The Story of Edgar Sawtelle

Written by David Wroblewski

Narrated by Richard Poe

The extraordinary debut novel that became a modern classic

Born mute, speaking only in sign, Edgar Sawtelle leads an idyllic life with his parents on their farm in remote northern Wisconsin. For generations, the Sawtelles have raised and trained a fictional breed of dog whose remarkable gift for companionship is epitomized by Almondine, Edgar's lifelong friend and ally. Edgar seems poised to carry on his family's traditions, but when catastrophe strikes, he finds his once-peaceful home engulfed in turmoil.

Forced to flee into the vast wilderness lying beyond the Sawtelle farm, Edgar comes of age in the wild, fighting for his survival and that of the three yearling dogs who accompany him, until the day he is forced to choose between leaving forever or returning home to confront the mysteries he has left unsolved.

Filled with breathtaking scenes—the elemental north woods, the sweep of seasons, an iconic American barn, a fateful vision rendered in the falling rain—The Story of Edgar Sawtelle is a meditation on the limits of language and what lies beyond, a brilliantly inventive retelling of an ancient story, and an epic tale of devotion, betrayal, and courage in the American heartland.

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperAudio
• Release date: Aug 13, 2013
• ISBN: 9780062316998

David Wroblewski

David Wroblewski grew up in rural Wisconsin, not far from the Chequamegon National Forest where The Story of Edgar Sawtelle is set. He earned his master's degree from the Warren Wilson MFA Program for Writers and now lives in Colorado with his partner, the writer Kimberly McClintock, and their dog, Lola. This is his first novel.

Reviews for The Story of Edgar Sawtelle

[regoodrich · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Amazing writing, but it took a long time to get into the book. Then, when I was finally hooked, the ending turned out to be a tremendous let down. If only the story had impressed me as greatly as this author's writing!

[Darla Hymer · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

A very odd story and long....but loved Edgar and Almondine....

[donna828 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The young protaganist, Edgar Sawtelle, may only be able to communicate with those who know his unique style of sign language, but the author has no trouble communicating his affinity for dogs, the midwest work ethic, and his keen observations of nature. This book has something for every reader...remarkable writing, complicated relationships, a hair-raising journey of escape, a wisp of the supernatural, and dogs with souls. I didn't need the Hamlet connection to appreciate a well-told tale of betrayal and redemption. I just considered it to be a bonus.Don't be put off by the book's length of 562 pages. I became so immersed in the timeless zone of reading a wonderful book that I didn't regret a moment of it. However, I was distressed at the end, not only because of its impact on me (trying to be vague here), but also because it meant I had to leave Edgar's world and know I wouldn't experience a book this captivating for a long time. Highly recommended.

[aliastori · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I'm always looking for original debut novels and this one was a very good-outstanding in some of the description and characterizations of both people and dogs. But...it lost me along the way because it was just too long and too much and lost its momentum. It would have been great with more editing.

[luciana43 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A great book, although a bit long. Best to read it without seeing any reviews, including a review excerpt on the back of the dust jacket.

[meredk · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The writing is beautiful at times, and the affinity for dogs (and by extension, all animals) is strong and believable. However, the book is too long, and in my opinion it's essential that the reader know that this is a retelling of Hamlet. Also, the character of Edgar wasn't convincing to me -- I never really understood what drove him (unlike Hamlet).

[bookconcierge · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

5***** and a ❤What an extraordinary work! In fact character Henry Lamb says it best “Call it what you will, but this is definitely not ordinary.” (pg 381, first edition, hardcover)Basically this is the story line of Hamlet and yet I hoped to the very end that it would end differently. I was enthralled by Edgar. His intelligence, perseverance, integrity, resilience and courage. And his youth, naiveté and vulnerability. The story takes place mostly in 1972. Edgar is 14 and he was born mute. Edgar lives with his mother and father (Trudy and Gar) on a large farmstead in northern WI, near the Chequamegon forest. They raise a unique breed of dog – the Sawtelle dog – that is nearly telepathic. Edgar learns from infancy to train the pups by using signing and “gazing” – he looks the dog in the eye and “tells” it what he wants. But always it is the dog’s choice. One day Gar leaves in the truck and returns late at night with a passenger – his brother, Claude, who had left home as a young man to join the Navy. Claude is charming one moment, angry the next. Clearly there is bad blood between the brothers and they argue frequently. Edgar doesn’t really trust Claude, especially when Claude begins to “confide” in the boy.The train wreck that is coming is all too evident, but the reader is as helpless as the characters seem to be – plummeting headlong towards disaster. The language is nothing short of poetic.

