I just finished reading The Story Of Edgar Sawtelle. It’s a book I resisted for quite awhile, at least partly because Bookdwarf was so enthusiastic about it, and I just didn’t want to admit that she’s always right about these sorts of things.
Another factor that scared me off was that the book contains dogs. That immediately makes me think it’s one of those dog books – you know, of interest only to dog fanciers. It’s not. I’m pretty sure that people who like anything with dogs in it will like this book. After all, it contains dogs. But it’s not the sort of thing that appeals only to them. It will also appeal to novel-lovers. It’s a tale of family and secrets and betrayal, a northern Wisconsin sort of Hamlet mixed with Lear, a story of almosts, of near-breakthroughs in communication and understanding and perfection.
“The Story Of Edgar Sawtelle” uses the relationships – sometimes beautifully tender and joyful – between people and dogs to reflect more clearly the relationship between humans. Just as even imperfect communication between humans and dogs requires years of training and practice, the mute Edgar is stymied by his own imperfect understanding of the world and by other people’s inability to grasp what he’s saying. And of course, more generally, everyone fails to communicate or hides what should most be unearthed and shared.
No, there’s no happy ending there. Nice dogs, though.
Secretly Ironic 
Thank God for this blog! Like Lisa, I have never searched out fellow readers’ comments and I am so glad I did. I read the book in 2 days, rereading pages as I went; read the last few chapters several times….Closed the book and thought, “I am probably the only person in the world who hated this book!” It is beautifully written but it left me cold, for lack of a better word, and I don’t know why. I didn’t expect a happy ending, but I thought the ending was confusing, totally lacking clarity. If there is a sequel, I won’t be reading it.
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Now I get it! I reviewed the plot of Hamlet and compared it to Edgar Sawtelle. With this in mind I understand why the author ended it as he did. The fact that dogs and a mute boy were the characters in this book pulled my heart strings more than the plot of Hamlet. After Almondine died,I had my dogs sit next to me so I could pet them as I finished the book. This was a powerful and haunting book that I will not forget.
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This was a book in which I fell in love with sentences, but whether or not I loved the story, I’m not sure. I had broadly anticipated the ending so it didn’t sideswipe me, but nevertheless it was a hard finish. I felt as many others that the lack of resolution in the end was difficult to bear after one has invested in the story, but I do believe that an author has no obligation to please readers. It’s his book to do with as he wants, and our choice to read it or not. But clearly this book is giving its readers the opportunity to think deeply, and for me that’s good writing.
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Casi me muero de coraje, al terminar este
hermoso libro,que me tuvo por dias inmersa, desconectada del mundo ,con ese final tan tragico e inesperado. Porque nadie se entero de la verdad? Porque su madre tuvo que verlo morir? Yo lo iva a
recomendar pero ya no.
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Wow. People are right, searching out internet answers? I did NOT like the ending at all, unclear, awfully heart retching. but the author sure has us interested as we’re all searching online for answers. I am a wimp when it comes to animals and tear jerkers!! I cried entirely way to much and when i got to the ending i was balling, wiping tears away from my eyes so i could continue reading.
I HATED reading about the dogs wondering off into the woods at the very end, like many times in the story i felt torn between what i was reading and what i wanted to be reading about. The author takes you away from the subject so many times and I felt myself yearning to get back to the point, but the point didn’t come at the end. I slammed the book shut, opened it again.. read the last few pages over, complaining outloud to my fiance who has seem the whirlwind of emotions this book has led me on!!
and for all of them to die, just lying there on the floor, my lord how sad!
I’m glad almondine and edgar had their last words.
I agree that the running through the woods was way overwritten, when i couldn’t get through that part i actually ended up sitting the book down for 4 days.
I enjoyed this book a lot, but worth all the crying i dunno!
pam couldn’t of said it better:
his was a book in which I fell in love with sentences, but whether or not I loved the story, I’m not sure
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I was going to recommend this book to others but the ending shot that idea right out – too much death too much pain for one family – I am angry that I vested all this time in reading this book to have it end so tragically – it could have had at least one survivor – the mother will never survive, the father dies, Edgar is dead, Claude is dead, the sheriff is blind, the dr. dies and the fate of the dogs will be mixed – what happened to lessons learned – some good is always at the base of humans – this was just shit! All of the characters die… it could have been a murder novel – all the good stuff you learn about the dogs is tainted by such loss. I am keeping the people I love away from this tragedy.
