The Story of Edgar Sawtelle by David Wroblewski

The Story of Edgar Sawtelle by David Wroblewski is a book about a boy and his dog. This is the first time I have recommended a book on CoCo the Blogging Dog, but this sounds like a good read. Oprah Winfrey came out yesterday, and claimed it as her latest book club pick. Oprah says The Story of Edgar Sawtelle by David Wroblewski is right up there with the greatest American novels ever written, which is a pretty strong statement.

The Story of Edgar Sawtelle takes place on a northern Wisconsin farm in the 1970s. It's described as tale of a mute boy named Edgar and the special bond he shares with his dog Almondine.

It is getting rave reviews, including Stephen King's review:

"I flat-out loved The Story of Edgar Sawtelle. Dog-lovers in particular will be riveted by this story, because the canine world has never been explored with such imagination or emotional resonance. Yet in the end, this isn't a novel about dogs or heartland America — although it is a deeply American work of literature. It's a novel about the human heart, and the mysteries that live there, understood but impossible to articulate. Yet in the person of Edgar Sawtelle, a mute boy who takes three of his dogs on a brave and dangerous odyssey, Wroblewski does articulate them, and splendidly. I closed the book with that regret readers feel only after experiencing the best stories: It's over, you think, and I won't read another one this good for a long, long time.

In truth, there has never been a book quite like The Story of Edgar Sawtelle. I thought of Hamlet when I was reading it (of course... and in this version, Ophelia turns out to be a dog named Almondine), and Watership Down, and The Night of the Hunter, and The Life of Pi — but halfway through, I put all comparisons aside and let it just be itself.

I'm pretty sure this book is going to be a bestseller, but unlike some, it deserves to be. It's also going to be the subject of a great many reading groups, and when the members take up Edgar, I think they will be apt to stick to the book and forget the neighborhood gossip.

Wonderful, mysterious, long and satisfying: readers who pick up this novel are going to enter a richer world. I envy them the trip. I don't reread many books, because life is too short. I will be rereading this one."

I don't write about books on my blog, but this one seemed kind of special, and I'm looking forward to reading it. So if you enjoy reading a good book, try The Story of Edgar Sawtelle by David Wroblewski.