[amyjmerrick · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

** spoiler alert ** This novel, a retelling of Hamlet, transposes the familiar story to northern Wisconsin in the 1970s. Wroblewski adheres so closely to Shakespeare’s tale that his characters can seem mechanistic, driven not by any reasonable motivation but by the requirements of plot. But Wroblewski’s detailed observations of the Chequamegon Forest—the changing moods of its weather, its role as both threat and shelter—immerse readers in a vivid, memorable landscape. Told from numerous points of view, the book is strongest when Edgar’s perspective merges with that of the dogs he trains, becoming entirely attuned to the richness of the present moment.

[amyelizabeth_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

If you want to read a modern American classic, this is it.One of the most prevalent feelings I had after closing The Story of Edgar Sawtelle was that very rarely does a book encompass all of a main character's life, without leaving anything out. When it does you feel like you truly know the character. If nothing else, getting to know Edgar Sawtelle made this book worth reading.Of course there are many other reasons, many of which I'm not going to get into. This is a book you want to know as little about before you start reading. In fact, don't even read the inside of the dust jacket, because it gives too much away. Here are the few things you need to know:1. Have a box of tissues handy. I'm not usually one to read a book I know will make me cry, which is why I stay away from many books that feature dogs as predominant characters. However, the way in which David Wroblewski shows you the life on a farm that breeds "the future of dogs" was incredible. Wroblewski knows dogs, inside and out. He can characterize them so that you feel you know them, you grew up with them, and you never want to let them go. Hence the tissues.2. This book is long. Coming in at 566 pages, this is no easy weekend read. Then again, once you start you won't want to stop. And the length is necessary to tell the whole story, and to tell it well. At the end I felt I really knew Edgar and his family, and I understood where each of the characters was coming from. Yes, even the dogs.3. This book has everything. Mystery, murder, coming-of-age, adventure. It even has a bit of a ghost story. Whatever you're looking for, you'll find it here.And that's really all you need to know. Anything else would be too much. 5 out of 5 stars. If you haven't read this book already, go get it now.

[GrannyRose · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

An exceptional story, written with a beauty that will stay with you for a long to come. Heartbreaking, yet satisfying, this novel is a triumph of American literature. A story to read and re-read for generations.

[kblinn_2 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I started out reading this book but ended up listening to it while driving here and there, due to its length. It was one of those rare books that I enjoyed and hated at the same time. The character of Edgar, a boy who never spoke, was interesting but somewhat unrealistic in my mind. Edgar grew up with dogs and trained them. As a dog trainer myself, I was appalled at some of the risks Edgar's character took with his supposedly beloved dogs. It rather turned me against Edgar. After starting the book, one definitely has to finish it, but I believe it could have benefited from tighter editing. It just goes on for a little too long. Plus, it leaves several loose ends that are up to the reader's interpretation, and I hate that kind of thing! :-) If you have several weeks of your life that you need to fill, go read Edgar.

[perpetualrevision · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I loved the descriptions of the dogs, and the parts of the story told from Almondine's POV were heartbreaking. But the ending of the story was very unsatisfying. I never understood Claude's motives or exactly what happened. Not sure I'd recommend the book to anyone other than dog lovers, because the dog parts of the story were much more appealing (at least to me) than the human parts.

(This review is based on the audiobook version.)

[kenazari_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This one was really difficult to decide on a rating. Like the others, I definitely don't think it lives up to the hype.If you aren't a dog person then I wouldn't really recommend this for you because it was my interest and attachment to the pups, not to Edgar himself, that got me through this book. I started to read it but it just didn't hold my attention well and I ended up finishing it as an audiobook.It's been a while since then, and I've actually grown to appreciate it more than right after I finished. It's one of those endings that stays with you even though the plot wasn't exactly wrapped up nicely with a bow on it. If you are interested, then I would really only be able to recommend listening to the audiobook. The reader was somewhat monotone but still more engaging than just reading it in the book.The ending scene has really haunted me and is strangely redeeming to the less than stellar execution of the plot, but I only felt that way after it had been a while. At first, I felt a little jilted over the ending. Hopefully others can appreciate it more right away.

