What a beautifully written book. David Wroblewski has a talent for writing which is greater than his talent for story-telling, but for a first novel this is a good book. The story is about a boy and his parents who have a dog-breeding business in a remote part of Wisconsin. There is a lot about the art of breeding and training dogs in this book, so if that’s not a topic of interest to you, I probably wouldn’t bother reading it, because even though it’s essentially a story about a murder, you have to go through an awful lot of dog-stuff on the way. But I love dogs, so I didn’t mind.
Edgar is the only son and he’s mute – he can’t speak – which is a strange and important feature of this story. In fact, there are a lot of strange and illogical aspects to this story, but if you can go with it and not be too analytical and rational about the whole thing, then it’s an enjoyable read. His father suddenly dies and Edgar thinks it’s his fault until some weird things start to happen. As I said, it is a strange book – ultimately a bit unsatisfying, but worthwhile.