14 year old boy + dogs + Trudy and Claude + Rain dad + Stephen King = Hamlet and one wickedly freaked out Mystic.
I am almost freakishly obsessed with Tolkien, Shakespeare and their works. I know...SHOCKER! The other day, I was at the bookstore, yes, another shocker, and I decided I wanted to step out of my literary comfort zone and read something TOTALLY different. I wanted to read something I would normally look at and say nawh...I'll pass. In fact, that was my criteria for choosing a book. I skimmed through a few titles and found The Story of Edgar Sawtelle by David Wroblewski. I read the first paragraph of the jacket blurb and decided this was the antithesis of anything I would normally read.
First Paragraph of the Jacket Blurb:
Born mute, speaking only in sign, Edgar Sawtelle leads an idyllic life with his parents on their farm in remote northern Wisconsin. For generations, the Sawtelles have raised and trained a fictional breed of dog whose thoughtful companionship is epitomized by Almondine, Edgar's lifelong friend and ally. But with the unexpected return of Claude, Edgar's paternal uncle, turmoil consumes the Sawtelles' once peaceful home. When Edgar's father dies suddenly, Claude insinuates himself into the life of the farm—and into Edgar's mother's affections.
Okay...a story about a mute adolescent boy who raises dogs in Wisconsin. Sounds like something I would hit the reject button on after the first paragraph. Bonus points on the "I'm sure I would hate it" meter; it is an Oprah book! Brilliant! I have disliked most of her book picks, so I decided this book would be perfect. Now, I must admit, Stephen King, for whom I have the up most respect as a writer did endorse the book heavily, and after seeing that on the back of the book jacket, I almost put the book down, but I decided that the story sounded just lame enough that I should give 'er a go.
So...I start reading; yep, I found it slow, boring, and absolutely NOT a book I would normally read. For a moment, I lost all respect for my beloved King. I couldn't fathom what he found so stimulating in this book. He even said, "I don't reread many books, because life is too short. I will be rereading this one." Uhhhh what the heck Stephen?
Well, about 1/4 of the way though the book, the protagonist, a mute, 14 year old boy, sees his
father die. The general consensus is that he died of an aneurysm, and the boy, though grieving, clings to his mother and together they trudge ahead. The
boy's uncle, CLAUDE moves in a few months after his brother's death "to help"
TRUDY the boy's mother and Edward manage their dog kennel. In reality,
he is "moving in" on Trudy. The boy's
FATHER RETURNS AS A GHOST and tells Edward that CLAUDE had something to do with his death. He tells Edward to find the answers.
This leads to a break in Edward's sanity... At this point, I'm like Hello! McFly! This book is freaking Hamlet!!!!!!!!
1. Claudius = Claude
2. Gertrued = Trudy
3. Dad Ghost = Dad Ghost
4. Uncle moves in when dad dies = Uncle moves in when dad dies
5. Ghost appears to son; incriminates brother in his death = Ghost appears to son incriminates brother in his death
6. Son is/fains insanity = Son has mental break
7. Son mistakes someone for someone else and kills them = Son mistakes someone for someone else and kills them
There are countless other similarities, but you get the idea.
So, by now you have figured out that the author,David Wroblewski, intentionally used the structure of
Hamlet when writing this story. If you google Edgar Sawtelle, there are countless reviews discussing the Sawtell/Hamlet connection, but at the time I picked this book, I had no idea.
Perhaps Shakey's ghost is reminding me that I can not escape the bard's influence.
Perhaps I subconsciously read something in the first paragraph of the book jacket that I connected with Hamlet, although I have no idea what it would be.
Perhaps this was just a HUGE coincidence.
Alas, perhaps, I am destined to maintain my freakish connection to Shakey. Hey, there are worse ghosts to encounter, just ask Hamlet or Edgar.
Cheers!
