Ahhh. This novel was a great read. In fact, I’m sad I’m finished with it.
The title is straightforward; the book is indeed the story of Edgar Sawtelle. Edgar is born completely mute; he can hear yet he cannot speak. (In fact, he cannot even cough. He is unable to vocalize anything.) The Sawtelle family breeds and trains dogs, a special breed they engineered. Like Edgar, the dogs read different hand signs, and their ability to understand their trainers and owners is unsurpassed. Edgar’s relationship with his dogs, particularly his beloved Almondine, is touching; he knows his dogs and, more remarkably, they know his heart and mind.
There’s so much more to this story than Edgar and his dogs, though. There’s a family drama based on Hamlet (a father, mother, a nefarious uncle), a beautiful setting on a small Wisconsin farm and a large red barn that’s almost a character in itself.
This is one of those novels that still has me contemplating the story days after I finished it. If anyone else has read it, I’d love to know what you thought.