[donnambr · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The Story of Edgar Sawtelle is a wonderfully written book by a truly talented author. The story is compelling, the characters intriguing, the language beautiful and the reading of it effortless. For such a lengthy book (almost 600 pages), I was amazed how quickly I finished it. It pulled me in and was a delight to read.Edgar is a remarkable child who lives with his parents who are dog breeders. No ordinary dogs, however, but 'Sawtelle dogs' with amazing skills. The dogs play a large role in the book. I have never spent a large amount of time around dogs so I don't know how much of the dogs' behaviour is realistic and how much is bordering on fantasy. However, Wrobewski brings the dogs to life and they are as full in character as the humans of the novel.The main character - other than the Sawtelle Dogs! - is Edgar who is a young boy who is mute but is possibly a better communicator than most other people. He is clearly gifted in many ways and this becomes more and more apparent as the book progresses. He is clever, insightful and an excellent dog handler/trainer. The story is about Edgar Sawtelle and the tragedy that befalls his family and what follows next. But it's about many other things as well: love, loss, friendship, loneliness, family. It's hard to talk too much about the story without giving things away. The best thing to do is read it. It has been likened to Hamlet but as one other reader says, it stands alone as its own story.Finishing the book felt a little like emerging from a gripping dream, trying to stay asleep for just a few more minutes because you want to stay immersed in it for a little longer. It's a book that inspires many emotions, not least of all disappointment because you've reach the end of those 576 pages. It's certainly a book to put on the shelf and read again at some point, at which time I doubt it will be any the less engaging.

[catalogthis · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Definitely worth reading, although I found the final chapters somewhat jarring and not in keeping with the rest of the book. The best parts are those written from the dogs' perspective, such as this from Almondine:"The barn swung her fat shadow across the yard, holding it gently by dark wrists and letting it turn, turn, stretch out in the evening upon the ground but never slip. Clouds rumbled across heaven and she lay beneath, and in the passage of shadow and yellow sunlight, the house murmured secrets to the truck, the traveler, who listened only for so long before its devout empiricism forced it away in wide-eyed panic to test such ideas among its fellows. The mailbox stood soldierly by the road, capturing a man and releasing him, again and again."

[quailjulia · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Terribly disappointing. I felt ripped off at the end of the book especially after all the hype.

[sean191 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The Story of Edward Sawtelle by David WroblewskiI enjoyed this novel. It seemed like Wroblewski dabbled with going sideways once or twice, but brought the story back before it became a problem. Rather than a book version of Seinfeld (a book about nothing), this seemed to be about nearly everything. Family, friends, revenge, deceit, devotion, tradition... honestly, the list goes on. Wroblewski took on a monumental task and handled it admirably.

[steve02476 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Beautiful writing, but a lot of the book went over my head. Wooooossh!

[castlelass · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Edgar, a boy who can hear but not speak, lives with his mother, Trudy, his father, Gar, and his dog, Almondine, on a farm in rural Wisconsin. The story takes place mostly in the 1970’s when Edgar is a teen, with flashbacks to earlier times. Edgar’s family has bred and sold Sawtelle dogs, a fictional breed, for generations. These dogs are notable for their training, temperament, and intelligence. Edgar leads a happy life on the farm until his Uncle Claude arrives to stay with them while he gets his life back on track. Conflicts between Gar and Claude, which originate in their childhood years but are never fully explained, escalate until an episode occurs that forever changes the course of their lives.

Wroblewski’s writing is elegant, with numerous descriptive passages. He loosely employs elements from Shakespeare’s Hamlet, which notifies the reader to expect tragedy, and includes supernatural phenomena. It is a slow-burn that requires patience to get to the heart of the story. The author is quite skilled at portraying the relationships between humans and dogs, and even writes a few chapters from a dog’s perspective. This story is a thought-provoking tale of life’s unfairness, canine-human connections, loyalty, communication, fate, and nature. It could have used a bit more insight into the characters’ motivations and it includes a few lengthy topics that appear to be only tangentially related to the main storyline. It will appeal to readers that appreciate tragedies and don’t mind unresolved plot points. This novel is the author’s debut and it will be interesting to see what he tackles next.

[rcabbott-926498 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The Sory of Edgar Sawtelle is an awesome novel. It ranks as one of the best books I have ever read.

