Baby boomer David Wroblewski has written a fantastic book - The Story of Edgar Sawtelle. It’s the ideal book I’ve read in a long, long time. It is the book I have waiting for since Jane Smiley’s “A Thousand Acres” and it is now in my “top five” list of ideal books ever. (Along with A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving, and several others.)
If you don’t belive me, how about Stephen King, who states he would read it again. And Oprah has named it her latest selection in her Book Club.
Ok, so what’s so great about this book?
1. It tells an intriguing story. It’s about a boy named Edgar Sawtelle, who can’t speak. He and his family, who live in Wisconsin, train dogs to sell. A family tragedy causes Edgar to leave home with several of the dogs. Each page is interesting and I had trouble putting it down - hence, my not posting yesterday.
2. The writing is magnificent. I’ve not found much superior, ever. Read this excerpt from Wroblewski’s website to see what I mean. (In the excerpt, Almondine is a dog, and Edgar is a baby.) If you want to learn how to write well, you need to study Wroblewski. He comes right up to the edge of maudlin, but stops before he goes over.
You’ll be hearing lots about this book over the coming months. As for me, I plan on getting the audiobook on Audible and listening to it, for the language. Some books are better read than listened to; others are superior to be listened to. I’m sure that Edgar Sawtelle will be great in both media.
Enjoy!
Amazon photo: The Story of Edgar Sawtelle
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