There are lots of ways in which a first-time novelist can attain prominence. They can make it to the top of the New York Times bestseller list; they can receive rave reviews from literary critics, or, like American author David Wroblewski, they can be chosen by Oprah Winfrey for her Book Club. The Story of Edgar Sawtelle, Wroblewski's debut novel, was also one of Oprah's picks that year for her recession-themed Oprah's Favorite Things.
The novel cleverly re-works William Shakespeare's Elizabethan play Hamlet, but sets it in rural Wisconsin, and tells the story of a mute boy whose father is killed. After the murder, he runs away, in fear of his life, but returns later because he is certain that uncle committed the murder, and he wants to find a way to prove it.
On June 29, 2008, the novel hit the New York Times bestseller list, and it was later optioned for a movie by Prison Break actor Wentworth Miller.
