I think that it was on a random morning news program that I heard that anything Oprah Winfrey touches turns to gold. For some reason, this came to mind as I was strolling through the book section of Target and I came across a copy of The Story of Edgar Sawtelle by David Wroblewski. It wasn't the title or the author that caught my eye, I had never heard of either, but the emblem on the bottom of the front cover that said "Oprah's Book Club Choice for 2008." This intrigued me so I bought a copy. I didn't get around to reading it for a few weeks, but I had come across several mentions of it in Amazon ads, and other random book celebrations and knew it was supposed to be good. I even recommended it to my father in law, who read it soon after, and gave a high opinion of it stating that the ending was not what he could have predicted. Wow, that was an understatement!
I found the book rather "intellectual" which isn't a bad thing, but it certainly isn't a "quick read." I don't begin to claim that I'm a particularly academic reader--I read mostly for enjoyment. So it came that I found the first half or more a bit slow, a bit hard to get into. In fact, I started to read other books as a "break" from this more or less dry, lengthy prose. Dry, but nevertheless beautiful...as writing can be in the mind. The language and images produced were exquisite. The characters were vivid. I have never imagined a friendship between an animal and human to be so complex and deeply experienced. This relationship between Edgar and his dogs was truely a new and wonderful concept for me...myself who is not a dog-lover I'm sorry to say. But it didn't seem to matter as I was taken through this story. The dogs were every bit as complex of characters as any human in the book. And the ending was so fantastically tragic. The author, however, uses the ending to just quit the plot and burn everything down. The End. It will effect me for days, I'm sure. It's like Shakespeare in a lot of ways.
This book is satisfying, but long and stagnant. I recommend it to any serious reader, one who has time to sit and contemplate and who enjoys the beauty of words. I can't recommend it to anyone who likes entertaining, quick-moving plot lines.
I found the book rather "intellectual" which isn't a bad thing, but it certainly isn't a "quick read." I don't begin to claim that I'm a particularly academic reader--I read mostly for enjoyment. So it came that I found the first half or more a bit slow, a bit hard to get into. In fact, I started to read other books as a "break" from this more or less dry, lengthy prose. Dry, but nevertheless beautiful...as writing can be in the mind. The language and images produced were exquisite. The characters were vivid. I have never imagined a friendship between an animal and human to be so complex and deeply experienced. This relationship between Edgar and his dogs was truely a new and wonderful concept for me...myself who is not a dog-lover I'm sorry to say. But it didn't seem to matter as I was taken through this story. The dogs were every bit as complex of characters as any human in the book. And the ending was so fantastically tragic. The author, however, uses the ending to just quit the plot and burn everything down. The End. It will effect me for days, I'm sure. It's like Shakespeare in a lot of ways.
This book is satisfying, but long and stagnant. I recommend it to any serious reader, one who has time to sit and contemplate and who enjoys the beauty of words. I can't recommend it to anyone who likes entertaining, quick-moving plot lines.
So, I don't know if it was Oprah who made this book "turn to gold." I'm suprised by all the positive hype it has gotten. It's not for everybody.
