"Story of Edgar Sawtelle" is Oprah pick!

MediaPhile@evpl — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 22:10:00 GMT

And the winner is.................

I am going to play the Devil's Advocate here and ask why this is such a sensation! There was alot of buzz about it at the American Library Association conference earlier this year. The reviewers have been ecstatic and several friends after reading it have spoken its title in awe.

To fill you in a little, it is a novel about a mute boy named Edgar Sawtelle growing up surrounded by dogs on a homestead in Wisconsin. His parents are continuing the family legacy by breeding dogs. Not any dogs -- mind you -- but a new breed of dogs named after them. This breed, the product of careful selection to produce a perfect specmen, is highly intelligent (perhaps even approaching human capabilities). Edgar's best friend is his absolutely wonderful dog, Almondine.

I really enjoyed Edgar's interactions with Almondine and the other Sawtelle dogs. But I grew weary of the various trials and tribulations of the extended family. And I won't even mention my disappointment with the end.

So help me out here. Read it first, then tell me what is so great about it -- in your own words! Am I just not literary enough?

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"Story of Edgar Sawtelle" is Oprah pick!