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Finished it yesterday – found the Hamlet parallel ‘gimmicky.’ A story about a fictional breed of dog being created on a remote farm could have developed into a great story on its own. Once the author committed to the template of Hamlet it was like a topiary gardener trimming a hedge into unnatural shapes; the story couldn’t evolve naturally it HAD to be shaped into Hamlet. The author does write good characters: Henry for example, but a lot of the writing was overwrought and, overall, the book is disappointing.
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I finished it today. I too hated the ending, tragic and bazzare. In the end I felt cheated, robbed of a potentially great ending. Overall, the author failed his audience. Am I glad I read it? Yes. The parts I loved the most were the scenes through Alondine’s eyes, very poignant. I’m hesitant to recommend it, but it sure stimulates a conversation.
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I read the book on a Kindle and flew through with abandon. I really enjoyed the lesson of loss and sorrow mixed with the feeling like everything is allright in the world still with the way the dogs group and move on at the end. It is impossible to change anyhting and we just have to be good observers along the way is kinda how is seemed to me, I juts wnat to say goodbye and thank you to Edgar for showing me the way.
Peace
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Worst book I ever read. What was the story about anyway???? Why did Claude kill Gar?? Was the old man ghost in the barn Gar??? How did Almondine die? At the end of the book when Edgar saw Almondine was he dead? Stupidest book I ever read!
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I join the ranks of people who sought out comments for this book. I am surprised by how many did not see the parallels between this book and Hamlet. Hamlet is committed to revenge his father’s death at the hand’s of his Uncle Claudius (Claude) who has married his widowed mother Gertrude (Trudy). His father’s ghost appears to him.
Hamlet pretends to be mad, then kills his uncle’s counselor, Polonius (Doctor Papineau). Once I made the connection to Hamlet, I knew the book would end tragically as everyone dies at the end.
My frustrations with Edgar were due to his inability to tell his mother what he suspected with Claude. It seemed that following his father’s death they had developed a closeness. However, Edgar’s challenge in life was communication. The dogs understood him more easily than people.
I thought Henry represented life away from the farm. The Sawtelles were isolated. I think Henry gave Edgar a glimpse of a different lifestyle.
I also wondered if perhaps because the dogs had evolved to a higher state that they were the ones to trigger the “ghost” encounters. Just a thought.
I found the book riveting….I can’t say I enjoyed it because the end was very difficult to read.
Thanks for all the good comments.
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My wife and I both read the book – (she, first). Somehow, she got the impression that Doctor Papineau, the vet, was Claude’s accomplice – that he was in on the whole planned murder of Gar because he had a “share” in the Sawtelle’s business and either wanted more control with Claude or to go a different route branching out – (as when that Texan, I believe, showed up to start a Sawtelle dog franchise). I thought she was crazy. But she pointed out the relationship between Claude and Page started long ago when Claude was a boy and how Page had mentioned to Trudy, shortly after Gar’s death, to consider Claude as an option to lessen her burden.
Did ANYONE else think this???
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Very disappointed. I started reading this book with a friend several weeks ago and we just finished our discussion of it and feel like we both wasted our time. Entirely too much detail on the training of the dogs. This was a novel -not a how-to book. And then all of the unanswered questions – why was Claude in jail? who was the old man in Henry’s barn? did Edgar actually cause the vet’s death or just a misunderstanding? and did Trudy die or was she just left to suffer?
The part we enjoyed the most was when Edgar spent time with Henry but this book is definitely not one that I will recommend to others. I’m an avid reader but this one was just too detailed to have such a short and open-ended ending.
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What a piece of crap ! Way too long. I had the feeling the book was written by two different authors. The good one in the beginning and the bad one at the end. I suspect the guy who finished it got rid of the guy who started it. Call the police !
It’s unfinished, unpolished… It’s a “talk-about-me-good-talk-about-me-bad-but-talk-about-ME” thing. I’ll never follow Oprah’s advice about good books again.
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Sorry but that is how I really felt !
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I just finished this book today. I enjoyed it but was bewildered and saddened by the tragic ending. I sobbed when Almondine died.
What happened to Trudy at the end? My understanding is she is the only one left as she watches the barn burn and the dogs run away.
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Agree with everyone and had to Google the title just to find out if I missed something. Wrobeleski better draw Oprah some pretty profound parallels to something that makes sense or I would be hard pressed to read a sequel.
