The Story of Edgar Sawtelle has a love-it-or-hate-it ending. Which side are you on? (Warning: May contain spoilers.)
Asked by
Jeruba (
56065)
February 8th, 2009
And is there anything else about the book that you want to crab about (or praise)?
I just finished it a few days ago, and I immediately wondered if everyone felt as dissatisfied as I did. Turns out readers seem to be split on this question.
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4 Answers
Sorry, but I don’t read books:
1) that are part of Oprah’s book club
2) recommended by Stephen King
3) in which dogs die
It was a really interesting concept. I loved the descriptions of the training methods. I have known dogs that seemed to have the ability to “think” instead of just respond. The book went downhill after the father died although the boy’s adventures were compelling. I didn’t like the ending at all!
@ Darwin – If you love dogs, you are missing a great story. Edgar Sawtelle had one of the most moving human-dog relationships I have ever read. That said, I totally agree about the ending. I found it histrionic and very unsatisfying. The writer was clearly parodying Hamlet but I was really, really unhappy with the end. I agree with you, rooeytoo, that the book did go downhill after the father’s death (again I think because of the attempted parallels) but I loved so much of it.
Okay… I wanted to throw the book across the room when I finished it. What a waste of time!!!
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