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The Amazon Store at MillionDollarPetPix.com ( In association with Amazon.com )The Story of Edgar Sawtelleby: David Wroblewski  List Price: $39.99 Amazon.com's Price: $28.76 You Save: $11.23 (28%)Prices subject to change. Availability: In stock soon. Order now to get in line. First come, first served.
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Binding: Audio CDEAN: 9781436149587 Edition: Unabridged CD Format: Audiobook, Unabridged ISBN: 1436149584 Label: Recorded Books, LLC Manufacturer: Recorded Books, LLC Number Of Items: 18 Publication Date: September 16, 2008 Publisher: Recorded Books, LLC Studio: Recorded Books, LLC Related Items:
Browse for similar items by category: Click to Display Editorial Review: Amazon.com Review: Amazon Best of the Month, June 2008: It's gutsy for a debut novelist to offer a modern take on Hamlet set in rural Wisconsin--particularly one in which the young hero, born mute, communicates with people, dogs, and the occasional ghost through his own mix of sign and body language. But David Wroblewski's extraordinary way with language in The Story of Edgar Sawtelle immerses readers in a living, breathing world that is both fantastic and utterly believable. In selecting for temperament and a special intelligence, Edgar's grandfather started a line of unusual dogs--the Sawtelles--and his sons carried on his work. But among human families, undesirable traits aren't so easily predicted, and clashes can erupt with tragic force. Edgar's tale takes you to the extremes of what humans must endure, and when you're finally released, you will come back to yourself feeling wiser, and flush with gratitude. And you will have remembered what magnificent alchemy a finely wrought novel can work. --Mari Malcolm Book Description Born mute, speaking only in sign, Edgar Sawtelle leads an idyllic life with his parents on their farm in remote northern Wisconsin. For generations, the Sawtelles have raised and trained a fictional breed of dog whose thoughtful companionship is epitomized by Almondine, Edgar's lifelong friend and ally. But with the unexpected return of Claude, Edgar's paternal uncle, turmoil consumes the Sawtelles' once peaceful home. When Edgar's father dies suddenly, Claude insinuates himself into the life of the farm--and into Edgar's mother's affections. Grief-stricken and bewildered, Edgar tries to prove Claude played a role in his father's death, but his plan backfires--spectacularly. Forced to flee into the vast wilderness lying beyond the farm, Edgar comes of age in the wild, fighting for his survival and that of the three yearling dogs who follow him. But his need to face his father's murderer and his devotion to the Sawtelle dogs turn Edgar ever homeward. David Wroblewski is a master storyteller, and his breathtaking scenes--the elemental north woods, the sweep of seasons, an iconic American barn, a fateful vision rendered in the falling rain--create a riveting family saga, a brilliant exploration of the limits of language, and a compulsively readable modern classic. Double Life, with Dogs: An Amazon Exclusive Essay by David Wroblewski Praise from Stephen King Average Rating:
 Rating:  - I liked it but couldn;t finish it...Beautifully written - but I am an animal lover and it was very, very hard for me to always be waiting for the other shoe to drop. As much as I felt the author's intent to show Edgar and his father and mother's love for their dogs, I also knew (from the first foreshadowing/preface page of the book) that any minute a dog could or would die, be harmed, mistreated or neglected. This won't be a problem for most people, but as someone who anthropomorphises - I felt the dogs were strong characters in the ... Read More Rating:  - A Good ReadThis book has the potential to become a modern classic; it was extremely well-written and drew me in like few books can. It reminds me of Cormac McCarthy's The Road. Especially good were the events and impressions from both Almondine's and Edgar's points of view. The last pages of the book, however, left nothing but questions and cognitive dissonance. How could the protagonists Edgar and Trudy deserve such an ending? Where was Essay leading the pack of dogs? Why did people really want ... Read More Rating:  - One of the most depressing books I've ever read.When I first heard the author interviewed on Diane Rehm, I thought it sounded like a great book, but I chose not to read it at the time since it was about dogs and I convinced myself that at least one dog would die and I'm extremely emotional in when it comes to non-human animials. Like Oprah frequently warns, one should always listen to their gut instinct. Unfortunately, I was later told by someone I know that I simply must read this book (although admittedly, not someone ... Read More Rating:  - Awesome!I couldn't put this book down- I read it in 2 days! It is a great story, you know the story line, but the unique setting and twists make this a great read! Rating: - Very Disappointed in SawtelleWhen I finished reading I thought to myself, "WHAT!?" I turned back a few pages thinking I had missed something- there had to be more. The author wouldn't dare end it with SO MANY unanswered questions and run off plots- would he? Indeed he did. The book jacket gave too much information away and I spent the first 300 pages reading, yet already knowing what was going to happen. How boring is that! The concepts were great, but the actual story was just all wrong. 
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We write the stories we wish we could read. There's no other reason to do it, to spend years pacing around your basement, mumbling, pecking at a keyboard, turning your back on a world that offers such a feast of delicious fruits. The Story of Edgar Sawtelle came about because some time ago I wished I could read a novel about a boy and his dog, one that integrated our contemporary knowledge of canine behavior, cognition, and origins with my experience of living with dogs; if possible, something flavored with the uncynical Midwestern sense of heart and purpose so familiar from my childhood (and something which, in truth, I've spent much my adult life being slightly ashamed of, as if either heart or purpose were embarrassing attributes for a grown-up to display). I'd recently come to know a good dog, maybe the best dog I'd ever met, and the subject of people and dogs and ethics and character suddenly seemed urgent. But when I went looking for such a story, I had to go back almost a hundred years, back to Jack London's Call of the Wild. That was a surprise. A little while after that, an idea for a story came to me--not the whole thing, but enough to start. 
