The Story of Edgar Sawtelle: A Novel

Excellent story telling technique makes material that is not at first glance the best for a suspenseful page-turner into just that. Vivid descriptions advance, do not distract from, the story.

That David Wroblewski can write is plain to any reader of The Story of Edgar Sawtelle, in places his prose literally sing off the page. Likewise, he has done an excellent job of researching his material, particularly as it relates to dogs and breeding, a topic clearly close to his heart. His decision to make Edgar mute also shows a great deal of creativity and serves to deepen the work considerably.

However, the book suffers from several short comings, some of which are not uncommon for first time novelists, others of plot, and still others which might have been handled by a good editor. To begin with the third, at more than 550 pages, the book feels way too long, with a great deal of background information which fails to come to any fruition later in the book. The author's choice to write an homage to Hamlet makes this particularly clear; while no one has ever accused the Bard's longest play of brevity, the Ghost of Act I, scene 4 here appears to young Edgar, around page 230! A good edit could well have slimmed down that first half and tightened this novel. Also, an editor would have pointed out how many of these characters appear two-dimensional; where the characters of Hamlet are among the most complex in the history of literature, here the villain Claude becomes a rather flat uninteresting socio-path. Trudy (Gertrude) becomes the font of the good mother. Only Edgar (and his dog Almondine) show signs of the necessary depth to be consistently interesting.

On another note, Mr. Wroblewski follows the modern vogue, jumping from character to character, even to one of the dogs. While this sometimes serves to improve a work, here it feels often unnecessary and sometimes forced, a way of avoid the work of displaying a character's motivations through actions by instead leaping inside his head.

Where The Story of Edgar Sawtelle offers much to admire, it also leaves the reader wondering how much better it could have been had the many fine authors on the jacket spent less time on effusive blurbs, and more offering the writer notes on how to sharpen his story.

I am very conflicted about this work. Obviously, he can write beautifully, and evocatively, of the countryside. This book has a very strong sense of place. Also, his description of the relationship of Edgar and the dogs is moving, and really altered the way I relate to my own dog. However, I had many problems with this book, namely:
1. It is way too long, in the wrong ways. The very long section wherein Edgar runs away from home seemed almost totally unnecessary and did not move the story forward
2. Claude is drawn in a unidimensional way, as a nefarious sociopath. That Trudy, who is such a strong, intelligent and insightful woman, could be drawn to him and not see through him just didn't wash for me.
3. Without revealing too much, it was unnecessarily tragic
4. The book did not break any new ground, nor did it seem particularly insightful. In fact, I liked Old Yeller better.
I just don't get all the excitement about this book...except that it is about dogs, and everybody loves dogs.

I think that the author is an outstanding writer however, I also think he is mean spirited. The author has us read and fall in love with the characters in this story and then to change the story from one of heartfelt truth about how families and people think and grieve to one in which he shows his true colors as a mean spirited hateful ending. Just shows that just because a person is talented doesn't mean they are kind.
Don't bother to read this book. The author sells it as a American story and then only hurts you in the end. Shame on Steven King (who I love as a writer) for recommending it.

I was left very unsatisfied after finishing The Story of Edgar Sawtelle. After reading 500 pages of almost overly detailed prose the ending was rushed and didn't leave me feeling as though I had completed something (a nearly 600 page book). Some of the story was very heart warming & for dog lovers there's a definite hook there, however when Wroblewski introduces mysticism things just get confusing and mish mashed. My biggest issue with this book is the ending however I am giving it 3 stars because I was definitely hooked for the first 500 pages.

Note: I ended up reading this book because it was recommended based on enjoying Water For Elephants, let me assure you this is no Water For Elephants. There's gotta be a better story with an actual ending out there for dog lovers.