The Story of Edgar Sawtelle

Edgar Sawtelle is born mute on his family's Wisconsin farm, where three generations of Sawtelles have refined a breed of dog distinguished by temperament rather than appearance. Edgar grows up communicating in sign language with his parents and the dogs he is being trained to handle, until his father Gar dies under circumstances Edgar believes his uncle Claude caused. The book moves through Edgar's flight into the Chequamegon wilderness with three dogs, the months he survives there, and the violent return to the farm that closes the story. Wroblewski draws openly on Hamlet, but the book is finally about a boy, a craft tradition, and the dog who refuses to leave his side.