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I agree with Aaron’s wife (Nov 22). I suspected that the Doctor and
Claude had a deeper connection. That’s why he stayed at the house after Gar’s death to help and keep tabs on things. He was just too interested in selling dogs to the breeder from Texas. I also wondered if Claude gave the Doc poison because of the filmy eye comment. Doc’s death was a way to get him out of the picture and give Claude more control of the business. Although I did not like the ending either (as I find I often do not, even in books I like), the author really made us thing about the book, its characters and the meaning of it all – and isn’t that what an author wants to do? I finished the book tonight and have been very interested in all of your comments
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I could only get half/way through. So many things about this book are dark and troubling – and it just keeps getting worse. Had to stop, leaf through the rest and get on the Internet. The book is leaving my house today – don’t even want it in my library.
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thank God many feel like I do…I could not put this book down, 100 pgs a nite I was reading…for what , that was the worst ending of all time…so disappointing, it didn’t have to end like that….even if it’s not a total happy ending, geez , everyone dead….too many unanswered questions…I guess from now on I will have to read the prolouges since I didn’t know what the heck was in that bottle…typical male ending , no emotions just the facts….I was raving about the book and told my daughter in law how great it was and couldn’t wait to give it to her, now i feel like telling her never mind..such a let down…again another Oprah bomb…i swore i’d never read another of her books this seals it…please don’t write another book…terrible lack of emotion…we needed some answers..not that you cared….sorry
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I have been up in the middle of the night reading this book, emotionally invested in the storyline. After finishing it this morning, the only emotion I felt was anger, so much time wasted. The first person I was upset with was “Oprah.” (The second stinker I’ve read that she recommended.) This is a book I could never recommend anyone reading due to the horrible ending. I really don’t know how the author in good conscious could write such an interesting and emotionally charged story and then end it that way. To have Edgar die at the end was just wrong and to have his poor mother left to deal with this tragedy after having so many other challenges in her life was heartless. The story should have concluded so that the reader felt some kind of moral rectitude for the wrongs done to Edgar and Trudy. To whack him at the end was just stupid.
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Just a thought: Was Almondine so depressed that Edgar was not around that she committed suicide? Since Sawtelle dogs can make choices – and walked in front of the car on purpose. Also in Hamlet – Ophelia commits suicide (if Almondine is supposed to be the Ophelia character).
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I finished the book a few days ago–stayed up until 1:00 a.m. to finish it. Upon reading the last chapter, I was incredulous! I was stunned at the ending. At first, I wasn’t sure that I really understood that everyone had died (except Glen). Then as it sunk in, I was a bit “miffed” that it ended so tragically. After thinking about it for a few days and rereading several parts, the ending makes more sense to me than it did originally. There is some consolation in the reuniting of Edgar and Almondine. I also found some comfort in the conversation that Edgar had with his father and the opportunity he had to finally tell him that he loved him. I recognized that Essay represented the quintessential “next dog” in her ability to assess the situation (barn burning, humans dead) and make a decision to leave (with Edgar’s encouragement) and persuade the other dogs to accompany her. Ultimately, she must decide if she will live wild in the forest or venture into the village and find human companionship….I don’t regret reading the book…it really made me think. I’m hoping some friends will read it soon so that I can sit and have an indepth discussion about it!
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The ending only succeeds in completing the Hamlet parody and does nothing to tie up plot lines or give any insight into the thin characters or their vague relationships. Am I really supposed to believe that Glen is holding Trudy between his legs for 20 minutes while his eyes are burning up and he’s screaming, “What’s happening?”? Am I supposed to believe a policeman feels he needs to sneak up on a witness to his father’s death and incapacitate him with ether so he can ask him a question? Am I supposed to to believe that a couple of ounces of ether in a huge barn is ignited by a single lightbulb 25 feet overhead. I had such high hopes 2/3 of the way through the book, only to be woefully let down at the end. It could have been a great book. I don’t need a happy ending, but I do need resolution.
