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| The Story of Edgar Sawtelle: A Novel |
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| Beagle Books from Amazon |
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The Story of Edgar Sawtelle: A Novel
List Price: $25.95
Amazon Price: $13.93
Average Customer Rating:  (61 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:
2 of 2 found this review helpful:
 Worth Being Patient For, 2008-07-11
So much has already been said about this novel that it almost feels redundant to talk about the beautiful prose, or core group of wonderful characters. Yes, the book has significant length to it, and perhaps the misconception for many people is they think based on the reviews or subject matter it would be a nice beach read for the summer. It's heavy (both is theme and weight), rich in descriptive detail almost to a fault (dog training minutia Ad nauseam), yet has moments of absolutely fantastic writing that screams, 'classic'. If you can be patient and go along for the ride, it's a rewarding read.
2 of 2 found this review helpful:
 A Sprawling Resetting of Hamlet, 2008-07-10
Two things to add to other reviews which have largely covered things in this well-crafted debut:
(1) This resetting of Hamlet lacks the occasional use of humor in the original -- there is not a moment of humor or comedy in its 500+ pages, which leaves the somber dynamic less effective since there is little rise and fall of mood; and
(2) It needed tighter editing in my opinion -- many brilliantly-written, well-crafted passages don't contribute to the characters or story and thus drag down the pacing (example: the written correspondence covering the dog breeding debates); similarly, a good bit of Edgar's time after he runs away seems to drag when it should accelerate toward a climax.
These objections don't imply that I didn't enjoy and appreciate the novel. The consistency of tone across such a large work is especially remarkable.
I enjoyed the book and found it well-written, a fitting tribute to Hamlet, but it also read like the first complete effort of a talented writer, meaning I will look forward to subsequent books but can't quite heap the extremely high praise on it that I hear from others (they are *really* marketing this book, eh?).
0 of 2 found this review helpful:
 Lives up to all the hype, 2008-07-10
Well, it's the new bestseller and I had to tear into as soon as it arrived. Edward Sawtell does not disappoint. This is a touching poignant story about a young man finding himself as he tries to overcome his grief after his father's murder. Alone in the wilderness except for the companionship of dogs, who he has a special connection to because he was born mute, he tries to put the pieces together. There are moments when this story is terrifying, others when it is sad -- but above all, it is a gripping story. Wroblewski writes so beautifully. He is a great storyteller. I hope he writes more like this one. Highly recommend!
0 of 1 found this review helpful:
A wonderfully addictive tale!, 2008-07-10
I'm well over fifty years old, but while reading this book I was plunged back into the delight of reading in my early teens when I stumbled onto an adventure story that I hated to have come to an end. Now and then,while reading this novel I would realize how remarkable the writing, itself, is, but all and all I simply plunged through it wanting to find out what would happen. Really, it made me laugh; it made me cry--despite that old advertising cliche--and I also abandoned all the things I should have been doing just for the pleasure and suspense of reading this book.
2 of 3 found this review helpful:
doesn't live up to the hype, 2008-07-10
I'm not sure all the fuss that's been generated by this book is really worth it. Yes, this is well-written and held my interest but did so intermittently. You see where this is going miles before the denouement, and there are entire sections--the letters back and forth between dog-breeders, for example--that are purely information dumps, no matter how well-crafted the sentences. I found myself skimming entire blocks of text just to speed things along. Still, good sentence by sentence writing and a pretty good story, but there is nothing startling about this and it's certainly not a thriller or thrilling.
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