Edgar Sawtelle, Not Ordinary

The Story of Edgar Sawtelle is a wonderfully written book but very perplexing until you find out that it is a retelling of Shakespeare's play Hamlet, a fact which escaped me entirely until I read a review of the book after I had already finished it. That explains the supernatural elements the author uses to advance the story and the ending that leaves you thinking, "what on earth?" There are not too many books that I continue to think about long after I have read them, but this is one of them. The characters are richly drawn and compelling, even the dogs. Edgar Sawtelle is a dog story and I am a sucker for dog stories. Old Yeller. Big Red. Call of the Wild. Just to name a few. The element that makes a dog story great is the relationship between the dog and the human. Because Edgar is mute and communicates with his dogs through sign makes the relationships even more poignant. This is not an ordinary book.