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The Story of Edgar Sawtelle: A Novel by David Wroblewski: book review





The Story of Edgar Sawtelle (2008) is set in mid-west America, west of Mellon, at Chequamegon National Forest in northern Wisconsin, in the 1940-50s. It is the story of Edgar Sawtelle, a 14-year-old mute boy, living on his parent’s farm, where they breed dogs. Edgar can hear, but he can’t speak.

It commences briefly in South Korea in 1952, which at first glance seems confusing, but 90% into the book this location becomes clear. The main story commences as an epic generational tale in 1919 with Edgar’s grandfather John, a dairy farmer, who established the dog breeding farm. John and his wife raised two boys: Gar and Claude. Gar stayed on the land, while Claude left.

Gar marries Trudy, and they have one son: Edgar. Trudy trains the dogs and teaches Edgar sign language. The family’s affinity with the dogs is extraordinary, but it also fires their desire to create a new breed. One noted breeder comments that this is ‘common vanity, one that every breeder has indulged during a weak moment.’ But the family persist with their goal.

Gar dies during a storm. His father’s death haunts Edgar: ‘If I could have made a sound.’ He knows the future of the farm depends on him, despite his immense grief. But then Claude returns to the family farm after 20 years away and begins infiltrating himself into the business and into Trudy’s life, to the distress and rising resentment of Edgar. Edgar, always ‘so inward and stoic’ becomes increasingly more uncommunicative.

The vet’s accident on the Sawtelle farm is the turning point in the novel. Edgar feels responsible for his fall and flees into the Chequamegon National Forest with three dogs. The vet’s son, Glen, meets Claude at his father’s funeral where Claude plants the seeds of revenge. Glen takes the bait and tries to find Edgar. The ending may not please some readers.


The novel has been touted as ‘the extraordinary debut novel that became a modern classic’ with a Shakespearean ending – following the plot in Hamlet exceptionally closely. The novel has a gripping psychological plot – the classic mother-son, uncle-defacto jealousy as well as the jealousy between the two brothers, Gar and Claude. It also has the insidious infiltration and deceptions of Claude the prodigal returnee, the parallel development of the mute dogs and mute son, and the remoteness of the wilderness, all making this an intriguing story. But there are also a host of confusions and loose threads that often makes this a frustrating read with more questions than answers. It seems to be one of those ‘love it or hate it’ novels that raises the ire of readers due to the ending – which diverges radically from the rest of the Hamletic plot.
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