Familiaris (Oprah's Book Club)

David Wroblewski

Richard Poe (Narrator)

06-11-24

37hrs 13min

Abridgement

Unabridged

Genre

Fiction/Historical

As low as $0.00 Regular Price $109.95
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06-11-24

37hrs 13min

Abridgement

Unabridged

Genre

Fiction/Historical

Description

“An extraordinary journey that brilliantly interweaves history, philosophy, adventure, and mysticism to explore the meaning of love, friendship, and living your life’s true purpose.” Oprah Winfrey

Oprah’s Book Club Selection for Summer 2024
A Newsday Pick of Summer Books
A Washington Post Book Club Pick
A Kirkus Reviews Pick of Best Historical Fiction of 2024
An Esquire Pick of Best Books of Summer
A Minneapolis Star-Tribune Pick of Summer Books 
A Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Pick of New Books for Summer Reading 
A Lansing City Pulse (Michigan) Pick of Best Books from Major Book Clubs 
A Charleston, SC, Post & Courier Pick of Epic Fiction
An Audible Pick of New & Noteworthy Audiobooks
A Kirkus Reviews Pick of 2024's Hottest Summer Reads
A Barnes & Noble Favorite Indie Book for June & July
A Publishers Weekly Pick of Book Club Books for July
See All +

Oprah’s Book Club Pick for Summer 2024

“An extraordinary journey that brilliantly interweaves history, philosophy, adventure, and mysticism to explore the meaning of love, friendship, and living your life’s true purpose.”—Oprah Winfrey

The follow-up to the beloved #1 New York Times bestselling modern classic The Story of Edgar Sawtelle, Familiaris is the stirring origin story of the Sawtelle family and the remarkable dogs that carry the Sawtelle name.

It is spring 1919, and John Sawtelle’s imagination has gotten him into trouble … again. Now John and his newlywed wife, Mary, along with their two best friends and their three dogs, are setting off for Wisconsin’s northwoods, where they hope to make a fresh start—and, with a little luck, discover what it takes to live a life of meaning, purpose, and adventure. But the place they are headed for is far stranger and more perilous than they realize, and it will take all their ingenuity, along with a few new friends—human, animal, and otherworldly—to realize their dreams.

By turns hilarious and heartbreaking, mysterious and enchanting, Familiaris takes readers on an unforgettable journey from the halls of a small-town automobile factory, through an epic midwestern firestorm and an ambitious WWII dog-training program, and far back into mankind’s ancient past, examining the dynamics of love and friendship, the vexing nature of families, the universal desire to create something lasting and beautiful, and of course, the species-long partnership between Homo sapiens and Canis familiaris.

Book discussion questions are available here: Click here to view or download

Praise

“An extraordinary journey that brilliantly interweaves history, philosophy, adventure, and mysticism to explore the meaning of love, friendship, and living your life’s true purpose.” Oprah Winfrey

“By taking us back to the origins of the Sawtelle family, Wroblewski has set a storytelling bonfire as enthralling in its pages as it is illuminating of our fragile and complicated humanity. Familiaris is as expansive and enlightening a saga as has ever been written.” Tom Hanks, Academy Award–winning actor, bestselling author of The Making of Another Major Motion Picture Masterpiece and Uncommon Type

“If you’ve read The Story of Edgar Sawtelle, you know that no one writes about dogs with more insight than Wroblewski…This great American novel bustles with life, and if it takes all summer to read it, who cares.” Newsday

“Wroblewski’s talent dances on the page in a searingly gorgeous novel written with piercing, insightful language. Readers of David James Duncan, John Irving, and George Saunders will fall in love…By the end of this book, readers will wish for even more.” Library Journal (starred review)

“Moving, funny, heartbreaking, mysterious, and magical…[an] unforgettable journey.” Post and Courier

“At the center of the book is a huge barn; a cozy, warm home; and two characters whose hearts are filled with love, courage, a sense of humor, and a bright burning desire to bring something beautiful into the world. Dogs.” BookReporter

“Tender, ambitious, fierce, deeply human, and of course wonderfully canine, David Wroblewski’s second novel is an American tour de force. There were moments when reading that I thought of Russo, Irving, Strout, McCarthy, Gilbert, and then just Wroblewski himself. A story spun out over generations, to be read for generations, this is a big brave book that is old fashioned in the very best sense of the word." Colum McCann, National Book Award winner and author of Apeirogon and Let the Great World Spin

“‘Suppose you could do one impossible thing,’ John Sawtelle says in David Wroblewski’s stunning new novel Familiaris. What would you do? Clearly, what the author would do and has done is write this impossibly wise, impossibly ambitious, impossibly beautiful book.” Richard Russo, Pulitzer Prize winner, author of the North Bath trilogy (Nobody’s Fool, Everybody’s Fool, and Somebody’s Fool)

“Like many readers, I adored The Story of Edgar Sawtelle, with its gripping tale of treachery and the magnificent Sawtelle dogs. Now I adore Familiaris. David Wroblewski is a wonderfully inventive writer; he knows so much—how to test a tractor, how to make a table, how to borrow money, how to see the future—but best of all he is a writer of extraordinary characters, human and canine, who will take up residence in your mind and heart. A dazzling and irresistible novel.” Margot Livesey, New York Times bestselling author of The Road from Belhaven and The Flight of Gemma Hardy

