Rating: - You have to really like dogs and be very patient
No doubt you have to be patient to train dogs and as Claude says in the book you can get anything you want if you are patient, and you have to be patient to enjoy this book. I found the premise of the story promising and about the first third of the book interesting and engaging. Then it becomes more and more abstract: ghosts, thoughts of animals, strange characters. I simply cannot figure out where some of the characters fit in or some of the strange events in the story. In my opinion, there were far too many unanswered questions and plot lines left hanging. Granted the writing is at times beautiful; I had no problem envisioning the Wisconsin woods, the smell of smoke, and the moist wet noses of the dogs. However, there was far too much detail about the nuances of training dogs (especially by a mute), and too many strange and seemingly unnecessary characters. Just too many words for what I consider a plot that has been told before (son avenges father's death, etc.)

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Rating: - Loved the story, Hated the ending
I could not wait to read this book. I was so excited that it was Oprah's new top pick and not to mention what Stephen King said on the back of the book. I will admit I was not able to put this book down. I loved every minute of it, until the ending. The ending was depressing. The whole story went no where in my mind. The ending really was a big dissapointment to me. I was not expecting a miracle ending but atleast something.. I got nothing!

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Rating: - Best Book of the Year
This is the best novel I have read all year. There are so many pleasures to be had in reading this exquisite story. You can read it for it's rich, sumptuous language or it's thrilling, page-turning plot, or even it's psychologically nuanced portrait of a family in crisis caught at the cross currents of corrosive envy and profound grief. David Wroblewski evokes a world that is timeless and universal, epic in scope and intimate in detail. This is the type of story you can sink into and truly enjoy. It reminds us of the unique joy that only reading can provide. Filled with wonder and mystery, it takes Shakespeare's Hamlet as it's inspiration but helps us to appreciate the themes of that great work in a new and wholly original way. A moving and beautful book.

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Rating: - what's the point?
I was excited to read this book. At first it was so slow and over the top descriptive. Enough about the dogs already. In the middle it looked like it may be worth the time because the story got interesting, but then... all these unanswered questions. Why such a mysterious lead up about Shultz? Why go on & on & on about the dog breeding and training considering the ending? What was the secret that the little girl thought Edgar knew? Did Gar really shoot Forte or was that a lie? Why did Claud hate Gar so much, that he went such great lengths to pre plan Gar's murder? Why did Edgar break the syringe and later toss into the silo when it was evidence? Why did Edgar attack his mom? Since Claud was responsible for Gar's murder, why kill the vet? Why didn't Edgar listen to Ida's prediction "it's only wind" and just stay with Henry? Why hurt Glen? Did the author just kill everyone because he didn't know what else to do? What was the point of killing off Edgar? Why go into such detail about the farm just to burn it down? Who will ever know the truth about the murders? I guess you just kill everyone and destroy everything if you can't figure out a way to end a story. If the author would have tied it all together and made some sense of it, the book might have been worth the read. Instead, like I said, after 576 pages, what was the point?

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Rating: - Are these 5 star reviews real?
Come on folks, this was a very bad book...I really question the legitamacy of the 5 star reviews. I have never seen such a wide spread of reviews...at least it was on sale....and still is. LOL