The Story of Edgar Sawtelle: A Novel | David Wroblewski

The Story of Edgar Sawtelle: A Novel | David Wroblewski | Heartbreakingly beautiful prose marred by chaotic post-modern ending

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The Story of Edgar...

	The Story of Edgar Sawtelle: A Novel David Wroblewski Ecco, 2008 - 576 pages average customer review:based on 444 reviews view larger image
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Born mute, speaking only in sign, Edgar Sawtelle leads an idyllic life on his family's farm in remote northern Wisconsin where they raise and train an extraordinary breed of dog. But when tragedy strikes, Edgar is forced to flee into the vast neighboring wilderness, accompanied by only three yearling pups. Struggling for survival, Edgar comes of age in the wild, and must face the choice of leaving forever or revealing the terrible truth behind what has happened. A riveting family saga as well as a brilliant exploration of the limits of language, The Story of Edgar Sawtelle is destined to become a modern classic.

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Closethippy

David Wroblewski is a wonderfully descriptive writer. This book totally felt real in so many ways. This is a book that truly gets into one's core and it is hard to shake when completed. I actually loved all the information and interaction about the dogs, the spiritual and psychic connections of human and animals, which gave meaning to this novel. The ending was predictable after awhile, but it was an ending that I hoped would not be. I was saddened by the ending and by the lack of closure. I wanted so much more at the end of such a long novel. I was looking for a better resolution between Almondine and Edgar, that Edgar would once again be given back to his mother so that all his efforts and recent experiences would not be for naught,and that Trudy would not have lost everything. I was also hoping for a different and more meaningful demise of Claude who was evil, murdering, and conviving. Claude deserved to die much more cruelly than passing out in a barn full of smoke before I am assuming, he was burnt to a crisp. This was a rather easy way out for someone who so negatively affected so many others. Although I did not like the ending and feel somewhat empty without better closure, I would recommend this novel.

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Heartbreakingly beautiful prose marred by chaotic post-modern ending

For three-quarters of Edgar Sawtelle, I was enrapt within the poignantly gorgeous descriptive prose of the author. Frankly, I have seldom read descriptions that called up such beautiful, sharply-defined images. I was in heaven.

I also was fascinated by what seemed to me to be one of the most interesting variations on Hamlet, cast in a surprising setting with characters recognizable, yet entirely new.

And then came the ending which, unlike the final scene of Hamlet, was like fingernails on a blackboard: pointless, yet excruciatingly painful, without in the least evoking the panhumanity of tragedy.

Having finished the book about three weeks ago (before Oprah's announcement), I have to wonder if all the 5-star reviewers actually read all the way to the end.

I rate the first three-quarters a five-star read; the last quarter was a one-star episode which pulled the overall story (and this reader) into the mundane rather than the sublime.

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