The Story of Edgar Sawtelle by David Wroblewski (2008, Hardcover)

I bought this book because of the numerous weeks it spent on the the best- seller list, because of Oprah (she picked it for her book club), and because I am dog lover. You will fall in love with the dogs. Despite its length, it is a fast read full of descriptions of the Sawtelle Dog legend, the individual dogs and their individual personalities, the characters, the farm, and Edgar's journey of discovery. Once you open the book, it sort of stays that way, open, with your nose in it. I loaned the book to a friend, prior to a major snow storm last week, and she finished it in 3 days. The only thing I disliked about it was the end, I wish it hadn't.

probably now my favorite all time book!!! the writing is beautiful, this guy knows how to spin a yarn.

I DECIDED TO BUY THIS BOOK BECAUSE IT WAS AN OPRAH BOOK CLUB BOOK. I AM NOT SORRY THAT I DID. THIS BOOK IS A VERY GOOD BOOK. IT IS HAS A VERY HEARTWARMING STORYLINE.

By far the best new book I've read in several years! It was well over 500 pages and I was still depressed when it was over, wanting more.

With unexpected elements, wonderful character development and a large chunk of it about the relationship between humans and dogs, this book was written for my reading pleasure.

"Edgar Sawtelle" has a place of honor in my top five books of all time, and I look forward to anything else written by Dave Wroblewski. If you like dogs, getting into the mind of a teenaged boy, farm life, good vs. evil, or just want a wonderfully written tale this book is for you!

My reading club chose this book, and though many did not like it, I really did. It is a complicated read with many twists, as well as allusions from Hamlet and The Jungle Book, yet it only added to a superb plot. I would recommend it to anyone looking for an intelligent, thought-provoking book.

I love dogs and I really enjoyed the characters and the dogs in this book. The story was riveting. I couldn't put it down. I just wish it would have ended differently.

The Story of Edgar Sawtelle by David Wroblewski is an excellent book! I could not stop reading it. A good price, too

This was one of the best books that I've ever read. I was totally engrossed in the story, and even found myself "slowing down" in the middle to prolong the whole reading experience. It had a surprising/disappointing ending, which I pondered for days! Dynamite characters, unique writing style. Fantastic book....!!!

Well really this is two books which are not carefully interwoven. One book is a murder plot. The protagonist, the victim’s brother, seems to be evil beyond all reason. He inflicts harm upon all who come within his spear. Book two is about dog breeding and training. The hero, a boy who cannot speak, falls heir to a dog breading program. The dogs are supposed to be extraordinary; however, it is never clear what is remarkable about them. Their claim to fame seems to be having mastered basic obedience. An accomplishment any dog can master in much less time and with much less effort than these dogs.

In all fairness the tale is intriguing, and keeps the reader turning the pages. However the ending leaves the reader feeling as if they had been promised a soufflé and delivered a mud pie. The hero dies rescuing the kennel records. The wicked uncle dies in the same fire. That leaves no one to inherit. Instead of saving the hero form the fire, the dogs run off to the woods, demonstrating cowardliness’ and bad judgment. A pack of wild dogs will not be allowed to survive in tourist country.

When I closed the book, I wondered why on earth I had spent time reading it. I asked the friend who recommended what she liked about it. She said she had not finished it when she recommended it.

The book is slow at times, disjointed at others. I found it hard to follow some areas and had to re-read parts. Am half way through the book and cannot find the energy to finish.

I bought this as a gift, so I have no opinions as to like, love or dislike. I can say, however, that the price was best of any other of the same item that was on being sold on E-bay. The shipping time was also excellent. The item was "brand new" as advertised and in excellent condition.

I liked this book in the beginning, it was a tad heavy on all the dog stuff, but I found it fairly interesting. Then the ghost appeared. I am sometimes OK with suspension of disbelief but I just felt it wasn't appropriate here. Prior to that, there was no reason for me to suspend disbelief.

