The Story of Edgar Sawtell David Wroblewski
Because I have no idea what to say about this book, except that it is haunting, and hard to put down, I am going to quote Mark Doty who reviewed it on the back of the book.
"This remarkable hybrid seems like an impossibility: an American Hamlet, both ghost story and melodrama, a coming of age tale, a hymn to the land, and central to it all, some of the best writing about the inner lives of dogs anywhere."
Yep, that about says it all, except it is beautifully written, well-drawn characters, and it's a first novel. Wonder if Mr. Wroblewski has more stories in him.