Wow. This is a lot, and we mean that in the best possible way. Familiaris is a prequel to author David Wroblewski’s 2008 bestseller, The Story of Edgar Sawtelle, yet it’s bigger, wiser, and stranger. After World War I, ambitious and philosophical John Sawtelle finds a remote Wisconsin farm and decides it’s where his life’s work will take place. Over nearly half a century, John and his wife, Mary, accumulate a found family of friends, farmworkers, and townspeople, and they eventually raise and train an exceptionally intuitive, empathetic breed of dog. These storylines illuminate elements of Wroblewski’s previous novel while remaining absolutely fascinating on their own. Like a mad, wonderful blend of Charles Dickens, John Steinbeck, and Gabriel García Márquez, Familiaris feels like an instant classic and like nothing you’ve read before.

APPLE BOOKS REVIEW