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| The Story of Edgar Sawtelle: A Novel | 
 enlarge | Author: David Wroblewski
Publisher: Ecco
Category: Book
List Price: $25.95
Buy New: $13.49
You Save: $12.46 (48%)
New (40) Used (28) Collectible (35) from $12.68
Avg. Customer Rating:  860 reviews
Sales Rank: 1481
Media: Hardcover
Edition: 1st
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 576
Shipping Weight (lbs): 2.1
Dimensions (in): 9.1 x 6.5 x 2
ISBN: 0061374229
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.6
EAN: 9780061374227
ASIN: 0061374229
Publication Date: June 1, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews:
 Too too sad January 8, 2009
I could not put this book down. It had me in its grasp. Then, I came to the ending - an ending that had me absolutely and totally depressed and, yes, even a bit angry at the author. I wanted to throw the book across the room!
Wroblenski is a gifted author and he draws the reader in...he makes us care about these people and dogs and then WHAM! he hits us over the head.
I was so disappointed by the ending that, as much as I enjoyed reading this novel, I am not eager to recommend it to anyone. I can't imagine putting my friends through the type of torture this ending causes.
Hamlet for Dogs? January 8, 2009
I really enjoyed reading this book UNTIL my husband, who also read it, pointed out to me all the similarites this book had to Hamlet. Even fact, a woman on our airplane, w/o prompting, offered up the same info. That said, I did enjoy the book. I love dogs. I just feel snookered.
Mixed Bag January 8, 2009
This is an interesting and unusual story. Also, I am a native of the Wisconsin area in which the story unfolds and it is clear that Wroblewski is familiar with it. But although the story is interesting and suspenseful it is sometimes overwritten. And readers who are not interested in the breeding, raising, and training of dogs may well find those passages too frequent and too long.
Gripping and beautifully written, but strangely disappointed.... January 8, 2009
Well, I couldn't put this down, but was constantly nagged by inconsistencies and logic problems that made the story improbable from the get go....I kept telling myself to 'lighten up, its a story,' but great novels don't do this to me.
First of all, I have over 20 years of medical experience and have never met or heard of a patient with a congenital speech impediment, like Edgar's without having some sort of hearing problem. Its as if Edgar had congenital, bilateral vocal chord paralysis. Throughout the book I kept reflecting on how odd this situation is....then I thought 'well, its interesting symbolically, so just quit questioning.' Still, it nagged at me throughout the book.
Unless Edgar's mother had been portrayed like stereotypical, 'white trash' I can't conceive how she could behave the way she did in this story. It was annoying and, again my radar went up every time I read about another one of her insane choices. I mean, seriously, what mother would just sit by and wait, after her son ran away? There was no exploration of her loss. What reasonable woman would run into the arms of her husband's brother who she knew had multitudes of psychological and ethical problems? There might be some argument, but another 200 pages would be needed.
Finally, many talk about the 'bringing to life' of the 'dogs.' I felt they were, not developed enough. They didn't seem to demonstrate any mourning or change in behavior after various losses. Anyone who has dogs, knows that they express remorse and saddness. Amondine's confusion over Edgar's disappearance was the only exploration of this 'life of dogs.' But, I felt that she was almost a ghost in this story...I craved that she have a bigger role and I wanted to know her better. Essy and Tinder had roles that started to approach reality, but again, for a dogs so connected to the main character, they seemed strangely distant. 'Forte,' the mystery dog, however, was pretty cool and perfect.
With all these criticisms, I know that no work of art is perfect and must commend the author in creating a gripping and quite exciting story. I couldn't put the book down, although I was often annoyed. It is beautifully written and the imagery incredible. It will be interesting to see how this novel weathers over time. I've never been so frustrated with 'reality inconstancies in a novel but acknowledge the presence of a great, well-told adventure. Maybe I'm just getting old, but 'Hamlet,' 'East of Eden' and 'The World According to Garp' didn't get me questioning so much, even though they were all 'far fetched' too...
Perhaps some ENT specialist or Neurologist could set me straight on Edgar's medical condition? I'm miffed and my literature search was nil.
Dissapointing January 8, 2009
I agree with many of the previous reviews. The book had the wrong ending. The story is very detailed, well-written in that you get a true picture of the characters, their personalities, lives and situations, very clearly. This detail causes you to get emotionally invested and then the last chapter is like a complete let down. Your panting, wondering what is going to happen next only to be let down. The book starts out slow, having you wonder the point of all of these details and then picks up to where you can't put it down and then drops you. It's worth reading if you have some time, but not worth 25.00 like I paid.
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