Description
At first, I couldn’t tell why I enjoyed Familiaris as much as I did. I gravitate more towards fiction about women, and the core of this novel is John Sawtelle. (His wife, Mary, plays a significant part, but it takes a while for her to seem fully realized.) The book is ponderous and philosophical, both things which are hit-or-miss for me. I fully expected to recognize the work’s literary merits but find some shortfall.
Instead, I found myself wholly wrapped up in the story and the style. In the end, I realized it reminded me of the play //Our Town//. Both have a heightened, almost folkloric way of telling the American past. It is not so much sanitized as softened through the eyes of nostalgia. It is meant to tell a story and to carry meaning to the reader, and I’m glad to say Familiaris did both.
Having never read Wroblewski’s earlier work, I cannot compare Familiaris to The Story of Edgar Sawtelle. I can only say that those who have a soft spot for the American Midwest of yore will surely find a home in these pages.
