Comments on: “The Story of Edgar Sawtelle” by David Wroblewski

By: Kate

Kate — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 14:56:17 +0000

Thanks–that’s exactly how I feel about my feelings about this book.

And I like the idea about the book’s ultimate focus on the dogs moving to uber-dogness. I can see that.

My final comment, promise–I did hear Diane Rehm’s interview of the author a while back, which is when I decided to read the book. Someone said the book “alluded to” or was “inspired by” Hamlet. I wish someone had said instead (spoiler?) “this isn’t inspired by Hamlet, this IS Hamlet” and then I might not have been quite so sad at the end.

By: girldetective

girldetective — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 04:23:47 +0000

That’s always frustrating to me when others like something and I don’t. I feel like I have to work extra hard to justify not loving it, and even then I get “are you crazy?” or “you are stupid and wrong” comments. So I feel your pain, even if I did like this.

I never had a problem with the Hamlet plot; it felt very natural for me, and I appreciated some of the more varied analogs, like the dog farm for Denmark. SPOILERS HERE: I thought that Edgar’s fate didn’t have to play out as it did in the book, but I think the book was perhaps more about the dogs than the humans, and the end was the dogs moving on to their uber-dogness, beyond being companions.

By: girldetective

girldetective — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 04:18:22 +0000

Beware: very sad things happen, sometimes to dogs. Given what you’ve commented elsewhere, I can pretty much guarantee you’re going to cry. I did.

By: girldetective

girldetective — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 04:17:41 +0000

I knew you didn’t like White Tiger, but didn’t know about Home. How did you feel about Gilead? I liked it, but thought it was really slow (appropriate for a tale told by a very old man) so can understand why many didn’t like it.

I really liked Edgar, too, but I know many didn’t, plus intellectual snobs rebel against Oprah books. Yeah, the plot isn’t original, but the characters and writing were good, IMO.

By: Amy

Amy — Sun, 15 Feb 2009 23:52:33 +0000

Sounds like it’s more deserving of a Tournament of Books spot than some of the books on the list (cough WHITE TIGER cough HOME cough).

By: Steph

Steph — Sat, 14 Feb 2009 22:25:11 +0000

“Iâ€™d be doing errands, or away from the house, and I would miss the book. Iâ€™d wonder what the people and dogs were doing within the covers.” I think that’s probably the best recommendation one can ever make about a book. I love when I find myself in the midst of a book, everything framed relative to it, rather than simply feeling like I’m squeezing it into my life. Sounds like this is one that really transports the reader. I’ll have to give it a shot.

By: Kate

Kate — Sat, 14 Feb 2009 21:44:04 +0000

I’ve thought about this book a lot, because most people I know really enjoyed it and I did not, as much. This is why I think–I loved the characters, particularly Edgar. I thought they were interesting and compelling and worth knowing. I became frustrated when I felt like the author forced them into following the Hamlet plot. I thought there was a story there with those characters that didn’t have to be the Hamlet story. And it’s not just that I really, really, really did not want Edgar to be a tragic hero, though I did not. I mostly had lots of other questions about the dogs and their history and the lives of the characters that I thought would make a more interesting book than the one the author wrote. I felt they acted out of character when the author was hewing to the Hamlet plot.

And yes, the post-modernist part of me is screaming that characters don’t exist out of the story they are in or beyond the page, but it’s still the only way I can think to explain my general disappointment in the book.

I really like your insight on raising dogs and raising boys.

By: Mindy Withrow

Mindy Withrow — Sat, 14 Feb 2009 21:35:17 +0000

I’ve been wanting to read this, and even more so now that you have presented the Hamlet connection. Thanks for the review!