Edgar Sawtelle - David Wroblewski

I will not lie, I put myself on the library queue for this as soon as Oprah announced it as her new pick (I recognize that this was last year, but just when I got into the teens of the queue, I moved and had to start over). Partially this is because I am a sheep and want to read what everyone else is reading, partially this is because people who don't read a lot of books tend to at least read the ones Oprah whores out and I like to be able to talk to these people about the books that they've read, because it makes them feel like they do read a lot, and partially this is because Oprah has some good opinion-making-people. Middlesex. Fall on Your Knees. A Fine Balance. The Poisonwood Bible. These are all 9+ caterpillar books.*
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Edgar Sawtelle is...how you say...long. I mean, it's really long. Not Pillars of the Earth long (which, for the record, is worth every penny), but long AND slow AND meandering. And the good kind of all those things, and I loved the ride (did I mention all the dog-training, and all the squeeing? Not yet? Ok.), but a long book is a serious investment, and I usually find myself apprehensive as we approach the end. WILL IT HAVE BEEN WORTH IT!?!?!?

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The plotsum in short form is as follows: mute baby, puppies (squeee!), dog-training (double-squee!), tragic death (not telling whose!!), adventure and deception, ending about which I am uncertain how to feel, but am leaning towards 'ripped off.' The intarsphere is spattered with other plot summaries, and this is proof that I don't do any of my 'research' until halfway through a review because my favorite 'pedia has just informed me that ES is a retelling of Hamlet and now everything makes sense and I renege on my earlier comments. Edgar Sawtelle is awesome. Please don't tell Dr Kuchar what a shitty English student I am.

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Well, if I'd known that it was Hamlet then it would have made more sense, but then I also would have known how it was going to end. So maybe I shouldn't have told you.

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And since this is starting to sound like the ravings of a crazy person (Opheliaaaaaaaaa!), I may as well admit that I watched Greatest American Dog because I find dog-training FASCinating, and I feel like that may have contributed to how much I enjoyed the first nine-tenths of this book (before it jumped the shark. But not really, apparently). So...I think it was really good? Now I'm confused.

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Uhhhhhhh, eight caterpillars.

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*I am studiously ignoring the presence of Million Little Pieces on the illustrious list.