Mitzi Rapkin interviews author David Wroblewski at TACAW

What if you could do one “impossible” thing in your life? This inspirational question reverberates throughout David Wroblewski’s latest novel, “Familiaris.”

On Nov. 12, Mitzi Rapkin inteviews Wroblewski in person at TACAW as part of her weekly podcast, “First Draft: A Dialogue on Writing.”

Though the novel is a prequel to Wroblewski’s “The Story of Edgar Sawtelle,” he said people can read the books in any order.

---

---

The two stories follow the Sawtelle family. His New York Times bestselling and award-winning novel, “The Story of Edgar Sawtelle,” takes place in the 1970s, while “Familiaris” spans multiple decades beginning in 1919. He based both settings upon a Wisconsin farm on which he grew up.

In the first novel, Edgar Sawtelle, who was born mute and speaks only in sign language, seems destined to carry on the family tradition of raising and training a fictional breed of dogs. But when catastrophe strikes his once-peaceful home, he flees into the wilderness. There, he comes of age, fighting for both his survival and that of three yearling dogs until it’s time to decide if he should return home to confront unresolved mysteries.

---

---

“I was interested in telling a-boy-and-a-dog story for grownups,” Wroblewski said. “I was also interested in what it means to have a very clearly defined purpose in your life that’s not overtly (artistic) but is devoted to a vision of creating something beautiful.”

As he wrote the novel, Edgar’s grandfather, John, emerged as an intriguing character. It all began with the author’s summary line about him, which stated: “He was born with an extraordinary share of whimsy.”

The description came to Wroblewski spontaneously, and it haunted him.

“That phrase evokes more than it explains — at least it did for me,” he said. “He kept popping up and elbowing his way in, and I kept saying ‘This isn’t your story, but if you’re still interesting when I finish this book, you’ll get your own book.'”

Indeed, John’s intrigue persisted, and the letters, which comprised his only presence in the first novel as they tracked the life of every dog he raised, weren’t enough. So Wroblewski began writing “Familiaris” to explore such questions as: How does whimsy lead a person to follow a vision to create a new line of dogs, and what does that mean about the person?

“He would have to be very persuasive because you can’t do something like that without telling a good story about why you’re doing it,” he said.

The story begins with John leaving everything he knows and buying a run-down, rural farm in Wisconsin. It follows him into his 60s, as he and his wife revolve their lives around dogs and their children.

It portrays the dynamics of love and friendship, challenges within families and making dreams a reality, and the bond between humans and dogs, among other themes.

“I am thoroughly entranced by the setting in rural Wisconsin and how the nature of the isolation of where the characters spend time forces their bonds to deepen, and as a reader to be a witness to the transformation of families and friends and communities into something that feels so alive and urgent,” Rapkin said.

Wroblewski describes the novel as half love story and half adventure, as John encounters five distinct life stages, which the author calls “great quests.”

“Life is composed of a series of great quests, in my observation of my life and how my life has gone,” he said. “Everybody’s life is not a simple arc; it’s punctuated by these moments of solving a singular problem and achieving a singular goal — you don’t even know you’re doing that sometimes.”

“There’s so much to admire about “Familiaris,'” Rapkin said.

She prepares for her podcasts by folding down book pages about topics she wants to discuss with authors.

“That might be language, plot, character, theme, or something else – and I have a lot of dog-eared corners on this novel, which is appropriate for a book that features dog training and many lovable canine characters,” she said. “‘Familiaris’ covers the complexities of the main characters’ lifetimes, and lifetimes, by their nature, are so full of poetry and meaning. How David distilled that down to the most salient points in the lives of several main characters is a feat.”

Wroblewski surrounds John with the type of thoughtful, witty, energetic, and creative people he spent time with during his 30-year career researching software, including artificial intelligence.

He views each novel as a quest of its own to achieve a vision.

“If I’ve done my job, it’s meant to sweep you into a world that takes you away from ordinary life. My theory about what a novel should do is: It gives you a second life. There’s the life you have and the life you’re living inside this novel, where you’re worried about the characters — and you’re worried about the things you’re doing,” he said. “I hope readers come away with a sense of possibility and hope. This is a book that’s profoundly optimistic. That doesn’t mean it’s all happy. There are all kinds of travails, like in any good story, but the throughline is: Suppose you could do one impossible thing. That’s the spirit that resonates throughout this book.”