Edgar Sawtelle - Dark Publications

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Customer Reviews: Read 725 more reviews...

5 out of 5 stars

Its understated elegance shines through June 13, 2008
351 out of 396 found this review helpful

This is an astonishing, mysterious, bewildering and profound novel. And even though the story is sad and heart-breaking, it is written so well that it has resulted in a deeply satisfying novel as well. Not since I read Yann Martel's mesmerizing novel, "Life of Pi", have I found myself so deeply absorbed in a novelist's magical creation as I was while reading "The Story of Edgar Sawtelle".

The novel begins with a needless killing of an injured, limping, stray dog with poison by a medicine man or herbalist. This brutal killing fits into the novel later, as the novel progresses.

The protagonist of the novel is a fourteen years old boy named Edgar Sawtelle, who was born mute. His parents - Gar and Trudy Sawtelle are dog-breeders, who live on a farm in a remote part of northern Wisconsin, not far from the Chequamegon National Forest. They breed and train a unique and special breed of canine developed by Edgar's grand father, John Sawtelle; hence the name of the breed: Sawtelle. The dogs earn good reputation not only for their noble temperament, but also for their intuitive ability to anticipate their masters' command, and then interpret and act on the command independently also. The family's peaceful farm life is disrupted when Claude, Edgar's charming, conniving paternal uncle visits them. Gar offers him a job at the farm and a place to stay. Soon Gar dies suddenly and mysteriously. Edgar suspects that Claude murdered Gar. He tries to prove that Claude did indeed murder Gar, but his plan misfires, and so to save himself from Claude he runs away into the Chequamegon woods, accompanied by three young dogs.

The author's vivid descriptions of nature, his ability to describe the terrors of the wilderness and the horrors of living in a jungle, and his decision to narrate a part of the story from a dog's perspective have added distinct charm to the novel. The magic of his pen is such that even the supernatural and paranormal incidents in the story seem to be natural, logical and believable.

David Wroblewski is a masterful narrator. His prose is spare but mellifluous; and even though it lacks the grandeur and splendor of Yann Martel's or Joseph O'Neill's prose, its understated elegance shines through: "Late in the morning he found himself navigating along a heavily washboarded dirt road. The limbs of the trees meshed overhead. Left and right, thick underbrush obscured everything farther than twenty yards into the woods. When the road finally topped out at a clearing, he was presented with a view of the Penokee range rolling out to the west, and an unbroken emerald forest stretching to the north - all the way, it seemed, to the granite rim of Lake Superior. At the bottom of the hill stood a little white farmhouse and a gigantic red barn. A milk house was huddled up near the front of the barn. An untopped stone silo stood behind. By the road, a crudely lettered sign read, "For Sale."

This novel is so extra-ordinary and so exquisitely written that I am sure that I shall be reading it again soon. Reading it was a great joy.

2 out of 5 stars

Disappointed - Not worthy of quesionable hype July 21, 2008
334 out of 360 found this review helpful

I'm having a really hard time believing that all these 5-star reviews are legitimate. Some of them don't even seem to be by someone who READ this book as they are full of factual errors. I cannot recommend this book, but will try to provide some insight into what you'll REALLY be getting if you buy it.

What's good: Author is a gifted wordcrafter, with an ability to pick poetic and unusual phrases to capture an image or feeling. The dog interactions in the wild are inspired and inspiring. The evoking of a time and place (rural Wisconsin in the 50's) is powerful.

What's not: Pacing is virtually unchanged throughout. There are dozens of plotlines that occupy pages and go nowhere and are never resolved or tied in (dog breeding debate, Forte, stray puppy, town fortune teller, role of Dr. Papideau, Henry and the dogs - for just a few). It's sort of like a long poem or a set of song lyrics that makes you sit back and appreciate it's beauty, but scratch your head at the point. Presented as a tragedy, but just disappointing, not cathartic. Evil personified (Claude) is just sort of grey and strange - no convincing explanation for source of his evilness or his motivation for ruining everything. No clear personal flaws presented in Gar, Trudy or Edgar to make them deserving of their fate - in fact quite the contrary. About 90% of the way through, all these threads have been spun and you're waiting for the author to work his magic of pulling them all together into a beautiful and coherent ending, and instead he just quits and literally burns it all down. It's not that I insist on a happy ending, but I insist on one that makes me feel there was a point to my journey.

In short, if you love Russian novels, go ahead. DON'T buy if you think you're getting a "dog story" or a "kid story".

2 out of 5 stars

Very Disappointing :-( June 23, 2008
152 out of 196 found this review helpful

From all of the hype surrounding this book to the overwhelmingly positive reviews on the back (Stephen King RAVES about it), I couldn't wait to read it. I was certainly surprised (but not in a good way).

The reader must be willing to slog through tons of backstory, some relevant, some irrelevant, before you get to the meat of this book.

I agree with the reviewers that the author is a very "pretty" writer (the scenes and descriptions are at times breathtaking and certainly creative and on point) however the story itself reads like a typical "first novel" in that the author has not yet learned what to keep in and what to leave out. Everything (and I mean EVERYTHING) is left in in this book, the necessary and the unnecessary. This causes the story to drag in places and, at times, leaves the reader perplexed: not sure who to follow or who to sympathize with (especially in the first 200 pages).

The author is heavy on "telling" too, as more narration than scenes make up the first part of this book. All of the above combines to distance the reader from both Edgar and his quest. Lovers of Hamlet will certainly recognize the story, but in the end they may wish that they had simply stopped with Hamlet and left this version untouched.

5 out of 5 stars

Get ready to lose some sleep! June 21, 2008
128 out of 149 found this review helpful

There are at least three ways to introduce this wonderful American novel to you. I could say, in summary, that this novel is like a 20th Century American midwestern Hamlet with dogs. That kind of lead would draw me in, but it might leave you cold. But be assured: you don't have to love dogs or dote on Shakespeare to adore this fine novel.
Or I could say, Here is an extraordinarily well-written novel set in mid-20th Century Wisconsin and built around four beautifully crafted characters: Edgar Sawtelle, the mute but very bright son; Gar Sawtelle, the warm persevering father; Trudy Sawtelle, the disciplined but sweetly loving mother; and Claude Sawtelle, Gar's brother who returns from years in the Navy and on the road to turn the world upside down for the Sawtelles. If you are into relational stories, that lead might grab you.
But I think the best way to prepare you for this book is to tell you that once you reach the incredible scene where Edgar is confronted by the ghost of his dead father, you will not be able to set this book down until you finish it. Since this scene occurs approximately in the middle of the story and the book runs to some 576 pages, be prepared to lose some sleep.
One of the claims of Claude Sawtelle is that you can have anything you want if you are patient. That may or may not be true in your case. But if you are patient with the rich, convincing unfolding of this story, you can certainly have a rewarding reading experience.
P.S.: If you do love dogs, you will love the book even more.

5 out of 5 stars

*Here* is a writer... June 10, 2008
105 out of 124 found this review helpful

...and *here* is a novel.

Chock-full of a love of language, a robust narrative style, but moreover, more importantly, here is an actual *story*, something rare on today's literary fiction landscape.

'Edgar Sawtelle' will appeal to those who love a good story, to those who love intriguing characters, and certainly to those who love dogs.

Mr. Wroblewski's accomplishments with this, his debut novel, is substantial. Equally so are Stephen King's glowing words, which, I find in reflection, say everything I might lavish on the author, leaving me to simply nod and pass along the book to loved ones, so that they too, might experience the enjoyment I did at reading 'The Story of Edgar Sawtelle'.

Congratulations to the author on this storytelling achievement.

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