“Already having drawn comparisons to Russo, Irving, Strout, McCarthy, and Gilbert, with García Márquez added here, Wroblewski earns them all, amply rewarding readers who have been waiting impatiently for fifteen years…This colossus of a book will own you, and you will weep to be freed.” Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

“No writer understands the depths of dogs’ natures the way David Wroblewski does, and once again we have a vital, absorbing, and remarkable fiction fueled by this understanding. Familiaris is a rare novel, modest and epic.” Joan Silber, PEN/Faulkner Award–winning author of Secrets of Happiness and Improvement

“David Wroblewski is one of the few contemporary authors who can create a world that the reader doesn’t merely visit but fully inhabits. And what a world it is, rich with love and joy and heartbreak. And wonder, especially in the way human and canine form inseparable bonds. It has been a long wait for a new Wroblewski novel. The wait is worth it.” Ron Rash, New York Times bestselling author of Serena, In the Valley, and The Caretaker

“There are beautiful passages on the bonds between humans and animals and plenty of folksy charm. Fans of the first book will be satisfied.” Publishers Weekly

“Spellbinding…This warm, big-hearted novel pays tribute to the joys of curiosity and creation and turns out to be surprisingly funny, even as storm clouds gather on the family’s horizon.” Minneapolis Star-Tribune

“Mythic in its proportions and riveting in its finely textured portrait of life in Wisconsin’s Northwoods, the Great American Novel vaults Wroblewski into the rarefied company of epic storytellers like Cormac McCarthy and Gabriel García Márquez.” Esquire

“I am just one of the legions of fans who has been waiting since 2008 for another book by David Wroblewski. Good news: Familiaris is here…You can dive into this massive reading project assured of a good time…You’re going to be sad when it’s over.” Marion Winik, The Weekly Reader (WYPR)

“Listeners will be fascinated by the origin story of the Sawtelle family…Poe’s distinctive characters, tone, and pacing perfectly reflect the storyline.” AudioFile

+ More
Details
More Information
Language English
Release Day Jun 10, 2024
Release Date June 11, 2024
Release Date Machine 1718064000
Imprint Blackstone Publishing
Provider Blackstone Publishing
Categories Literature & Fiction, Genre Fiction, Family Life, Magical Realism, Historical Fiction, Literary Fiction, Most Popular, Coming Soon, Most Popular, Book Club, Discussion Guides, Discussion Guides, Book Club Favorites
Author Bio
David Wroblewski

David Wroblewski is the author of the internationally bestselling novel The Story of Edgar Sawtelle, an Oprah Book Club pick, Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers selection, and winner of the Colorado Book Award, Indie Choice Best Author Discovery award, and the Midwest Bookseller Association’s Choice award. The Story of Edgar Sawtelle has been translated into over twenty-five languages. He lives in Colorado with the writer Kimberly McClintock.

Narrator Bio
Richard Poe

Richard Poe, a professional actor for more than thirty years, has appeared in numerous Broadway shows, including 1776 and M. Butterfly. On television he has had recurring roles on Star Trek and Frasier. His films include Born on the Fourth of July and Presumed Innocent. Poe is a well-known and prolific audiobook performer and the winner of numerous AudioFile Earphones Awards.

Overview

Oprah’s Book Club Selection for Summer 2024
A Newsday Pick of Summer Books
A Washington Post Book Club Pick
A Kirkus Reviews Pick of Best Historical Fiction of 2024
An Esquire Pick of Best Books of Summer
A Minneapolis Star-Tribune Pick of Summer Books 
A Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Pick of New Books for Summer Reading 
A Lansing City Pulse (Michigan) Pick of Best Books from Major Book Clubs 
A Charleston, SC, Post & Courier Pick of Epic Fiction
An Audible Pick of New & Noteworthy Audiobooks
A Kirkus Reviews Pick of 2024's Hottest Summer Reads
A Barnes & Noble Favorite Indie Book for June & July
A Publishers Weekly Pick of Book Club Books for July
See All +

Oprah’s Book Club Pick for Summer 2024

“An extraordinary journey that brilliantly interweaves history, philosophy, adventure, and mysticism to explore the meaning of love, friendship, and living your life’s true purpose.”—Oprah Winfrey

The follow-up to the beloved #1 New York Times bestselling modern classic The Story of Edgar Sawtelle, Familiaris is the stirring origin story of the Sawtelle family and the remarkable dogs that carry the Sawtelle name.

It is spring 1919, and John Sawtelle’s imagination has gotten him into trouble … again. Now John and his newlywed wife, Mary, along with their two best friends and their three dogs, are setting off for Wisconsin’s northwoods, where they hope to make a fresh start—and, with a little luck, discover what it takes to live a life of meaning, purpose, and adventure. But the place they are headed for is far stranger and more perilous than they realize, and it will take all their ingenuity, along with a few new friends—human, animal, and otherworldly—to realize their dreams.

By turns hilarious and heartbreaking, mysterious and enchanting, Familiaris takes readers on an unforgettable journey from the halls of a small-town automobile factory, through an epic midwestern firestorm and an ambitious WWII dog-training program, and far back into mankind’s ancient past, examining the dynamics of love and friendship, the vexing nature of families, the universal desire to create something lasting and beautiful, and of course, the species-long partnership between Homo sapiens and Canis familiaris.

Book discussion questions are available here: Click here to view or download

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