I've finished the book - just setting up threads for comments etc
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0 Kudo
Sawtelle Parts 3 and 4 SPOILERS
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 someonegetchristine |
Sawtelle Parts 3 and 4 SPOILERS |
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12/27/08 03:03 PM BCC BookieMonster |
Midwives help people out.
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MizPam |
#1 | |||
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12/31/08 02:25 PM BCC BookieMonster |
I've finished as well. C'mon people! Catch up.
Pam
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jodijoy |
#2 | |||
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12/31/08 02:33 PM BCC ZEN Bookie MASTER |
I'm done and returned it (so there, nyah). What did you think?
"You can never get a cup of tea large enough or a book long enough to suit me" - CS Lewis
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sthurner |
#3 | |||
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12/31/08 02:59 PM |
I have about 50 pages left, but am saving the end for when we get back from a New Year Eve overnight with friends. THis week has been nuts with all sorts of
fun jaunts off to visit with friends an relatives. First a short 30 mile trip to my brother's, then 200 miles to my dh's sister, then another 100 miles
to Chicago to spend a day with a college roommate. Lots of fun, but I'm ready to settle into the end of Edgar Sawtelle, and then compare notes with the
rest of you. I have been wondering who the man who helps Edgar and takes the one dog might compare to in Hamlet.
Sherry in WI Currently reading The Oregon Trail, The Story of Edgar Sawtelle
http://sherry-latebloomer.blogspot.com/ |
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MizPam |
#4 | |||
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12/31/08 03:03 PM BCC BookieMonster |
I know Sherry. I have to get out a copy of Hamlet and read....... quickly. It's not my favorite.
Jodi!!!! I've missed you! What did I think? I wrote about it in part 5. For not liking it so much, I enjoyed reading it. Does that make sense? Pam
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riverblue |
#5 | |||
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01/04/09 04:50 AM |
Just finished Part 4 - I'm feeling very ambivalent about it all. I'll finish but at this stage I just want it over. Good writing, emotionally valid but
I just don't want to get involved in it. I don't know how it's going to end but all along I've felt as if there's this bad end just waiting
and I really don't want to get to it. I might be wrong but I think that feeling has coloured my reaction to the whole thing.
I'm so glad that Tinder and Baboo are safe and happy but I just feel so sad for Almondine. Barb
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sthurner |
#6 | |||
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01/04/09 08:49 AM |
It's strange how differently each person reacts to this book. Clearly a number of folks here are not embracing the plot, characters or style of the novel
(nothing has come up about themes), while others are finding much to enjoy. I suppose our ages, backgrounds, and personalities all come into play with regard
to how we understand and enjoy any novel. I'm not sure why I felt so comfortable with the book from the first page to the last, why the characters seemed
so real to me, the ending so moving. All I know is that nothing else I'm reading now compares, and I think it will be a while before I find a book that
welcomes me into its world as strongly as this one did. I have to resist the urge to argue about it, defend it. This novel doesn't need my help.
Sherry in WI Currently reading An Illustrated Life, Run, Born Standing Up
http://sherry-latebloomer.blogspot.com/ |
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BCCJillster |
#7 | |||
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01/04/09 11:02 AM BCC ZEN BOOKIE COOKIE
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It's strange how differently each person reacts to this book.That's always one of the most interesting things about this particular group and you never really know how it's going to come out. It's fun. Obviously Sherry, your reaction is not singular--it's a mega hit after all. Good writing, emotionally valid but I just don't want to get involved in it. I don't know how it's going to end but all along I've felt as if there's this bad end just waiting and I really don't want to get to it. I might be wrong but I think that feeling has coloured my reaction to the whole thing.Barb, that is so reflective of the way I felt. I just knew it was going to drag me around the pond emotionally in a sad way and I just didn't want to go there this time. Many books have gotten to me and made me cry, but I didn't know that's where they were going from early on. I DO see the worth in the book and the story though. It's not one of those books where you wind up saying...Huh? what did the critics see in this one? It's much better than that.
Reading: When Will There Be Good News by Atkinson; Edgar Sawtelle
Finished: Divine Justice by Baldacci Snoopy Dancing our way through life |
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Olle |
#8 | |||
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01/05/09 07:34 PM |
I thought there were a number of hints that something awful was going to happen, which definitely gave me the "train wreck" feeling. Made it
difficult to go on as I didn't know who would be on that train. But I also thought the writing was stellar and I often thought about the book when I
wasn't reading it. I'd read the next book he writes.
Olle
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sthurner |
#9 | |||
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01/05/09 09:52 PM |
Olle, I think this book can be described as a tragedy, one where the characters are mostly good, but also very human because they are flawed. When they suffer
and/, we are supposed to feel sorrow and pity for them. And I think we are supposed to see that even Claude, for all his jealousy and hatred toward Gar, had
some good qualities (how else would Trudy be attracted to him). I know what you're saying though, I remember using the term "train wreck" to
describe what was happening in House of Sand and Fog.
Sherry in WI Currently reading Run, Born Standing Up, Debt to Pleasure
http://sherry-latebloomer.blogspot.com/ |
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Olle |
#10 | |||
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01/06/09 04:59 PM |
Yes, House of Sand and Fog was another 'train wreck' story. And yes, this is a tragedy. Well stated.
Olle
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wernoclue |
#11 | |||
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01/07/09 02:40 AM BCC ZEN Bookie MASTER |
Ah, wait -- isn't this the part 3 and 4 spoilers? Are you all telling me there's truly a train wreck left ahead? I mean even though there's been
plenty of foreshadowing towards that end, and even though Claude has revealed his true nature, at least to us, I still feel great hope here. Especially with
Almondine waiting... that couldn't be all in vain, could it?
