The Story Of Edgar Sawtelle

Title: The Story Of Edgar Sawtelle
Author: David Wroblewski
Pages: 608

Summary:
What is a Sawtelle dog? When John Sawtelle moves onto a rural farm he begins to spot dogs with unusual qualities and he begins to breed and create his own line of animals. Soon John teaches his son Gar everything he knows about dogs and what makes them special. Gar eventually grows up and marries Trudy and the two of them continue the business of the Sawtelle dogs. After a devastating still birth, Trudy and Gar are finally able to welcome their own son, Edgar into the world. But Edgar is not like other babies. And when he is born he fails to make a sound. It is soon discovered that although Edgar can hear, he can not speak or make any noise. So Trudy begins to teach Edgar sign language and Edgar is adopted by a Sawtelle dog named Almondine, who becomes like a service dog for him. And it is Almondine who completes Edgar as a person. Edgar grows up with a wonderful life, until the day his father’s brother, Claude comes back into town. And with Claude’s arrival comes trouble that threatens to disturb the harmony of the Sawtelle farm. And life continues to spiral out of control when Gar mysteriously dies and it seems like Trudy may be falling for Claude. But the worst is yet to come, when a family friend dies on the Sawtelle property and it looks like Edgar may be the cause. Scared, frightened, and confused, Edgar and three Sawtelle dogs flee into the wilderness. After months on his own Edgar encounters Henry, who changes Edgar’s perception of life. And Edgar wonders, can he go back home? Can he save his mother from Claude? Does she want to be saved? Can he discover what makes his dogs so special? And where will it all end?

My thoughts:
I have to say that I practically hated this book. The first thing that bothered me was the pacing. Can you say slow? But my biggest complaint had to be the story itself. It was depressing and confusing, and I kept wondering what the point of it was. I was left glum and with questions and it just ended up as an experience I didn’t enjoy.
1 out of 5 stars.