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Holistic Guidance - The Story of Edgar Sawtelle: A Novel
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List Price: $25.95
Our Price: $17.13
Your Save: $ 8.82 ( 34% )
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Manufacturer: Ecco
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Average Customer Rating:   
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Binding: Hardcover
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.6
EAN: 9780061374227
ISBN: 0061374229
Label: Ecco
Manufacturer: Ecco
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 576
Publication Date: 2008-06-01
Publisher: Ecco
Release Date: 2008-06-10
Studio: Ecco
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Editorial Reviews:
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Born mute, speaking only in sign, Edgar Sawtelle leads an idyllic life on his family's farm in remote northern Wisconsin where they raise and train an extraordinary breed of dog. But when tragedy strikes, Edgar is forced to flee into the vast neighboring wilderness, accompanied by only three yearling pups. Struggling for survival, Edgar comes of age in the wild, and must face the choice of leaving forever or revealing the terrible truth behind what has happened. A riveting family saga as well as a brilliant exploration of the limits of language, The Story of Edgar Sawtelle is destined to become a modern classic.
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Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating:
Summary: Not worth the effort
Comment: This book was not worth the time it took to read its 562 pages. It would have been tolerable at 250 pages. The author spent to much time talking about trivia.
Customer Rating:
Summary: waste of my time
Comment: I usually love Oprah's picks, but this was a lulu. I read 275 pages before I gave up. Too much descriptions of weather, forests, dog training, etc. Not enough action. The author could have condensed the pages by at least 50%. I am interested in what happened afterward, but not patient enough to endure the endless writing and descriptions. I am sure that I will find someone who has finished reading the book who can answer my questions.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Tense, sad, yet ultimately unfulfilling
Comment: As I read the last page, closed the book (still warm and heavy in my hand) and placed it upon my nightstand of distressed oak purchased at a time when money was more plentiful than taste, I could not help but wonder the difference a talented editor could have made, not only on meandering thoughts, wandering points of view and considerable descriptions of the mundane, but the effect he or she might have had on harnessing chapters, passages and sentences 10 years in the making.
That aside, dog lovers beware, since the book is rife with canine (and human) sadness. I certainly bought the ending, just didn't completely understand the journey (this novel seems written with book clubs in mind to discuss and debate various meanings, from the dogs' talents and training to the tragedies that seemed to befall nearly every character).
And a pet peeve -- the spoilers contained on the end flap. You don't learn of (SPOILER ALERT -- see, is that so hard?) Gar's death until roughly 150 pages or so. Or (ANOTHER SPOILER) that Edgar returns to the farm to face down his nemesis, which occurs about 70 pages from the end. What the heck? I make it a practice to avoid end flaps, as well as most Amazon (and other website) book reviews, which often divulge too much.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Our Book Club LOVED it! 100%
Comment: By far one of the best written, most imaginative, books I've read in a long time.
I loved it so much - I didn't want it to end.
Everyone in my book club raved - it made for a great discussion. Especially the "Hamlet"
connection.
Definitely one I'll read again one day with joy and sadness!
Customer Rating:
Summary: Mixed Feelings
Comment: I really enjoyed reading this book, for most of it. It was a real page-turner and once I got into it it was hard to put down. The characters, both human and canine, were interesting and their story pulled me along and kept me wondering what was going to happen next. However, I have to agree with a number of the other posters who disliked the ending. I was expecting something grander, something more revealing, something that would draw on what came before and leave me feeling satisfied. But it seemed liked the author didn't know how to end the story so he just decided to betray character and logic and simply wrap everything up. So, on the balance, it's hard to say whether I'd recommend the book or not. The first 500 pages were great, but the last 60 just left me with the feeling that I had wasted my time getting there.
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