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I agree with Peter. It’s not that the book doesn’t have a happy ending but that it doesn’t have the resolution I was anticipating. The overly dramatic ending, which, again, I agree was meant to complete the Hamlet parody, diminished an otherwise incredible novel. I know there are some who say this was great literature and are explaining why it had to be a tragedy… I’m not really complaining about all the deaths and I think most people would not either if it hadn’t been so dramatic and if there had been better resolution. I hate that this was done to satisfy the Hamlet theme. Even so, they could have all died but in a less frustrating way. Especially because up to that point, the book had been absolutely amazing. Here are areas I wasn’t “digging:” 1) Edgar never finds the bottle. And we don’t know the mystery behind it or get the satisfaction of knowing that Edgar did finally find it. 2) Trudy remains in the dark about Claude. Yes, I get that this book is about communication too (or lack of it, between humans) but it could have been articulated a different way. 3) Trudy never slaps and kicks Glen away from her. My god that was frustrating. 4) Do Claude, Trudy, and Edgar die for SURE? It is not super clear, although implied. 5) The dogs can make a choice but it’s not like they have the choice to continue the previous life they led. They can’t have what they did before… with the barn burned and the trainers gone forever. So it’s not like they have a lot to choose from.
Overall, though, I do want to give the book credit for raising all of these questions. The author’s writing style is also superb. The idea behind the novel is originial but I wish he had used Hamlet as a theme and not an outline.
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Like the other readers, I too hurriedly read through the last 90 pages or so anxiously awaiting all the answers to my questions only to be disappointed not so much by a sad ending as much as by a feeling of emptiness and curiosity. As well I reread the ending. I was happy that the author did treat us to a reconciliation between Edgar & Almondine, albeit it in the afterlife. There is one question that I haven’t seen addressed yet. Perhaps I read it wrong, but when Henry was taking Edgar to the border and they came upon the tornadoes/waterspouts, Essay freed herself & faced the winds. When it was over, Henry said there was something wrong with the dog. Edgar thought “How do we know”; he remembered the time that Ida Paine said “If you go, don’t you come back, not for nothing. It’s just wind, that’s all. Just wind. It don’t mean nothing?” At that point Edgar decided to go home. It seems to me that Ida was warning him not to go home. I’m assuming that when Essay followed him into the smoky barn & Edgar gave her the command “Away, I know you understand” he was telling Essay to take the dogs & leave & never return as he should have done. I may attempt to reread the book hoping to find some answers. Perhaps someone with more insight that I can turn this novel it into a movie which I will surely watch.
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What is the meaning behind Gar signing to Edgar the initials “HAA” ? Please let me know, arsinele@gmail.com
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Regarding Claude and his motives, I just assumed that the navy man (in Hong Kong, circa 1950’s) in the “prologue”, exchanging the antibiotics for the poison, was Claude. During a cribbage game, Claude states that anybody can accomplish anything, if they go slow enough. I think he always intended to over-take the kennel – I mean, killing Gar didn’t seem to be the end-game; he wanted the kennel, and by golly how ’bout his wife along the way? He tried to manipulate Edgar – (the scene with Trudy and Gar after Claude shoots the deer – he assures Forte’s safety for Edgar’s silence). And the driving episode (still makes my laugh – how about parallel parking???) I think Claude was trying to win Edgar over…
Anyway, I’m just your average reader-type. I’m not trying to draw parallels to Hamlet, or assess if this was a waste of my time or not. It was a story, and like life, no guarantee it would make me happy, or sad, or dissappointed… it is just a book! A book that made me weep (the Almondine chapters); a book that I reread immediately, and that will forever change the way I think about my dogs (as one commenter previously stated). Some of the sentences still haunt me.
BTW is it possible Trudy died? I decided she did. But, then, I don’t really know.
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P.S. Oh Angi – October 22nd, 2008 at 12:48 am – your comments were a balm for me. After reading so many negative ones, I was so glad to read yours.
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Has anyone thought about why Edgar’s father didn’t appear to him and warn him that Claude had the seringe in his hands and in a few seconds will kill him? He appears to Edgar in a few minutes and then appears to Claude shortly after that. Did his dad WANT him to die?
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I read the whole 560+ pages thinking it would get better. It didn’t. Left me with a – is that all there is – feeling.
The descriptions of dog behavior were very good. When the author described a dog “sighing” I could hear and feel it as if the animal was right beside me – but the story and characters (except Almondine and Henry) left me cold.
That’s all the time I’m going to spend on that book. I need to find a good author whose writing I can get lost in. Ah, yes – the new Jhumpa Lahiri! Bye.
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I did not like the book. I found some of the chapters boring and difficult to understand. I made myself read it at times. I did not “get” the ending. I could not find any meaning to the story. Tragic endings seem to be a fad these days. Children dying in stories leave me cold.