And the stray came back -- just like I was waiting for him to do. Now, will he go all the way home with Edgar... that is the question. House of Sand and Fog was a *serious* train wreck. I am so hoping this isn't going to turn out that way. (Ya know, I did try to go to bed. The book was burbling through my mind so intensely that sleep was out of the question so I finished Part IV. Wish I'd felt a little bit of hope in this thread so I could go to sleep without *worrying* about the end! Gak!) J.k
Karen
I would be most content if my children grew up to be the kind of people who think decorating consists mostly of building enough bookshelves. - Anna Quindlen
Last Edited By: wernoclue 01/07/09 02:54 AM.
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wernoclue |
#12 | |||
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01/07/09 02:45 AM BCC ZEN Bookie MASTER |
It's strange how differently each person reacts to this book.Snap judgment: (and thus probably very wrong) it seems to me that those who have sons closest to Edgar's age are more fearful; my son is several years older and still majorly brain dead so I guess I'm just still hoping to see something good for Edgar so I don't have to think of the alternatives... It also seems to that those of us with too much experience with Oprah books expect a downer ending. Sorry, I'd forgotten for a moment that she chose this. That woman has an incredible capacity for angst, doesn't she?
Karen
I would be most content if my children grew up to be the kind of people who think decorating consists mostly of building enough bookshelves. - Anna Quindlen
Last Edited By: wernoclue 01/07/09 03:36 AM.
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bookworm2 |
#13 | |||
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01/07/09 09:12 AM |
riverblue wrote:I am feeling the same way. This book is well written, but I am struggling to delve into this book. |
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MizPam |
#14 | |||
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01/07/09 05:16 PM BCC BookieMonster |
That woman has an incredible capacity for angst, doesn't she?karen, you're priceless! 
Pam
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BCCJillster |
#15 | |||
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01/07/09 09:31 PM BCC ZEN BOOKIE COOKIE
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karen, you're priceless!
And RIGHT
Reading: A Matter of Justice by Charles Todd
Finished: When Will There Be Good News by Atkinson; Edgar Sawtelle Divine Justice by Baldacci |
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Blanchard |
#16 | |||
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01/07/09 10:24 PM BCC Zen Bookie Master
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And up at 2:45 A.M.!!!! Priceless, absolutely and Awake in the middle of the night, thinking about a book!! Now there's a serious reader!! Love you, Karen!
Now go to sleep!!
Betsy
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kathylaz |
#17 | |||
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01/08/09 08:26 AM |
Shoot. I waited all this time to get to the spoilers for parts 3 and 4, and virtually nothing! LOL. No one commenting on the strange storm (more woo-woo) that
sends Edgar home, the role of the stray/Forte, and little on the betrayal of Almondine. And what about that weird relationship with Henry. Count me among the
crew that was slowly losing interest and investment as I went through part 4. I actually found myself thinking "gee, this book needs an editor."
I'll be back after work to throw some comments around....(teaser)
kathy
Reading Bridge of Sighs by Richard Russo, The Story of Edgar Sawtelle by David Wroblewski and listening to Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow |
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sthurner |
#18 | |||
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01/08/09 08:35 AM |
Kathy, that whole section of Edgar and Henry is one I need to think about more. What's with the apparition Edgar sees in Henry's barn? I think that
Henry is there as a way to help Edgar, another outcast/misfit whose life took unexpected turns, and who serves to rescue at least one of the dogs. But
isn't there another supernatural visitor in this section?
Sherry in WI Currently reading Run, Born Standing Up, Debt to Pleasure
http://sherry-latebloomer.blogspot.com/ |
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kathylaz |
#19 | |||
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01/08/09 09:40 PM |
You're right...what's with the guy in the scrap heap garage? What purpose is he serving? I understand Henry, but the ghost is a little over the top.
I thought about this off and on today. Maybe it's that I feel the train wreck coming that I'm starting to feel weary of the book. I don't want to read any further. I'm not liking Edgar as much as I did at the start; it's hard to keep moving forward when the central character, the narrator, is losing his appeal. The woo woo is going over the top, I think, when there are so many character stories going on; it's just not necessary.
kathy
Reading Bridge of Sighs by Richard Russo, The Story of Edgar Sawtelle by David Wroblewski and listening to Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow
Last Edited By: kathylaz 01/08/09 09:50 PM.
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bookworm2 |
#20 | |||
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01/09/09 02:04 PM |
wernoclue wrote: I have to say that Almondine's situation at the end of section four does not give me much hope. According to the book, a traveler is coming down the road and she is going to ask it where her boy is. She sees the dust cloud coming down the road and she stands broadside in the gravel. Meaning a car is coming and she is standing on the road...I am worried. But then again my husband and my dog was hit by a car while standing on the gravel road outside my parent's farm. So, I have to say I have the exact opposite feeling right now. I just finished section four and I still feel like there is a train wreck waiting to happen, but still really wanting a good ending. Ida's omen, Almondine, and Claude starting trouble....I am lacking all hope for a good ending and I hate sad endings! The little hope I did have, was for Tender and Bamboo who were left with Henry. However, I remembered that Henry had told Edgar he was not a trustworthy person. Even knowing that, I am still holding out that Henry is the savior of this train wreck because I don't see why else he would have been added to the story line at this point. I may be grabbing at straws, but I need to hold on to some hope of a good ending if I am going to finish this book. |
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