The Story of Edgar Sawtelle

The Story of Edgar Sawtelle (2008), American author David Wroblewski’s family epic set in 1970s rural Wisconsin, fuses elements of William Shakespeare’s Hamlet with the story of a gifted boy named Edgar who is mute. Initial critical reaction celebrated the reach of its intricate plot, its massive cast of characters, the audacity of its retelling of Hamlet, and its investigation into the dark dynamics of a dysfunctional family, particularly the complex relationship between feuding brothers.

Plot Summary

In the late 1940s, Brothers Gar (short for Edgar) and Claude Sawtelle grow up on their family’s northern Wisconsin farm where the family, drawing on cutting-edge genetic theories, breeds dogs. With the onset of the Korean War, Claude, never enamored with the dog breeding business, departs the farm to serve in the navy. Gar takes over the family business. He marries Gertrude (Trudy), and the couple has one child, a son they name Edgar. The boy, born mute, establishes deep connections with several of the family’s prized dogs, and Gar gives his son the opportunities at a young age to train them.

When Edgar is 12, his uncle Claude returns to the farm.