[debs4jc · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Hamlet but with dogs. Edgar is a mute boy who grows up on a farm where his parents raise dogs. These aren't just any dogs - they are breeding dogs that are highly intelligent and personable. Anyway things are great until Edgar's uncle Claude moves in with the family. Then as the story goes on the reader starts to realize that it's very much like Hamlet. The story is very inventive, the dog scenes are wonderful, as are the descriptive scenes - and the ghost scenes. Fans of literary fiction should enjoy those aspects.I myself felt like the story dragged on, it took a long time for things to happen. As the Hamlet aspects grew apparent I also started to anticipate that it would have a messy ending, and of course I was right. It is good fodder for discussion, but not one that I would want to pick up again.

[dairyqueen84 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I read and listened to this book at the same time. The narrator was very good. I enjoyed the writing but the ending was a disappointment. The author may have just written The End, it seemed rushed and anticlimactic.

[hardlyhardy · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

“You swam in a river of chance and coincidence. You clung to the happiest accidents — the rest you let float by.” — David Wroblewski, “The Story of Edgar Sawtelle”One unhappy accident that Edgar Sawtelle cannot let float by is his inability to talk. He learns sign language at an early age in David Wroblewski's 2008 novel “The Story of Edgar Sawtelle.” His parents make their living by breeding, training and selling dogs — the famous Sawtelle dogs — and when Edgar is old enough to train his first litter of dogs, he teaches them using sign language.Edgar's idyllic life begins to become unsettled when Claude, his father's brother, moves in with them. The brothers argue frequently, and when his father dies mysteriously, Edgar suspects his uncle of murder. Then when Claude moves into his mother's bedroom and the boy overhears his uncle plotting with the veterinarian who owns a small share of the family business, Edgar begins acting strangely, unable to control or communicate his feelings. Then the vet dies in an accident in which the boy plays a role. Edgar flees into the Wisconsin wilderness with three of his dogs, while the vet's son, the county sheriff, searches for him.This is a long novel, and this brief synopsis hardly gives the full picture. But then Wroblewski doesn't give the full picture either, being one of those writers who prefers ambiguity to clarity at key moments in the story. Ambiguity makes for art, but too much ambiguity just makes for confusion, and the author often comes too close to that line.Still this is a powerful novel that offers the reader many rewards, chief among them being the main character and his dogs. The details about living with an inability to speak, training dogs and surviving for weeks in a national forest are excellent, as is the story itself. Such a story does not happen by chance and coincidence.

[curious_squid · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

My mother read this book in a book club, and gave it to me so I had high expectations, as she had never given me a book she had already read for me to read before.

There were many interesting characters in the book and many plots and sub plots and a lot about dogs. And training dogs. And view points from dogs. Usually once a book starts being from the viewpoint of an animal I don't tend to continue, but I powered through.

The book started to go a little faster, things were building, I never knew what was going to happen next.

And then it ended. Crashing to a halt, over in 10 pages, no explanations, completely different ending than I had ever expected.

And it was an ending, it didn't leave me hanging yet I wasn't satisfied. There was no why to anything in this book. Plots? Sub plots? No resolution. No explanation. It felt like half a story. Perhaps the whole book could have been written in less than 80 pages as a prelude to a real story. I read the author is planning another book with these characters, and maybe that book will explain things, but I doubt I will find the time to read it.

Still I gave it 3 stars (should be 2 1/2) for readability and holding my interest for so long.

[betsy_crumley · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Absolutely loved this book! Well written, great character development. The relationships between man and wife, brother to brother, mother and son, boy and his dogs...brilliant. She painted a vivid picture in my mind while reading...would love to see this on a reading list for late middle school/high school

[bederson-208717 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Such an unusual book. It took me a while to understand that part of its specialness was in the unusual way it gave voice to those without it. And the ability to take the perspective of dogs with great respect, but without coddling or cuteness. It got better and better, and I definitely recommend it.

[stephkaye-923485 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

An impressive re-working of the tragedy of Hamlet, told through the eyes of a family of dog breeders. So much beautiful detail and description. This book may help you see your dog in a whole new light, as well as the Bard's time-honored play.

[sami7-951065 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Cathartic! Shockingly beautiful & beautifully shocking. The art of weaving simple words into timeless fabrics is still alive. Think Hamlet remade for modern times. Just awesome.

"A bleak sledgehammer to the soul". I can't get expression out of my head.

[christopherswann · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Masterful and epic, but by the time I reached the last hundred pages I was ready for it to end. Then I got caught up in the catastrophe and had to find out what happened. It's a novel where insights hover constantly at the edge of the narrative, but other than Edgar--who is a great character--I don't fully understand the other characters, especially Claude. I'll amend that--I understand the dogs, who are fully-drawn characters in their own right. I won't ever look at dogs the same way again.

