This rich fantasy masterpiece is surely distinctive among other animal fantasies that have preceded it. The story begins with a vivid description of Edward that within the first two pages gives the reader the image of a distinguished and intellectual gentleman of a rabbit. He is dressed in fine clothes with a pocket watch. As the story continues to unfold the reader eventually ascertains that the love bestowed upon the rabbit by his owner, the young girl, Abilene Tulane is strangely unrequited by Edward.
He waits placidly in the chair where the girl places him never far from her side. Edward presents as an observant yet haughty toy rabbit who resents the intimidating remarks from those of the household who show by their words and actions that they do not appreciate his finer qualities. Soon after Abilene's grandmother Pellegrina tells her a story about an unloving princess turned into a warthog by a witch the grandmother drops the reader a hint of foreshadowing by whispering to Edward that she is disappointed in him.
Edward's thoughts are descriptively revealed by the author as she narrates the story. He thinks matter-of-fact thoughts about his observations about people and situations around him, but the reader infers that he lacks emotion and is incapable of feeling deeply. At this point in the story I became personally involved in the intricacies of the unfolding story. The nostalgia of my children's beloved favorite animal toys that seemed melded to their every adventure and excursion awashed my connections to the book.
The plot began to tumble quickly into a mass of twists and turns like a sudden dip in a roller coaster. Edward's fate was so undeserved and tragic the reader wants to just shout at the characters who seem to recklessly disengage from Edward's deep unknowing needs. I gasped when I read that Edward was tossed overboard by an uncaring young boy who was taunting Abilene on board a ship taking her family to England. I felt Abilene's pain and loss vividly as I knew my daughter's tragic loss of a stuffed animal on a trip. Meanwhile Edward shares his thoughts about his unseemly condition and plight in his usual mundane fashion. I kept wanting Edward to be found by his owner and showered with love and affection to draw out the hidden passion that must be within that fine china self. But alas, his unfortunate adventures had only begun. Subsequently dark and narrow escapes await Edward as he tosses and tumbles through his life's maze. Edward was rescued from the sea by a fisherman, later unearthed by a hobo's dog and endeared by the hobo, and thrown off a train by another hobo. He was rescued from a scarecrow pole by a young boy, Bryce to be given to his dear, dying sister. Later, Edward is victim to an angry man smashing him to the floor and breaking him. Through all this Edward is beginning to realize sentiments of loss and love, and it begins to pain him. Edward survives and is patched back to doll life by a toy mender. DiCamillo had magically entwined me in Edward's near-death experience in doll heaven when the scene changed. At the end of the story I was sitting right beside Edward on a shelf in a doll shop as Edward finally poured his heart out to an old antique doll who tries to contend with him about his decrepit worth. He now knows why grandmother Pellegrina had been disappointed in him. At last Edward has soul. He knows love, because he has been loved by a young girl, a fisherman, a hobo, a dying girl, and a young boy. I felt devasted by the many tragedies of Edward's life at this point, and I could only expect a glimmer of a hopeful ending of the story. DiCamillo crafted her magic at the close of the story with a symphony of mended pieces: A woman and a small girl wearing a locket came into the doll shop. Edward has been found and reclaimed by Abilene who was wearning Edward's long lost pocket watch around her neck, and Edward rejoiced at the reunion.
This book will surely be cherished as a classic piece of literature as it reveals the transpiring soul of a china rabbit seeking recognition and honor in bridging his own need for love with that of his grateful owner.
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