The Story of Edgar Sawtelle: A Novel. Help! If you've read this, please let me know some things

I didn't know anything about it until now. You have really peaked my curiosity. Now I must read it.

Bob and anyone else who comes along - Some of the people who hated it have groups on Amazon and other sites with up to 200 or 300 comments, as I can recall. Usually if I hate a book, I donate it to someone or even pitch it across the room. Plus, I usually warn the person that I hated it. I do NOT form discussion groups and dissect it for weeks on end. People can't seem to leave it alone and want to vent. I'm very intrigued by that! I always think it is great to engage readers rather than leaving them indifferent. Apparently , this writer stuck to a vision that made people love him or loathe his writing ( and perhaps even him, for all I know).

It sure must be an interesting book, since it seems to touch people in one way or another. I have never heard of it though.

I haven't read it, sorry!

I just finished it, and while I wasn't passionate about it, the descriptions of the mute boy and the dogs, in addition to the passions revolving around the family, are remarkable.

I haven't read it or heard anything about it, JC... Sorry... Just wanted to let you know I was still around is all... :o)

If you read any comments on book sites, they can be a story in themselves. I was laughing so hard at some and wincing at others. I honestly can't recall a time when a book seems to have brought out so much emotion in people right off the bat. It probably makes a difference that a fair number of critics loved it and that set people off. Of course, Stephen King liked it and I could have WARNED people about the number of books he has loved which have been truly abysmal (in my opinion).

Just in case anyone cares, 23 people gave it 1 star reviews at one site and 93 gave it 5 stars. That would SEEM to be an unanimous vote in favor of the book but when you break down the other ratings, things get more interesting. 33 gave it 2 stars (not exactly glowing praise) and 27 gave it 3 stars. 37 gave it 4 stars.

If my math is correct, this means that 83 people gave it 3 stars or less. Clearly, even though plenty liked it immensely, others were lukewarm or hated (I tend to think of 3 stars as slightly more than lukewarm).

People who hated it ended up writing about how they NEVER wrote reviews but felt compelled to write one...things like that.

It sounds like a fascinating reaction to look at

I han't read, or heard of the book, sorry.

Without providing spoilers, can you at least provide a rough outline of the story? I've never heard of it.

Pat S- Yes, I'll try to provide some relevant details that might help a bit. One of my pet peeves is seeing some vague blurb on the back of a book that notes it is a "wonderful book" or something but doesn't say much else. Those blurbs are often written by writers with some reputation and that is supposed to convince people to buy the book. I guess it works because it seems to be a tradition in book blurbs.

If you are so inclined, you can read the entire first chapter at Amazon (I think). It was also their Best Book for June of 2008 - if that means anything. It was promoted as a modern take on Hamlet but I should note that many readers felt that analogy was quite a stretch, according to many of the readers who felt compelled to leave a review. Edgar himself was born mute and communicates only in sign language and raises dogs.

As far as providing an outline of the story, that is a problem and here is why: the book confused people. Much of the discussions revolve around interpretations of the book and people will ask: why did so and so do this? What does this part mean? So perhaps you can understand my difficulty in trying to give an outline. It wouldn't necessarily be an accurate or meaningful reflection of what you'd experience.

Plus it'd be hard to do without leaving major spoilers. So I'm stuck with noting that it is supposed to be a version of Hamlet set in Wisconsin. That ought to tell you it isn't the sunniest of tales.

It sounds as if this writer has sparked controversary. Truman Capote's books got much the same reaction.. wonder if this is good or bad?

First, I can't imagine anyone hating this book. It's the loveliest story!

Anyone who hasn't read it should. They'll be doing themselves a favor.

I've never even heard of the book.

Jo, I received this book as a gift, but I haven't gotten around to reading it. I have no answers to your question.

I hope all is well for you!

I have not read it...

This is from Amazon
It's gutsy for a debut novelist to offer a modern take on Hamlet set in rural Wisconsin--particularly one in which the young hero, born mute, communicates with people, dogs, and the occasional ghost through his own mix of sign and body language.

Priscilla - I can hear the movie pitch now: "We'll get Robert Downey and it'll be a combination of Hamlet meets The Dog Whisperer meets Ghost and Downey will have to use all his powers to communicate using only sign and body language instead. "

It is sure to win an Oscar!

I'd never even heard of the book until now. Obviously, it's something I need to explore.

Well I have not read it but now you have me intrigued.

I had not heard of this book before now. I may check the library for it just to see which camp I fall in.

I checked our library website: ever copy we have is either checked out or on hold for someone. We usually figure that any book that gets people reading is a good one.

never heard of it

I finished the book a few weeks ago. Loved it. More to the point, loved living inside of it. It's long and languid, with characteristics that are both very present tense and yet also other-worldly. It didn't want the story to end.

Yet, when it did I was left with a very vacant feeling, as though Edgar Sawtelle's world had met the reality of the publisher's deadlines. I've thought much about the ending in the weeks following, and have concluded that Wroblewski did manage to hold his characters within their bounds, that it was all plausible, reasonable within the confines of the story's structure. It was all just very hard to watch.

I haven't read many bad reviews, but I'm willing to guess that may be a contributing factor.

Thanks for making me aware of this book!

I have had this book on my "to buy' list for awhile but it looks like I better get it sooner rather than later.

I have heard of it but haven't read it

I've got this on my to-read list, but haven't bought it yet. You are surely prompting me.

From what has been said, it sounds like the ending isn't very satisfying, and I find that to be the case with many books. It seems like knowing how to wrap things up is often a difficult chore for authors.

Thanks for posting your review to my group, Bookin'.

To be honest, it sounds dreadful. Long descriptive passages, beautiful or not, don't impress me. Nor do stories that confuse. Nor do modern takes on Shakespeare.

It does sound like a good book Jo. Would you recommend it?

Yes, I would recommend it. However, I should warn you (having read it, just haven't had time to get back to Gather lately) that this is the sort of book that you may hate intensely. But here is an oddity, one I've rarely seen- and I note that as a rare book collector and occasional bookseller. Even people who HATE this book can't stop talking or writing about it (in many cases).

It does not leave people indifferent. It grabs them emotionally. It shakes them up and some end up throwing the book across the room; others post about it on book sites. A fair number of readers think it is absolute trash, however. I am not one of them. I've read it twice now and written about it elsewhere.

In my view there are a lot of readers of most 'big' books who take issue. Look at COLD MOUNTAIN, how hard it was to get into or LIFE OF PI, tricky. When an author tries something different, it's hard on some readers. I'm with you, the rankings mean something to me. But I also know what kind of books I love and if it starts like the ones I love, I read on. OR if someone I admire and respect recommends it, I'll give it the benefit of the doubt. As a novelist myself, I like to hear my readers say they can't put it down, but I need something else too since the can't put it down line has become a cliche for a lot of bad books. One repeat bestselling author who shall remain nameless admits himself that his books fall apart after the first half. I hope I'm never enough of a success that an editor pushes me to let a book out there that has that kind of failure in it.

I absolutely loved it. I am not sure exactly why people would hate it, I hadn't heard about that.

Just stopping in to wish you well in your surgery recovery Jo C. Missing you!

Hi Jo, been a long time.
Good article, I've not read this book but you have me interested too.
I am finishing the last Twlight book, I love this series, probably because I dig sci-fi, and it's a love story too.

Hope this finds you healing and happy.

Probably because it was reported that it was the only book that Steven King ever read twice. I had to get it to see what that was all about. I'm not a dog person. I felt like, enough, already with the details on the kennel. The author lost me there. I never finished it but my husband stuck with it and really liked. it.