So, in 2008, a novel titled The Story of Edgard Sawtelle by an unknown writer named David Wroblewski took the book world by storm. It landed on Oprah's Book Club list (when that was still a big deal), was lauded by critics (here's WaPo's Ron Charles's glowing review), and was beloved by readers (me, included). The story, a retelling of Hamlet, is about a mute boy named Edgar Sawtelle whose family breeds a special kind of super smart and train-able dog on their bucolic northwoods farm.
Last June, Wroblewski gifted us with a prequel, Familiaris, about the origins of that farm and how the Sawtelle dogs came to be. When I found out this book was coming, I asked a lot of readers if they were as excited I was. And I was met with mostly blank stares. What was happening? Maybe I was misremembering Edgar Sawtelle's impact?
Anyway...every year, around Christmas I have a tradition of trying to tackle one of the "big, important novels" I missed during the year. Familiaris definitely fit that bill. Besides with all that's happening now (gestures at the whole world), a big, lush, sink-in-able novel seemed like just the thing.
At its root, Familiaris is a love story. The novel begins in 1919 with John Sawtelle (Edgar's grandfather) meeting and falling in love with Mary Svoboda. Through a series of events, the two find themselves on a farm in northern Wisconsin with one of John's childhood friends named Elbow, a disabled and grouchy war veteran named Frank, and a few others.
Life ebbs and flows. They building their lives on this farm. There's a long backstory about their friend Walter who runs the general store in town, and his harrowing escape from the Peshtigo fire in 1871. John and Mary have two boys named Claude and Gar. And they begin their dog-breeding operation, creating a one-of-a-kind breed known simply as the Sawtelle dog.
Oh, and the dogs! The dogs! This isn't just John and Mary's love story. It's the story of how pure and wonderful dogs are, and yes, how we probably don't deserve dogs. There are Violet and Forte and Gus and Needles and Ocky and Jug and so many more dogs. The dogs are as fully realized as characters in this novel as the humans, and it's one of the many reasons I LOVED this novel.
Of course you can't summarize 1,000 pages (okay, it's really just 979) of plot in a few-hundred word review. But I'll tell you this: Familiaris is the type of novel you pick up and lose all trace of time. You sink in and it may be hours before you realize you need to blink or pee or eat something. Wroblewski is THAT good of a storyteller.
If you've read A Prayer for Owen Meany, by John Irving, which is one of my favorite novels of all time, you'll understand that feeling. And the similarities between the two books don't stop at how immersive they both are. There are themes of fate and purpose in both books, of finding meaning and doing good.
I know not everyone will be interested in this book, but I'm here to tell you, if it's been on your radar, and you've been tempted: Do it! It's such a rewarding, wonderful reading experience. This kind of book is why I love reading. I wish there were more books like it.
Finally, here's a photo from 2010 when I wrote about some of my favorite books about dogs on the occasion of adopting this goofy little dog named Yoshi. Yoshman passed away in 2022, but we had 12 wonderful years with him. RIP, Yoshman.
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