The Story of Edgar Sawtelle

I like to think that I keep my finger on the pulse of what's new, what's popular, and what is good reading. That doesn't mean I read all of it---it's just not possible, however, it allows me to recommend a wide range of books to a wide range and ages of people. Having said that, sometimes when a book gets a lot of press and recognition, it puts me off a bit from reading it immediately. (Harry Potter had so much press that I put off reading it until the 4th one was out!) This is one of those books, however, when I saw it at Half-Price books recently, I decided to buy it and not put off reading it. It has 562 pages divided into 5 parts. I'm on page 89 after starting the book today.

While on the surface, it appears to be a sweet period piece story about a rural couple who have a son born who can hear, but can't speak, and the comforting rhythm of the family farm where they breed, raise, and train dogs, the prologue, however, sets in place a rather mysterious, sinister-tinged character and spreads a mood of underlying fear--something you can't quite put your finger on--a fear that something terrible is about to break this family apart--a fear that a young boy's innocence and love for his dog is about to end in a horrible manner. I'm torn between staying up half the night and slamming it shut to put off what appears to be the inevitable.

This first-time novelist, David Wroblewski, is a master at building suspense, using symbols to imbue emotion and drive the plot, and using flashback through stories told by characters to start peeling away layers--all of this in the first 89 pages. Brilliant writer!

This is a book that pulled at me from the very first time I heard about it last year--way before Oprah recognized.

Finished: wow....the last section of the book titled, Poison, is one of the most tension-filled pieces of literature I've ever read. This is Pulitzer material.