Then a book like The Story of Edgar Sawtelle lands on my nightstand, and I am reawakened. I remember what words can do. I remember how it feels to live inside a character. The Story of Edgar Sawtelle is long, but so is an eight course gourmet meal. Beach reading has its place, but sometimes it is good to eat something other than fast food.
- Wroblewski's writing is poetic.
- Deep character development -- and the setting counts as a character in this novel.
- Ghosts and oracles seem believable and right, even in Wisconsin.
- Those use to plot driven books might find 'Sawtelle' too slow.
- 'The Story of Edgar Sawtelle' was published in June 2008.
- Publisher: HarperCollins
- 576 Pages
Edgar Sawtelle is a boy who is born mute in the late 1950s. His family has created their own breed of Sawtelle dogs, and they breed and train the dogs on their farm in Wisconsin. Unlike the original flap of the book, I won't give more plot details. Suffice it to say there is tragedy and mystery wrapped into Edgar's coming of age tale.
I am not a dog person, but I couldn't help loving the Sawtelle dogs. They are characters just as much as the people in this novel. So, too, the setting has a voice in The Story of Edgar Sawtelle, and the wind has the power to change a boy's life.
I worked through The Story of Edgar Sawtelle slowly, and I missed it when I was done. It is a debut that is likely to become an important piece of American literature.