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tragic endings are not a fad. they are part of classic literature. this is not a disney story. however, the development of the ending I thought was overly melodramatic… a great book…
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What will Mr. Wroblewski’s next book be about ? Two young lovers who can’t be together because of their feuding Montana families ? He might want to have them die in the end !
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How was Forte in the picture with Claude from his yearbook, and still living today? At first, I thought what was in the syringe was something mystical from the Orient to let their dogs live forever. The poison was a shock to me.
I wondered if Edgar, because of being mute, had a 6th sense of being able to see dead people (no pun intended from the movie). I think that is how the old man came to him while cleaning the shed. Also how he could relate and speak to the dogs and actually understand Almondine.
I didn’t think Edgar had anything to do with the Vets death.
My feeling about the dogs at the end, was that they were going to Henry’s house.
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Am I missing something or did the author make a mistake? When the ghost of Gar transfers his memories to Edgar he transfers a memory of that alleyway in Korea in which the poison was obtained. That’s Claude’s memory, not Gar’s!
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Absolutely did not like this book at all. Listened to it on audio books and had to force myself to get through the entire 18 cds. Kept thinking that the ending must be worth it but it wasn’t. I have two dogs and am a dog lover but I just didn’t get this book at all.
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I just finished the book and am so disappointed. I was toally engrossed in the book and agree with the reader who looks for resolution. How did Gar and Trudy actually meet? What was Claude’s problem with his father? with Gar? Why was Trudy so much in denial about Claude? What was HAAI? Loved the Henry character but was too predictable and false somehow. The Hollywood ending and the ghost stuff will make for a good movie but I wasn’t looking to read a screenplay.
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I was around page 450 or so, at the point where the two dogs chose to stay with Henry when I started sobbing, but, in a good way. So, I put the book down and I went to buy two copies to send to friends that live out of town as their Holiday gifts.
Than, in one single night, I finished the book and I when I did, I was wrapped in lost and sadness and I felt cheated y the Author. You mean, Trudy never found out, Edgar was never vindicated, Edgar died? Almondine Died? where was Essay going? I mean, comon?
Now, I just want to keep the two copies and send my friends something else, even though I already told them I was absolutely LOVING THIS BOOK. But, the truth is, I have two dogs, I live by myself, life is sometimes tough and than, I get to love these people and the main dogs and, at the end, they all died, nope, not my type of ending at all.
I mean, with an Opera, at least I know what I am getting into but, I kept thinking that, Essay was going to find the bottle and SAVE Edgar or something like that. Also, I mean, if I was Trudy, I would have gone inside that Barn at whatever rishk even on my life to save Edgar. What took place here?
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The last 100 pages were ridiculous and I skimmed it like many others. I was also disappointed in the ending. It could have ended so much better. From the time Edgar “ran away” it got disappointing. Henry was hard to believe. The style of writing was beautiful at times, other times brutally boring. And too many unanswered questions…why did Claude hate his brother so much? Why did Trudy fall for him?
Just got too ridiculous at the end. Now I won’t recommend it to any of my friends
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Oh my goodness. I finished the book last night and immediately returned it to the library since there was a long waiting list. I wish that I had a chance to reread it again after stumbling upon this websight. I got the Hamlet references and I enjoyed reading Kipling stories when I was a kid. I believe that Edgar and the dogs left the Garden of Eden…We and they are in the real world now and it isn’t always a pretty sight. We do have the freedom to choose but obviously not all of us have a wide spectrum of choices. And of course human beings make incredible mistakes!!! Some of us gravitate to love and to good, but somethings get lost in translation.. I love the transcendence of love and respect between Edgar and his dogs. Who couldn’t love the relationship between Edgar and Almondine???Even in the deepest loves there are betrayals. Unexplainable betrayals. At first I hated the ending. Hated it because every main character could had done something different. Perhaps Claude couldn’t I think that he was too lost from day one. We all make choices. Maybe the point of the story was let us all make the right choices. Let us live as consciously as possible since we all bit off that knowledge from the tree.
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by the way does any one know when the author will be on the Oprah show???? I just lost my beautiful Mascot. She was part border collie and part Aust. shepherd. We got her from the shelter. She was called the mascot because they were going to put her to sleep that night. She looked sick and pretty much beaten up when we found her at 7 years of age. We adopdted her and she was almondine. A perfectly aware, king and compassionate dog. You never know what shapes angels will take in this world.She lived with us until she was 16. What a beautiful spirit she added to this world.
