The Story of Edgar Sawtelle

By: David Wroblewski

Narrated by: Richard Poe

Length: 21 hrs and 39 mins

Publisher's summary

The extraordinary debut novel that became a modern classic.

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 remarkable gift for companionship is epitomized by Almondine, Edgar's lifelong friend and ally.

Edgar seems poised to carry on his family's traditions, but when catastrophe strikes, he finds his once-peaceful home engulfed in turmoil.

Forced to flee into the vast wilderness lying beyond the Sawtelle farm, Edgar comes of age in the wild, fighting for his survival and that of the three yearling dogs who accompany him, until the day he is forced to choose between leaving forever or returning home to confront the mysteries he has left unsolved.

Filled with breathtaking scenes, the elemental north woods, the sweep of seasons, an iconic American barn, a fateful vision rendered in the falling rain. The Story of Edgar Sawtelle is a meditation on the limits of language and what lies beyond, a brilliantly inventive retelling of an ancient story, and an epic tale of devotion, betrayal, and courage in the American heartland.

©2008 David Wroblewski (P)2013 HarperCollinsPublishers

Edgar

I loved he book and disliked the ending. Hard to listen for that long to a beautiful book and be so disappointed in the ending. If I could have I’d gone the story 4 up to the last two chapters and then give those two chapters a 2

Fabulous! Kept me listening to the end!

Enjoyed immensely! Emotional throughout! Surprised at the ending! Soothing voice to listen to. A must for dog lovers or those who love the simpler life.

Imagery like I haven't read in a long time.

what a debut. David Wroblewski
wrote an incredible story of life of the inner life of dogs. the story is about Edgar and his relationship to those dogs but also about the dogs' relationship to him. there are supporting characters; his mother, his father, his uncle, a couple other people but no one is as important as Edgar, his dog almondine, essay and his other dogs. always the dogs' even in the prologue. I think what the author wanted us to see here was that there really wasn't much of a separation between the way Edgar saw the world and the way the dogs saw the world. also there was no separation between how the dogs saw Edgar and Edgar saw the dogs. they were as one.

Gripping page turner

I did not want to put this one down. From the very start, and very first moments of listening to this book, I was captivated. As the book progressed, I began to rewind so that it would not come to an end. Often times I am able to predict where in buckets going. That did not happen once with this story. I do not understand the people who called this novel boring. The narrator has a beautiful and soothing voice. Thank you to the author. You’re gifted.

Narrator

I really loved the fact that it was narrated by one person, in his own voice. I dislike books with multiple narrators, or one who changes voice to represent different characters. This narrator did a fine job, and I really enjoyed the story.

Just wow.

Yes it's dark, but it's touching and moving and sweeps you along to ... Just wow.

Dark and depressing

As a literary piece I'm sure it has it's merits but as a story, I just found it profoundly depressing. What was the point of it all? It's a dark tragic story.

Very interesting story

Edgar, his family, the dogs and towns people were all captivating characters. The writing was excellent, full of rich description and the writing instilled a sense of wonder about the dogs and the history of their family.

Beautiful writing terrible ending

I loved the book until the ending so disappointed. I didn’t need a happy story book ending but this one just left me empty and without closure.

The ending

I enjoyed this book, hating to get out of the car and stop listening, until the end. The ending was the worst I have read (listened to) in decades.