The Christmas before last I received a very large novel from my sister. I admired her taste in choosing a hip new story as well as the lovely cover, generally highly recommended author, and fine subject matter. She doesn’t realize this, of course, since it’s been sitting on my shelf for over a year. But, somehow, the books I own don’t feel as pressing to read. I don’t have to renew them. They’re here as long as I like them to be (with the sad, infrequent exception of books I lend out and never see again).
So, this year I resolved to read The Story of Edgar Sawtelle by David Wroblewski before another season passed. This is a story with a fantastic title, a fantastic Prologue, a fantastic premise, and a fantastic execution. This made Christmas of 2008 good twice, first when I opened the present, and again when I read the story.
But it is long. It is one of those stories that take so many things into account, so that you feel filled up by it. I sat night after night with a cup of hot tea and my book for dessert. It is a rare treat, to find a story full and long and engaging enough to think about from time to time throughout the day in anticipation.
Beyond the telling, long and intricate of a boy, dogs, and family, the setting was stunning. I have visited Wisconsin and realize how that countryside is truly amazing. The added pleasure of scenery, with seasons, and action during the summer, even seemed to keep my toes toasty! My connection with the storytelling was so profound that I was traveling alongside Edgar and began to imagine knowing those roads and lakes as well as he.
Feeling enormous awe, as he communicated each command, each question, to the dogs, I admired Edgar Sawtelle’s coming of age. Without saying a word, his story is told, and as the end comes into sight it becomes clear why, at last, Stephen King would give this book such grand acclaim. Read, enjoy, cry, but certainly don’t let this book just sit on your shelf.
