There are numerous parallels in The Story of Edgar Sawtelle to Shakespeare’s Hamlet.  However, as there are many reviews out there that deal at length with this aspect of the book, written by people who know Hamlet much better than I do, I will not dwell on that (but see Janet Maslin’s review in New York Times, Sarah Laurence (blog) for excellent discussions of this aspect of the book).

Gar and his wife, Trudy, have tried to have a child for a long time. After multiple miscarriages Edgar was finally born to them. He was a child surrounded by love and affection. Not only by his parents, also by his greatest fan and best companion, the family dog Almondine. They all live in a beautifully imagined world created by David Wroblewski, that is filled with intriguing people who deal and struggle with real issues.

The Story of Edgar Sawtelle is about this mute young boy, his family and their dog kennel. Gar and Trudy breed and train their own custom breed of dogs in rural Wisconsin. It is a breed of truly amazing dogs. Edgar is unable to speak, but he hears normally, and communicates with a half made up sign language to everyone, including the dogs.

Life at the kennel and in the family is idyllic and wonderfully portrayed by David Wroblewski. The book is full of intriguing and mesmerizing detail about dog breeding and dog training, as well as about how Edgar increasingly masters communication with the dogs without a voice. Edgar’s parents are like the horse whisperer with their dogs, and the story is equally fascinating. The family’s philosophy of dog breeding has been inherited from Edgar’s grandfather – whom we also meet, as the book slowly unfolds for us a family tradition created over generations.

A lot of research must have gone into this book – I am unable to say whether what Wroblewski describes regarding the breeding and training is possible or not, but to some extent that is far beyond the point: It is beautifully described in a subdued, rich, precise and poetic language that has holds a world of beauty. And told in a way that makes it all plausible enough, for me at least, that I could let myself be sucked into Edgar Sawtelle’s universe. And how I was! By a rich tale told without metaphors, but where every moment of reading has a special feeling of joy in multiple layers – of the tale, of the characters, of Almondine and the other dogs, of Edgar, and of the crisp, poetic style of writing.

In the story, we move to a new phase where relationships begin to change subtly when Edgar’s uncle Claude arrives, fresh from being “inside” for a spell. There is much about him neither we nor Edgar understand. And, when Gar dies, apparently of a heart attack, the idyllic life that once was can seemingly not be sustained and starts breaking apart. Conflict, deceit, and tragedy replace joy and harmony. Events start to accelerate out of control toward an unavoidable climax.

The Story of Edgar Sawtelle is a grand saga. It is very – extremely – readable. The language is poetic, the characterizations and descriptions are never just ordinary, mostly remarkable, and quite often exceptional. The plot is somewhat complicated but still easy to follow. I think it is a book of the kind you either don’t like or love intensely. The reason is that is requires you to make a leap of faith. But if you are willing to be seduced, this book really will! And you should – it is an exceptional and very, very rewarding and affecting book.

You can order David Wroblewski’s extraordinary The Story of Edgar Sawtelle from amazon US, or from amazon UK: The Story of Edgar Sawtelle, or from amazon Canada: The Story of Edgar Sawtelle.

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