or you can read it as a tribute to the connection of Almondine, Gar, Edgar and what the Sawtelle dogs were supposed to be about. br / br /Life rarely wraps things tidily or satisfactorily for us. The imagery and heart of this book made up for several of the shortcoming for me. The author reworked this for many years, and perhaps the ending got a little overworked in the process. br / br /I like Russian novels so maybe the heavy and depressing are already in my blood... or maybe it's in the Northern Wisconsin water.
 a boy and his dog December 1, 2008
Amy M. Pimental (Taunton, MA)
I could not put this book down. It was so moving and lead me through so many emotions. To be honest, I have never written anything negative about a book on Oprah's Book Club list as she always recommends such wonderful books. "The Story of Edgar Sawtelle", is on the top of my list!
Terrific Story December 1, 2008
Traveldog (Southern California)
I don't know how I stumbled upon this book, but I am so glad I did. I absolutely loved it. It was a terrific read. It plods in some parts, but I don't really mind that. I highly recommend it and I will be giving it out for the holidays. T
 Edgar Sawtelle December 1, 2008
R. Huinker (USA)
I liked the story, and most of it was very compelling. I didn't like the ending so well, as I have many questions?
A great story if you have some time on your hands December 1, 2008
N. Atchison (Seattle, WA USA)
If you got some time on your hands its a good read...I read a good chunk of it over a couple days of Jury duty. I don't think it needed to be that long, but I loved the character development of the dogs. But the ending of the book fell flat for me and I closed the book feeling disappointed.
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