A Novel That's Gone to the Dogs
A Review of "The Story of Edgar Sawtelle" by David Wroblewski
But then you realize that he wrote 12 drafts of this novel over a ten-year period and it becomes clear why the tone of The Story of Edgar Sawtelle (Ecco, June 2008. ISBN 9780061374227) is so confident, the sentences so elegant.
Oprah's Book Club
Shakesperean in tone, with echoes of Hamlet, King Lear and Othello running deep, Sawtelle - an Oprah's Book Club selection - is the story of 14-year-old Edgar, who doesn't speak, communicating only by sign. He lives with his parent on their farm in Wisconsin where, for generations, they have raised a breed of dog, renowned for its companionship.
Sawtelle's ideal life is thrown into turmoil when his father's brother, Claude, returns to the farm, weaseling his way into their lives, the life of the farm.
"Arguments arose, puzzling and disconcerting," Wroblewski writes of the relationship between the two brothers. "Though the details differed each time, Edgar got the idea that Claude and his father had slipped without their knowing it into some irresistible rhythm of taunt and reply whose references were too subtle or too private to decipher."
When Edgar's father dies suddenly, the distraught boy tries to link Claude, with whom his mother has apparently become smitten, to the death. The plan backfires, forcing him to flee the farm with three dogs. He does not however, bring Almondine, the ever-faithful Sawtelle that had been his - friend doesn't do it so much as maybe soul-mate - since her birth.
Amazing Debut Novel
The book is not perfect, though it contains writing, as I said, that is truly elegant; an amazing debut novel.
After Edgar's father dies, he sees an image of him in the rain. The figure touches Edgar on the chest.
"The world grayed," Wroblewski writes. "Then memories flooded into Edgar in a cascade, like the drops of rain passing through his father's figure; images seen by a baby, a toddler, a young man, an adult. All his father's memories given to him at once."
It's hard to overstate the respect with which Wroblewski writes of the dogs and their relationships with Edgar and his family.
"They spent long hours doing crazywalking, stays, releases, shared-gaze drills and all the rest until the pups paid attention to where they were going and where they were looking," Wroblewski writes of the training.
And...
"Some, for example, seemed capable on inspiration: they clued in on a new way of doing things more often than others. There was no way to measure this. And there was the dog's personality, which was distinct from its temperament. A dog with a keen sense of humor would find ways to make jokes with you, and could be a joy to work with. Others were serious and contemplative, and they were good for other reasons."
Occasionally, though, Wroblewski piles it on a little thick, almost echoing Chandler or Hemingway when simple Wroblewski was proving just right.
In the end, it doesn't matter.
Not Just Another Book About Dogs
Wroblewski brings the book to an epic ending, a finale worthy of Shakespeare, filled with revenge and drama. It's only after you finish with the book that you realize how much of it was foretold and you are left in awe of what a truly magnificent tale Wroblewski has wrought.
Edgar Sawtelle: Oprah's Pick of the Litter
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