The Story of Edgar Sawtelle

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What is the essence of a dog? What is the meaning of a life? Edgar Sawtelle seeks to answer these questions in Wroblewski's startlingly compelling, original, and yes, classic epic -- a truly American novel guaranteed to win countless hearts.

Edgar lives a hard yet satisfying life breeding and training dogs with his parents on their northern Wisconsin farm. They're continuing the work of Edgar's grandfather, who created a new breed of dog -- bred not for work or appearance but to embody the ineffable qualities of companionship and wisdom. Edgar has a mysterious bond with the Sawtelle dogs. Like them, he can hear and see and comprehend, but he cannot speak. He talks to the dogs in signs, and they respond to him.

Edgar's idyll on the farm is interrupted with the appearance of his uncle, who resents Edgar's father, and wants to usurp him. Evoking Hamlet, the biblical story of Cain and Abel, and Homer's Odyssey to tell the story of Edgar's harrowing journey from the safety of his home through the Chequamegon Forest and back again with his extraordinary canine companions, Wroblewski depicts a world -- not so different from our own -- where dogs teach their human counterparts far more than humans teach them, and together, they find meaning. (Fall 2008 Selection)

Capital Times (Madison

“This luminescent story has the kind of sprawling, wide-lens focus that readers think of when they talk about the so-called ‘great American novel.’”

Ron Charles

Sit. Stay. Read. The dog days of summer are nigh, and here is a big-hearted novel you can fall into, get lost in and finally emerge from reluctantly, a little surprised that the real world went on spinning while you were absorbed. You haven't heard of the author. David Wroblewski is a 48-year-old software developer in Colorado, and this is his first novel. It's being released with the kind of hoopla once reserved for the publishing world's most established authors. No wonder: The Story of Edgar Sawtelle is an enormous but effortless read, trimmed down to the elements of a captivating story about a mute boy and his dogs. That sets off alarm bells, I know: Handicapped kids and pets can make a toxic mix of sentimentality. But Wroblewski writes with such grace and energy that Edgar Sawtelle never succumbs to that danger. Inspired improbably by the plot of Shakespeare's "Hamlet," this Midwestern tale manages to be both tender and suspenseful.
—The Washington Post

Publishers Weekly

This sprawling epic tale clocks in at 22 hours, but is well worth the time spent. Wroblewski captivates with a story of a young boy and his dogs cast into the wilderness after his father is murdered in rural Wisconsin. Richard Poe reads with a firm voice, both gripping and personal, fitting for this particular tale. Poe brings the story to life with such ease that listeners will forget they aren't actually reading the book. Steady pacing, realistic and imaginative characters and Poe's skilled performance make this a recording that (even at its length) listeners will want to hear again. This is an instant classic that will resonate for years to come. An Ecco hardcover (Reviews, Feb. 18).(Sept.)

VOYA - Sarah Hill

The Sawtelles from northern Wisconsin are known throughout the United States for their amazingly behaved dogs. The family has bred dogs for generations, and Edgar Sawtelle's parents run the kennel. Edgar is mute, but that fact does not hurt him at all. His parents read his sign language, and Edgar trains the dogs well. But the idyllic world of Edgar and his parents is shattered when Edgar's Uncle Claude returns to the farm. Claude is trouble but manages to worm his way into the family when Edgar's father unexpectedly passes away. Something is not right with Claude, and the suspense builds as Edgar builds his case against his uncle. An unfortunate accident sends Edgar into hiding in the woods, with only his dogs to keep him company. The ending is shocking-this reviewer had to reread it-but helps create a breathtaking novel. This adult novel is chock full of beautiful writing-almost too much, creating a lengthy read. But young adults will appreciate the soft, comprehensive setting of the dog farm and Edgar's communication with the animals. Almondine, the family dog, helped raise Edgar and spoke for him when Edgar could not. Some chapters are from her point-of-view and are absolutely stunning. Wroblewski builds a setting where readers feel at home and creates a family for which they truly care. Although not a novel for immature readers, more advanced young adults will value the quiet subtlety and shocking ending and appreciate the details of training the work dogs. Reviewer: Sarah Hill

Library Journal

Wroblewski's lyrical debut novel, about a young boy who runs away from home and into the Wisconsin backwoods with the loyal dogs he helped raise, is now available as an audio production, and Recorded Books couldn't have done a better job with it. Narrating is actor Richard Poe (The Sportswriter), whose readings are consistently strong, and whose deep, rumbling, assonant voice perfectly suits this psychologically complex and ultimately heartwarming material. An essential and rewarding purchase for all libraries. [With tracks every three minutes for bookmarking; audio clip available through www.audible.com; the Ecco hc received a starred review, LJ3/15/08; was both an Oprah's Book Club and a Barnes & Noble Discover selection; and was ranked #1 on the New York Times bestsellers list.-Ed.]
—Raya Kuzyk