My second beef: I knew from reading the jacket that Edgar was going to run away. So why did it take so freaking long for that to happen? As soon as his father died, I kept waiting and waiting. I knew that some of the event occurring were probably going to be significant, but I was forgetting what was going on. It dragged on WAY too long until that turn happened.

My next beef: How was his time in the woods so idyllic? How did he not encounter one single dangerous animal? It was just not realistic. He also had way too many Boy Scout skills for a kid who had never done anything besides breed dogs. I did really like how he took such good care of them, though.

And now, the ending. I HATED it. Nothing got resolved and nor did everyone live happily ever after (not that I would have liked that either, but at least give us something).

So I mostly liked the writing, it was very descriptive. When Edgar left 2 of the dogs with Henry, I actually shed some tears. These were like his children. The vocabulary was a bit flowery (another beef of mine - how was he SOOOO good at crossword puzzles, especially when he had not read anything in all that time in the forest?).

This book could have been mush shorter and had the same effect. There were especially way too many unneeded chapters from the time of Gar's death until Edgar ran away.

Story was not what I had expected. A little tough to read even though the author is very good at writting.

GOD'S GRACE (“\(*-*)/”)»-(¯`v´¯)QUALITYø¤ºHONESTø¤º,SELLER,ø¤ºTHANK YOU!!!!!!!!!
GOD'S GRACE (“\(*-*)/”)»-(¯`v´¯)QUALITYø¤ºHONESTø¤º,SELLER,ø¤ºTHANK YOU!!!!!!!!!

When you want your mind to engulf something so descriptive The Story of Edgar Sawtelle is probably one of the most detailed books I have ever read. I really enjoyed this book, it is definitly something to pick up and take the time to read. It is fairly lengthy but every detail is worth it. The ending was a bit off but I really did have a meaning.

I heard about this book on Oprah and other people told me about it. It has been a good read. the friend I am reading this book with does not like it very well. He considers it a little too wordy and too much about small nonesential things in the story. It doesn't seem realistic to him.

This was my book club selection for the month. While I enjoyed it somewhat it would have been better had I been a dog lover. (I am neutral toward dogs.) The story was very involved in raising and training dogs. Interesting story nevertheless. Don't want to spoil the ending, so I won't.

I bought this book as a gift to my husband who loves our dogs so much.
It was reviewed on Oprah who has raved about it and will produce the movie.
He is reading it now and though he is a man of few words , he says it is very good.
So now, I will get to read it soon!

I purchased this book because my book club was reading it. It was very descriptive, all most TOO descriptive. Could have been written in 300 pages instead of 500+. According to a book club member who lived in the area, descriptions of the Wisconsin countryside are extremely accurate. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in dogs and their training.

This was an interesting story about two generations of the Sawtelle family and many generations of the Sawtelle dog breed. It was wordy at times but interesting if you like (spoiler) very unhappy endings. This was an Oprah Winfrey choice and as a result I will most likely not listen to her choice ever again.

This story seems to need editing in the first half but as you get towards the halfway point the story changes and grabs you. Then it becomes totally absorbing and difficult to put down. in the end, I was sorry when it was over.

A great read, very well written and described, nice story, would recommend to anyone......buy this book and settle down by a warm fire and read to your heart's content....

I watch Oprah and her website.I was orginally drawn to it b/c I am a dog lover but once into it I realized there was so much more.I also related to Edger as a "signer" as I am a hearing sign language user.Trudy struck home with me as a parent often unable to relate to our children and Claude with his nasty manipulations.In my opinion the descriptive details of these characters makes for a truly comendable author.Thank you Wroblewski for sharing this story with us.Awesome...a must read for all.I am on my third time and enjoying it as much as the first.

This is a wonderful book and cleverly written. The author draws you in to a family saga and if you like dogs, that's a bonus. This is a quick read that you don't want to end. Really enjoyable reading