The Story of Edgar Sawtelle: A Novel by David Wroblewski

My review

rating: 3 of 5 stars

The story of Edgar Sawtelle is a telescoping look at three generations of dog breeders. David Wroblewski crafts a world where the Sawtelle live an almost isolated life dedicated to breeding and raising a special type of dog based on the legend of Hachiko. The story mostly focuses on the life of the younger Edgar Sawtelle who is born unable to speak but learns how to communicate through writing and his own special type of sign language (a language he uses to communicate with both his parents and the Sawtelle dogs). The story rapidly progresses through the first 10 years of Edgar's life until his uncle Claude returns to the farm. Shortly thereafter the elder Sawtelle dies of what seems like a stroke and a series of events are set into motion that end with Edgar running away with three of the young Sawtelle pups. Add in a little magic realism, a lot of interpersonal struggle and the major turning points of Shakespeare's "Hamlet" and you have the celebrity MFA novel of 2008, now an Oprah pick.

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