Kirkus Reviews

A stately, wonderfully written debut novel that incorporates a few of the great archetypes: a disabled but resourceful young man, a potential Clytemnestra of a mom and a faithful dog. Writing to such formulas, with concomitant omniscience and world-weariness, has long been the stuff of writing workshops. Wroblewski is the product of one such place, but he seems to have forgotten much of what he learned there: He takes an intense interest in his characters; takes pains to invest emotion and rough understanding in them; and sets them in motion with graceful language (and, in eponymous young Edgar's case, sign language). At the heart of the book is a pup from an extremely rare breed, thanks to a family interest in Mendelian genetics; so rare is Almondine, indeed, that she finds ways to communicate with Edgar that no other dog and human, at least in literature, have yet worked out. Edgar may be voiceless, but he is capable of expressing sorrow and rage when his father suddenly dies, and Edgar decides that his father's brother, who has been spending a great deal of time with Edgar's mother, is responsible for the crime. That's an appropriately tragic setup, and Edgar finds himself exiled to the bleak wintry woods-though not alone, for he is now the alpha of his own very special pack. The story takes Jungle Book-ish turns: "He blinked at the excess moonlight in the clearing and clapped for the dogs. High in the crown of a charred tree, an owl covered its dished face, and one branch down, three small replicas followed. Baboo came at once. Tinder had begun pushing into the tall grass and he turned and trotted back." It resolves, however, in ways that will satisfy grown-up readers. The novelsucceeds admirably in telling its story from a dog's-eye view that finds the human world very strange indeed. An auspicious debut: a boon for dog lovers, and for fans of storytelling that eschews flash. Highly recommended. Agent: Eleanor Jackson/InkWell Management

Stephen King

"I flat-out loved The Story of Edgar Sawtelle.... Wonderful, mysterious, long and satisfying….I don’t re-read many books, because life is too short. I will be re-reading this one."

Richard Russo

"I doubt we’ll see a finer literary debut this year than The Story of Edgar Sawtelle. David Wroblewski’s got storytelling talent to burn and a big, generous heart to go with it."

Margot Livesey

"In this beautifully written novel, David Wroblewski creates a remarkable hero who lives in a world populated as much by dogs as by humans, governed as much by the past as by the present. The Story of Edgar Sawtelle is a passionate, absorbing and deeply surprising debut."

Dalia Sofer

"Edgar Sawtelle is a boy without a voice, but his world, populated by the dogs his family breeds, is anything but silent. This is a remarkable story about the language of friendship—a language that transcends words."

Mark Doty

"The Story of Edgar Sawtelle is a wooly, unlikely, daring book, and wildly satisfying."

Capital Times (Madison))

"This luminescent story has the kind of sprawling, wide-lens focus that readers think of when they talk about the so-called ‘great American novel.’"

Capital Times (Madison)

"This luminescent story has the kind of sprawling, wide-lens focus that readers think of when they talk about the so-called ‘great American novel.’"

Elle

The Great American Novel is something like a unicorn—rare and wonderful, and maybe no more than just a notion. Yet every few years or so, we trip across some semblance of one.... [an] extraordinary debut.

O Magazine

"Whether you read for the beauty of language or for the intricacies of plot, you will easily fall in love with David Wroblewski’s generous, almost transcendentally lovely debut novel...the scope of this book, its psychological insight and lyrical mastery, make it one of the best novels of the year...."

Pittsburgh Tribune

"…a stunningly well-written novel…"

Entertainment Weekly

Don’t let the book’s massive size fool you: This is a good old-fashioned coming-of-age yarn. Grade: A

Washington Post Book World

"…here is a big-hearted novel you can fall into, get lost in and finally emerge from reluctantly, a little surprised that the real world went on spinning while you were absorbed...grand and unforgettable."

Denver Post

"A stunning first novel…a ranging story that is part coming of age, part mystery and part tragedy on the order of Hamlet…Wroblewski executes with elan, building an addicting tale peopled by fully dimensional characters. He carries the reader, with authority and confidence, on a thought-provoking ride."

New York Times

"The most enchanting debut novel of the summer....a great, big, mesmerizing read, audaciously envisioned as classic Americana...One of the great pleasures of The Story of Edgar Sawtelle is its free-roaming, unhurried progress, enlivened by the author’s inability to write anything but guilelessly captivating prose.