It takes a lot to crack my top ten favorite books, but this one just did it, and with flying colors. It may be in my top three, depending on my mood. Love, loss, betrayal, friendship, Shakesperian drama, murder, loyalty, an inferno, adventure, and dogs...what more could you ask for?
The Story of Edgar Sawtelle is Hamlet, reimagined. Set in the Wisconsin northwoods, the title character is a young boy, mute from birth, whose family raises an amazing breed of dogs. All is well in Edgar's life until his uncle, his father's brother, unexpectedly returns. Soon afterward, Edgar's father is found dead and his uncle begins to pursue his mother. Edgar suspects his uncle of murder, but in his attempt to make an accusation things go horribly wrong. Edgar flees into the Chequamegon forest with three pups that he has raised and trained. Months later, he returns to face his uncle...
Books speak to us for different reasons. I love a good adventure, a good love story, a plot line that helps me reflect on myself, not to mention fabulous writing. But I don't need all this in any one book. This book was brilliant for all of these reasons, and many others. I loved that it was Hamlet, seen through an entirely different lense. Almost everyone is there, Horatio, and Laertes, and the Ghost, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, but often in unfamiliar form. It has been years since I've read or seen Hamlet, but the plot and characters came back to me through this book, slowly at first, and then much more powerfully. More than once I found myself holding my breath, impatiant to discover how Wroblewski would reinvent a particular character or plot twist. I love that it is set in Wisconsin. Characters are constantly "popping a Leiney's" and the locales and descriptions are familiar, if sometimes only in name and not through personal experience. I love that the author, David Wroblewski, "gets" dogs. The Sawtelle dogs are as central to the novel and plot of The Story of Edgar Sawtelle as dogs are to the lives of anyone fortunate enough to share their home with one. I love that the author is obviously a remarkable reader himself. He is a marvelous storyteller, who deserves all the praise he has received for this book and more. He knows how to keep his reader engaged, how to explore the complexities of his characters, and how to leave just enough to his reader's imagination. All around, a phenomenal work. And if this hasn't convinced you to get your hands on a copy of The Story of Edgar Sawtelle, I'll lend you mine.
The Story of Edgar Sawtelle is Hamlet, reimagined. Set in the Wisconsin northwoods, the title character is a young boy, mute from birth, whose family raises an amazing breed of dogs. All is well in Edgar's life until his uncle, his father's brother, unexpectedly returns. Soon afterward, Edgar's father is found dead and his uncle begins to pursue his mother. Edgar suspects his uncle of murder, but in his attempt to make an accusation things go horribly wrong. Edgar flees into the Chequamegon forest with three pups that he has raised and trained. Months later, he returns to face his uncle...
Books speak to us for different reasons. I love a good adventure, a good love story, a plot line that helps me reflect on myself, not to mention fabulous writing. But I don't need all this in any one book. This book was brilliant for all of these reasons, and many others. I loved that it was Hamlet, seen through an entirely different lense. Almost everyone is there, Horatio, and Laertes, and the Ghost, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, but often in unfamiliar form. It has been years since I've read or seen Hamlet, but the plot and characters came back to me through this book, slowly at first, and then much more powerfully. More than once I found myself holding my breath, impatiant to discover how Wroblewski would reinvent a particular character or plot twist. I love that it is set in Wisconsin. Characters are constantly "popping a Leiney's" and the locales and descriptions are familiar, if sometimes only in name and not through personal experience. I love that the author, David Wroblewski, "gets" dogs. The Sawtelle dogs are as central to the novel and plot of The Story of Edgar Sawtelle as dogs are to the lives of anyone fortunate enough to share their home with one. I love that the author is obviously a remarkable reader himself. He is a marvelous storyteller, who deserves all the praise he has received for this book and more. He knows how to keep his reader engaged, how to explore the complexities of his characters, and how to leave just enough to his reader's imagination. All around, a phenomenal work. And if this hasn't convinced you to get your hands on a copy of The Story of Edgar Sawtelle, I'll lend you mine.
1 comments:
Anonymous said...
We are enjoying your "online journal. You ought to print in paper form for your descendants.
This book review is terrific and parallels what we've heard others say about this book. Have you submitted it to an on-line review?
Lynn Marie and Mary Max