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I am interested in the outcome but I wish it would get to the point quicker. I am not quite finished reading it yet; I keep hoping it will pick up. It is highly detailed-more than is necessary. I am reading it for my book club so I have to complete it. Actually it is like watching someone else's home movies.
What is obvious to Edgar is not always obvious to his mother or the reader. He develops his own illustrations through his words. He communicates with his family and the dogs through sign language. Edgar has never spoken despite having no medically proven reason for the condition. Drawing from Hamlet, Wroblewski tells of a family who has raised very special dogs for several generations. Two the writing seemed to repeat - there was one $1 word that got used three times in about as many pages. Wroblewski does not rely on trite phrases. Mr.
The ending confused me for two reasons. I knew who the antagonist was but I was not prepared for the climax of the book. Edgar provides a unique technique to the highly trainable dogs. I loved most of this book. I needed to re-read several passages near the end of the book to make sure I understood what happened. A page turner for sure. One, I had no idea what was going to happen. I would still recommend this book, but the ending has me puzzled about how I feel about the book as a whole.
I only finished this book because I hoped that the ending would justify the 600 pages of turgid prose. From now on I'm going to read the acknowledgments first before buying--chances are, if the author thanks all his classmates in his MFA program, the book will exhibit all the traits of workshopped-over prose: ambling sentences, attempts at "deep meaning," a contrived borrowing of other literary texts (in this case, Hamlet). That's certainly the case with The Story of Edgar Sawtelle. Wrong. There are better books about dogs, about boys and their dogs, about mute boys, about hatred and revenge.better books emerging from MFA workshops, better books recommended by Oprah, better books.
The ending left me drained and wondering what happened to Trudy. However, I have a tendancy to agree with some of the other comments regarding the mystery surrounding the characters. I was eager to read this book; the reviews alone were intriguing. What about Henry and the two dogs he adopted. There was no explanation for Claude's hatred of his brother and I don't recall Edgar hearing the real story of how his parents met. Somewhere in the middle of the book while Edgar was on the run, I found myself running from the book as well in the form of speed reading; I just couldn't get past that section fast enough. Now there would be a story. Maybe these two could come together and rebuild the Sawtelle dog legacy.
I am obsessed with dogs and am always trying to interpret what they are thinking. I hated this book. Be forwarned that nothing good ever happens. I kept waiting through the entire book and was terribly disappointed.
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