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The Story of Edgar Sawtelle
The best narratives are often the simplest. And while The Story of Edgar Sawtelle by David Wroblewski contains soothsayers, suspected murderers, deadly fires and tornados over Lake Superior, it can be described most succinctly as a story of a boy and his dog.
Born without the power of speech in the mid-20th Century, Edgar Sawtelle’s earliest and dearest companion is Almondine, one of the dogs bred and trained on his family’s Wisconsin farm. But the Sawtelles are no ordinary dog breeders, employing controversial methods (in the dog-training world at least) to raise super-intelligent canines. Thus Alamondine is able to become a sort of “hearing-ear” dog for Edgar, forming a bond that acts as the central thread through a dense narrative.
Much like the Sawtelle dogs and farm, the story evolves slowly as first-time author David Wroblewski takes his time to establish the world that Edgar, his parents, his prodigal uncle and the dogs inhabit. We learn about the man who first built the farm, about Edgar’s grandfather and the impetus for establishing the dog-training enterprise, and about the origin of the story’s tragic, Shakespearean events.
The past is ever-present in The Story of Edgar Sawtelle. Whether it’s the extensive records kept on every Sawtelle dog, Edgar’s early obsession with the man who built his home or the simmering feud between Edgar’s father and uncle, preceding events often have as much impact – if not more – on the present than current ones.
It’s no surprise to find that Wroblewski grew up on a Wisconsin farm, which his mother used to breed dogs. And while the tragic events that make up the thrust of the narrative most likely did not happen on the Wroblewski farm, the details and familiarity of the time and setting help create a world in which readers can become lost.
And while the narrative can at times seem to dote too much on those details, it's a testament to Wroblewski that his 562-page debut novel tells a compelling story with enough pizzazz to move the reader through its long page count, while keeping at its core a relationship that any present or previous pet owner can relate to.