The Story of Edgar Sawtelle in Constant Reader

Jan 02, 2009 Ruth rated it did not like it

I guess I have to be the spoilsport here. I did not like this book.

Let me just say straight out that anthropomorphism does not sit well with me. I almost jumped ship on page 30, where the story hopped over to the POV of Almondine the dog and had her thinking and reasoning like a human being. I love dogs. I’ve had quite a few in my lifetime. I speak dog well, we relate to each other well. But I think they lose their own innate dignity when people try to turn them into people. A dog is a lovely th I guess I have to be the spoilsport here. I did not like this book.

Let me just say straight out that anthropomorphism does not sit well with me. I almost jumped ship on page 30, where the story hopped over to the POV of Almondine the dog and had her thinking and reasoning like a human being. I love dogs. I’ve had quite a few in my lifetime. I speak dog well, we relate to each other well. But I think they lose their own innate dignity when people try to turn them into people. A dog is a lovely thing. It is not an inferior human being. It is not superior human being. It is a dog. And that is enough.

However, I soldiered on. To its credit, the book is smoothly written. Serviceable prose, even if one only very occasionally encounters the kind of writing that lifts the heart. Most of the writer’s attempts to wax poetic were so over the top that they created a fog of obscurity that spread over the entire novel. Fuzzy writing=fuzzy thinking.

To hang an inferior book on the bones of Hamlet does not make it a better book. The Hamlet connection is unnecessary and interferes with our ability to see the book for itself,
and unfortunately invites a comparison in which the imitator necessarily comes off far on the short side.

I found the ending particularly irritating. Not the tragedy, but the idea that the hope for the future lies in the dogs. Hope of the world in dogs? That thought wouldn’t have crossed my mind but for the overdone hype of the entire book concerning the characteristics of dogs. Nevertheless it did cross my mind and it diminishes the book by its pat striving for a happy ending.

The part of the book that worked best for me was when Edgar and the dogs were staying with Henry, an endearing man and the most believable and sympathetic character in the book. This was one of the few parts where for the most part I didn’t feel as if I were having to crank my suspension of disbelief ostentatiously into place.

As for the ghosts. Don’t even get me started. Suffice it to say that the book could have been written to work without them. But then the author would have had to drop the Hamlet crutch, wouldn’t he?
...more

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Oct 02, 2008 Cheryl rated it it was amazing

The Story of Edgar Sawtelle is a spellbinding tale of love and loss, and the ultimate search of finding oneself.

The Story of Edgar Sawtelle by David Wroblewski is the most recent pick for Oprah's Book Club and it is a thoughtful literary masterpiece worthy of 5 stars. This is not your fast-paced thriller beach read; this is a novel you want to read carefully and allow to steep and absorb.

The characters are complexly drawn, three-dimensional and the story itself is highly emotional and inspiring. ...more

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Jan 04, 2010 Robert rated it really liked it

I really liked this book. I'd have given it five stars, but I wasn't completely satisfied with the ending, although I will admit to being occasionally cranky and hard to please. Still, it was mostly a joyous story for me, and I loved the narration and the voices from the different character perspectives.

I learned a great deal about dog training, breeding, and gained somewhat of a feel for life in an isolated setting. I'm aware that northern Wisconsin is up there, but I was nowhere near as intim ...more

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May 10, 2009 Joyce rated it really liked it

Shelves: favorites, set-in-the-midwest

Several friends told me they loved the book, hated the ending. Then I read or heard that it was an American "Hamlet," which pretty much told me how it could end. I may have spent too much time noting the ties to Shakespeare and not enough just enjoying the tale. There are some astonishingly beautiful scenes in this book. His descriptions of rural life remind me of my own farm upbringing. I think this is probably a good one to re-read at some point and I'm not a dog person. ...more

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Aug 21, 2009 Jane rated it it was amazing

I thought this book was amazing. Wasn't ready to like it. Oprah book, best seller. I'm too snooty I guess. But it was extraordinary. The writing is beautiful. The evocation of place is so precise. It helped that I read it in a mountain wilderness area. Oh, and Almondine's chapters. They are beautiful. I will read them to my fifth grade students. The fact that the story is a retelling of Hamlet is pretty wonderful too. ...more

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Dec 08, 2008 Rashida rated it it was ok

Shelves: disappointed

I just did not like this book. But I think that it is the kind of book that you either love or hate (as so many people, some whose opinion I value greatly, love this book), so don't take my dislike as an indicator to stay away. I didn't particularly go in for the anthropomorphization of the dogs. Much overdone, and not necessary if you're a lover of dogs, in my opinion. This book is overly long. By the end, I was screaming at the book to stop with all the useless extra words and just end already ...more

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Mar 29, 2009 Kirsten rated it really liked it

A beautiful read - reminiscent of a Greek tragedy. Aspects of this novel that I particulary liked are ...

The relationship between the breed of dogs and the families lineage. That this is played out particularly well in the relationship between Gar and Claude.

The sweetness of Edgar and Almondine. Together they are whole, separate they are lost.

The witch in the store.

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Sep 30, 2008 Melissa rated it liked it

Shelves: constant-reader

This book shifted its shape on me twice. And by the time I reached the last 125 pages I was rushing along way too fast and it still took far too long. Maybe I'll go back and read them again more slowly before the Constant Reader discussion begins on January 15th -- yet that mysterious Anna Karenina has been staring straight at me from her perch on the CR bookshelf too. ...more

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Nov 20, 2008 Tamela rated it really liked it

Shelves: audio, books-read-in-2009

Powerful and gripping. I know that it had some of what my bookclub calls flora and fauna (extra STUFF) but I thought it added to the story, not took away, because it built the characters and helped you understand who they were. I had to keep putting the book down at the end because I was afraid of what would happen; I knew what was going to happen but I couldn't stop it. ...more

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