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I just finished this way too long book. Sorry but I would NEVER recommend it. Too laborious, and the ending was terrible. It left me unfulfilled and questioning what the heck happened. I don’t know what all the fuss was about this book but now I have my time back.
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i think edgar is a product of th “sawtelle” dogs. half dog/ half human
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Come on,folks! The ideas behind a truly great piece of literature it the ability to make one think and ask oneself how the situations from the text might relate to his or her own life. The key here is “to think.” I loved this novel from start to finish. I too had to reread certain passages. Not because I couldn’t understand what was taking place but rather to contemplate the message the author was presenting. This is a masterpiece, and like all masterpieces, it will have its critics. However, I will not be one of them. I will gladly recommend this book to any and all who read for entertainment as well as thoughtful reflection.
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Norman. You are soooo on target. Some of these review that people are giving are absurd. Come it is not a Disney Book w/ a fairy tale ending. Comments from some stateing that they would never let a teenager read this? You have got to be kidding me. They language was not bad at all. There was never any sexual connotations. Unbelievable writing. This book made you think. I have referred it to many friends and will continue to do so. I will be reading the book again so I can hopefully understand a few of the storylines that are not completely clear to me. I can’t wait. But please take this book for what it is… A masterpiece.
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I don’t guess I’ll be writing any books any time soon.. Did not check my spelling before I hit the submit button. lol. Sorry gang.
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I’m grateful for having found this site;reading other people’s comments has eased my mind — which was seriously disturbed after finishing this book! I flew through the book, enjoying it immensely, thinking I wanted to recommend it to any intelligent person I know. I would now be very selective about who I would recommend the book to. I never got the Hamlet theme — dumb me — but I can certainly see how obvious it is now. I felt that there would be tragedy coming, though, especially after the doctor died and Edgar “ran away”, but I never thought it could be so ghastly. I didn’t need any neat, Disneylike ending — what came before made that all but impossible anyway; but for Edgar to have braved the smoke over and over to save the files on the dogs, to risk his life to save what he felt was so precious — and then for him to DIE, and for the files to apparently burn up from falling cinders — and for no one to be left to understand or make use of them anyway — it was just too much. Like someone said earlier, I thought that ultimately Forte would save Edgar from the fire. So Gar is dead, murdered by the monstrous Claude; Edgar is dead, essentially murdered by Claude — who appears to have, thankfully, died himself; and Trudy is alive, but she is now a madwoman — left to live out her life in agony. Wow!! This writer is so very, very good, so lyrical, stringing together words into sentences that make you want to slowly savor them. He makes us feel so much and understand so much about our relationships with dogs, too; and he makes us love and respect these magnificent creatures even more than we already did. As to the “mysteries” many spoke of, some were never explained, for sure — and will keep all of us long wondering — but other things weren’t really mysteries: Ida was, indeed, the grandmother of the little girl; Almondine did die on the road, looking to the “trucks” and the humans in the trucks for answers about her beloved Edgar; the ghost in Henry’s barn was NOT Edgar’s father — he was the man who previously owned the home Henry now lived in; Edgar never meant to kill the vet — he thought the vet was Claude. I know that the dogs leaving at the end was supposed to be about CHOICES — but it was all wrong somehow. As someone said before me, I think this book is a masterpiece, but I hated the ending, really hated it — so much knowledge and hard-gained maturity, so much struggling for Edgar — and then it all became so ugly and he died. The End. BOO!
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Has anyone read Hamlet? I thought the author wrote the book around the story of Hamlet to make a story about raising dogs and consciousness more interesting:
Gar = Hamlet’s father named Hamelet
Edgar= Hamlet, who comes back as a ghost
Claude =Claudius, who poisened Hamlet’s father
Trudy=Gertrude, marries her husband’s brother soon after Hamlet’s death
Almondine=Ophelia, dies while Hamlet is away
Forte (the first)=Fortinbras in Hamlet, killed by Hamlet’s father
Forte (the second)=the young Fortinbras in Hamlet who receives Hamlet’s kingdom, just as Forte received the “kingdom of dogs”
Dr. Page=Polonius, killed in error in Hamlet
Glen=Polonius son out to get Hamlet
I am a literature professor, so perhaps that’s why it bothered me. All throughout the original Hamlet, Hamlet is indecisive and haunted. Too many similarities for me to not know who would die and when.
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Correction to my blog–Gar, is Hamlet’s father who comes back as a ghost
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