Customer Reviews: Read 644 more reviews...
 What a let down... November 18, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I too was drawn in by the Oprah hype about this book. The way she gushed about it on her show, peaked my curiousity. While reading the review in the book by Steven King, I was even more intrigued. I eagerly dove into the book only to find myself putting it down for days at a time. This should have been my first clue. Although I agree that David Wroblewski is a talented writer, I am not so sure about his story or character development skills. I have never read a book that left me feeling so bewildered. The ending just SUCKED! Now that I am finished with it, I don't really know what to do with it. I certainly wouldn't recommend it to anyone I know and don't even think it's good enough to donate. Next time I'll use my library card instead of my VISA!!!
 Wonderfully written-disappointed with ending November 18, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
This is a good book to set your mind to thinking about inner meaning. There are many spots where you must make a conclusion on your own. About dogs? I love dogs and have trained a few. This part of the book was uncomfortable for me because I do a positive training; where the book used stronger techniques. Maybe good, I don't know. The intertwining of story parts was the best. I was pulled in to care about these people and their animals. In my mind that's icing on the cake. In the end I wish it could have been different.
 From the inside out ... November 17, 2008
The Story of Edgar Sawtelle is a rare and stunning rebuke to the ordinariness of many a lesser novel. Over nearly 600 pages, Wroblewski traces the slow arc of a boy and dog story, fairly reinventing the genre in the process. Countless passages ring with a heartbrearking purity and clarity, volleying powerfully long after the surprising conclusion. A book like Edgar Sawtelle does not invite us in so much as it lays down its own compelling world, line by line inside the mind. If more stories were told with as much brawny beauty and compelling insight, people would be storming the battlements for more books, more words, more of this transforming magic. Edgar Sawtelle is a redeeming work of serious love and art. Read it, and you will never forget it.
 Depressing & Negative November 17, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I bought this book based on Oprah Winfrey's recommendation and it will be a long time before I buy another book that she suggests.
The author is a gifted writer so reading his prose is no punishment but the book has no other redeeming qualities. Evil and Envy prevail, Goodness dies, Innocence is lost, Trust is forsaken.....Yuck! If you want to spend a long time reading and an even longer time regretting that you did...buy this one.
Interesting, but is it really worth the time? November 17, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This is a long, long, long book. There were times when I was wondering if it was ever going to go anywhere and times, particularly the last third of the book, when I was engrossed. I admit that I would have given up on the book if it weren't for my book club, but having finished it, I still don't really recommend it to anyone unless you really, really, really love dogs AND you have lots of time to spare.
|