[stephanie_m-868484 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

My heart be still. Oh, Edgar.... When I first opened this book, I had no idea where this story would take me. I looked at the 560 page novel and wondered how far an author could go with this premise of a mute boy and his dogs. Well, he can go practically to the moon and back again and never once lose his grip on this reader.

I'm not even sure why I'm writing a review of a book that's polarized the reading public to this degree, but I have some observations and after wading through about 200 reviews, I thought maybe, just maybe I had something to add to the discussion. So much has already been said about this novel that it almost feels redundant to talk about the beautiful prose, or core group of wonderful characters. Yes, the book has significant length to it, and perhaps the misconception for many people is they think based on the reviews or subject matter it would be a nice beach read for the summer. Instead it's heavy (both is theme and weight), rich in descriptive detail almost to a fault (dog training minutia Ad nauseam), yet has moments of absolutely fantastic writing that screams, 'classic'. If you can be patient and go along for the ride, it's a rewarding read. But this is not an escape read. You don't read a retelling of Hamlet for diversion unless you're an overeducated English major, you don't mind 500 page books, or you liked Hamlet itself. Hamlet is challenging source material, recursive and frustrating. But that's not the point. In the end, a book has to stand on its own.

This is a beautifully written, emotional tale full of love, evil, and a splash of fantasy. I love books that tap into my emotions, and that make me think and feel. I smelled the barn and the hay. I felt the lick of the dogs tongues on my face. Edgar's pain as he tried to save his father tore at my heart. I hiked through the woods beside him with wet clothes clinging to my body. I was hungry when Edgar broke into cabins to find food after days without anything to eat. I loved Edgar Sawtelle; I loved his challenges, his triumphs, his reactions and his actions. I am surprised at where this book has taken me, and I will always have a soft spot in my heart for the mute teen Edgar, and his best friend/ life mate Almondine.

But Wrobleswki assumes a lot. He relies a little too heavily on the intelligence of his reader, refusing to state the obvious and letting us be confused when we're just not quite as smart as he is. I often felt that he thought better of me than he should, that I wasn't quite up to puzzling it all out. There were no dogs in Hamlet. So the dogs are in there for a reason, and though Hamlet acts as a framework, the dogs are the main focus of the story. And let me warn you, you have to be interested in dogs to want to wade through it all.

(spoilers--don't read if you haven't read the book)

I was fascinated by these beautiful, intelligent, mysterious dogs. What exactly was the work for which they were being bred? What were the traits that Gar sought to inculcate? The long epistolary subplot about the dog in Japan who waited for his master--what was the trait Gar wanted from that dog, and why did Edgar set it aside?

It finally occurred to me that the great trait of these dogs was that they could CHOOSE. These were bred to be decision-making animals. I finally understood what was happening with Forte and what a threat he was to Claude's idea of breeding, both the first and the second Forte; he was the dog's chosen mate. Claude understood this in a way that Gar didn't.

And of course, when he goes into the wilderness with them, Edgar comes to understand this, as well. In other words, what Edgar saw was that these fine animals had to be freed of millenia of breeding for obedience, that they had to be free to choose their own traits through selection of their own future. No more selective breeding, unless the dogs themselves did the selection. And they were bred to a high enough level of intelligence and discrimination that they actually could do that. It was mind-blowing to me, and made the senselessness of the finale quite sensible.
The one very big unanswered question for me in the book was Claude. Claude went halfway around the world to get the poison but he didn't use it for close to thirty years. Why so long...?

(end of spoilers)

The great mysteries of this book are probably akin to the great mysteries of humanity. Why do people poison themselves with resentment? Why are human beings so lustful and lonely and weak? Why do we always assume the best of those who have repeatedly shown us their worst? Why isn't rage enough to live on? And how much pain can one young man take before he breaks, and becomes what he was before the world civilized us? Regardless, this is the story of Edgar Sawtelle; the story of a young man brought out of civilization and into the world of instinct. Like the dogs, he is brought back to his elemental side, and civilization will not tolerate such a young man. He has no chance.

I rate The Story of Edgar Sawtelle a 4 out of 5. It's a wonderfully written story that grabs a reader by the heart and never lets go. I was left with a broken heart, but I felt unsatisfied at the end. That's the only thing keeping this book from my perfect rating.