Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 6-10 of 672
 Outstanding September 20, 2008
Norma Lehmeierhartie (New York, USA)
84 out of 101 found this review helpful
From the moment I read the Publisher's Weekly starred review in June on The Story of Edgar Sawtelle: A Novel by David Wroblewski, I knew I had to read the book. It did take some time, but it was worth every moment. (I'll admit that I read some non-fiction in between--if for no other reason than to make the novel last longer!)
If you love animals--especially dogs--and believe in their power of communication and their ability to love, this book is a must read. I was entranced from the start, as The Sawtelle's raise a fictional breed of dog, known to be exceptional at understanding humans.
The hero, Edgar,a mute, bonds with his favorite dog, Almondine. How they communicated with such intensity and depth was deeply moving.
The novel is a thriller and does not disappoint.
While the novel deeply explores the communication between dog and human, it is also a book about humans' nature--bad and good.
The Story of Edgar Sawtelle will, no doubt,take an exalted place next to other great literature.
Congratulations, David Wroblewski!
Author of the award winning book, HARMONIOUS ENVIRONMENT
Oprah cheapens a fabulous literary work of art September 21, 2008
Anne Salazar (Huntington Beach, CA United States)
81 out of 121 found this review helpful
First of all, I LOVED this book, and the more I think about it, the more I love it. I was saddened to see that Oprah chose THE STORY OF EDWARD SAWTELLE for her book club since I feel it cheapens the book. Oprah's books are for the most part, so mundane and ordinary, and THIS book is anything BUT. It is interesting to see the short, nasty comments from people who evidently read Oprah's selections. Very nasty. Most of them didn't even read the book, or read it and didn't "get" it.
I am also surprised to see that Oprah has her own page for this book; is this page for readers of Oprah's books only? Because THE STORY OF EDWARD SAWTELLE has had it's OWN page at Amazon since its publication, with hundreds of reviews, most of them good to excellent. This is weird. Oprah seems to be an entity which does not include any but her own.
This is an extraordinary book, full of love and full of characters who have a huge capacity for love, for learning, for living. The premise may come from HAMLET, but this is a book in a category all its own, and is true literature.
From a comment the author made about the lack of "a boy and his dog" books, I read THE CALL OF THE WILD after this book, and THAT is also a fabulous piece of literature. I sobbed in certain sections of both books, and actually was afraid, at first, that I would not be able to read a book about dogs because of my deep love and respect for them, but these two books are so beautifully written, and timeless, that it was a pleasure to read them. They have become a part of me.
Please, people, do not be put off by the nasty notes appearing here. This is a remarkable book, certain to win all sorts of literary prizes, full of the stuff of life and so beautifully written that it will stay with you long after the last page.
 REALLY Disappointing August 6, 2008
Q. (Northern California)
70 out of 88 found this review helpful
I heard about this book even before it was published and was very excited to read it. I love dogs, the plot sounded great, and the early reviews were that it was "An American Masterpiece!" Let me assure you--it is most definitely not.
Here are just a few of the many problems:
1. The characterization. I still have no idea really who any of the main characters are--what drives them, how they think, what they feel. I have vague, general ideas (as one might get from a thriller or mystery where plot is the point rather than the characters) but nothing at all that makes me care about any of them.
2. The plot. The basics--a mute boy, his dogs, running away from home--are promising enough, but Wroblewski just does not know what to do with them. His book reads like a first draft of a first novel of someone who has not yet learned how to hold all the pieces together. And he is in desperate need of an editor. Which brings me to my next point.
3. The Writing. It could easily have been half the length without sacrificing anything at all. There are whole pages that go nowhere and plot points that wander off into the woods never to be heard from again. And I DID read the whole entire book, all the way to the bitter, boring end, hoping that somehow things would all come together and the book would at least somewhat redeem itself. It did not.
4. The dogs. This is the most disappointing and most unforgivable aspect of the book for me. As a long-time dog lover (I grew up with them and have lived with them my whole life) I live for books about dogs--fiction, non-fiction, even kind of badly written books, as long as the dog part is well done. And I can promise you, this is not well done at all. The author must know something about dogs as his bio says he grew up on a breeding farm, but if so, he is clearly not capable of writing about them. The internal world he has created for them simply does not match how dogs are. If you want to read a good dog book, read Merle's Door, Dog Man: An Uncommon Life on a Faraway Mountain, Call of the Wild, Where the Red Fern Grows, Pack of Two, A Dog Year.
5. The ending. After being alternately annoyed and bored out of my mind for 500 pages, I still had hoped for some kind of payoff in the end. It is, after all, being marketed as a literary MYSTERY. Perhaps there was some kind of WOW, I CAN'T BELIEVE IT!! final scene? Nope. There's not. The ending is stupid, unsatisfying and has all the melodrama of a soap opera. It is not suspenseful, it did not warm my heart, it did not make me believe in redemption or the power of love. It didn't even make me want to go hug my dog. And that's really saying something for a "Boy and His Dog" kind of story.
My heart WAS filled with gratitude however that my copy was from the library so I could simply dump it in the return slot rather than curse the wast of money it would have represented had I purchased it.
boring September 19, 2008
Sandra Prangley (ny)
60 out of 92 found this review helpful
I was very excited about reading this book. It starts out fantastic and the characters are rich, interesting and complex. After about one third through the book it becomes so predictable. The part of Edgar running through the forest is downright boring.
Pass on this over hyped book.
SOMETHING IS ROTTEN IN THE KINGDOM OF RURAL WISCONSIN. September 20, 2008
NeuroSplicer (Freeside, in geosynchronous orbit)
60 out of 68 found this review helpful
David Wroblewski's debut novel is one that stays with you for a very long time. Built around a classic Hamletian scaffolding, it quickly acquires its own original character of a classic novel.
A mute boy, Edgar, is coming of age in a family that raises a special breed of highly intelligent dogs. The strained yet strangely idyllic balance between the uncommunicative boy and the overly communicative dogs soon shatters. Tragedy interlaced with mysteries come rushing in as the father dies and an uncle steps in his place.
When the father's apparitions seem to bring up murder and its investigation precipitates even more tragedy, Edgar runs away in the companion of his dogs...but I digress: I would not want to spoil it for anyone.
Beautiful prose, insightful descriptions of both human and canine emotions and a grasping story make this novel one that you too will greatly enjoy! As a bonus, if you already share your life with a dog, you will appreciate it more; if not, prepare to experience an intense urge to adopt one.
RECOMMENDED!
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