The Art of Racing in the Rain

The one star is for the initially intriguing conceit that this is a story narrated by a dog, peppered with philosophy gleaned from professional race car driving. With such a loveable, thoughtful narrator, covering hard-hitting topics like death, cancer, and ugly court cases, I was crossing my fingers that the author could handle this skillfully and somehow come up with a winner. Like "Room", only instead of a child, we have a dog.

But as I read on, I started to dislike the voice of the author, who I visualized as an unskilled ventriloquist trying to project his hackneyed Hallmark lines into the mouth of a flimsy hand puppet. I felt talked down to, and I can almost detect the dramatic pauses after particularly philosophical (melodramatic) show more lines, as if allowing us time to appreciate how wise and human this dog is. What a waste of a great idea. Instead of a character that is insightful but childlike (as I imagine a dog would be), we end up with someone who sounds like a middle-aged man with occasional delusions that he is a dog. Meanwhile, the rest of the characters are flat, and seem like mere props in this moralizing story.

In short: Nice try, but it didn't fly. show less

"Touching, Clever Story Narrated by Enzo the Dog"The only thing that prevented me from giving this poignant novel 5 stars was the emphasis on car racing. I hate car racing. The fact that Garth Stein held my interest for ANY discussion of car racing is a testament to his storytelling skills, but sometimes I thought he went on a bit long about the finer points of speeding down a track.What I loved is the relationship between man and dog so beautifully portrayed in this story. Denny Swift is Enzo's master, and if a master ever deserves unadulterated loyalty, Denny is the one. He's full of integrity and full of love for his dog. Denny's family tragedies are heartbreaking and infuriating, but he and Enzo stick together no matter what. The show more lawsuit surrounding the family situation is quite suspenseful, and Enzo makes you crave justice for Denny.Telling the story from a lab/terrier's point of view is ingenious, and I really appreciated Enzo's little insights like reading a man's character from the smell of his hands or his maliciousness in feeding a dog a hot pepper. The hallucination with the stuffed zebra was hilarious! This dog is one of the smartest narrators I've ever met.Enzo seems like such a cool dude. I would love to be his friend one day. It would be an honor. show less

Yes, as other reviewers have pointed out, this is a book about a dog and about car racing, but it is so much more. Enzo (narrator of the story, and the dog in question) is a self-proclaimed human soul in a dog’s body who firmly believes that, when the time is right, he will return to the world in human form. Until then, while lamenting his long, flat and loose tongue, and lack of opposable thumbs, he uses knowledge gleaned from his interactions with his race-car-driving master (Denny) and countless hours of watching car racing on the Speed Channel, to make sense of his world and plan for his eventual reincarnation.

As he recounts the story of his life, Enzo bears witness to the events that have shaped his master’s life, both past show more and present. The subject matter dealt with in this story is predominantly serious - grief and loss, and the horrible things people can do to each other under the guise of supposedly “doing the right thing”. But interspersed throughout the book are moments of pure delight. The vision of a deliriously happy Enzo strapped to the car seat by a bedsheet, doing hotlaps of California’s Thunderhill Raceway Park with Denny, will stay with me for ever. And I will certainly never look at stuffed toys – particularly zebras - in quite the same way again!

From the context set at the beginning of the book you know exactly what is coming at the end … so could someone please explain to me why I chose to read the last couple of chapters in the train on my way to work (ie. where I had to subvert both tears and laughter – and all emotions in between – in order to maintain a sense of public dignity)!! If you have any sense at all, as you are nearing the end of this book please find yourself a quiet corner where you can savour those last moments with Enzo. One of the most touching reflections is when, as the story nears its end, he wonders to himself: “Have I squandered my dogness? Have I forsaken my nature for my desires? Have I made a mistake by anticipating my future and shunning my present?” This is perhaps one of Enzo’s most “human” moments – for how often do we, too, wish away today in anticipation of what may happen tomorrow. show less

We can never live up to what our dogs think of us. They are never disappointed in us, never ashamed of us. We never fail in their eyes. And the only thing they really ask of us is the bond between them and us.

This is a story told by a dog, Enzo, who wants to become human, and about his human, Denny. Denny is a race car driver, earning his own way up through the ranks. He'll have to earn his way through more than just the dangers and competitions of racing, though -- he'll have to persevere through the illness of his wife, Eve, and through the consequences of that for their daughter, Zoe.

Enzo longs to be human, not in a Pinocchio sort of a way, but in the way of someone schooled in beliefs of reincarnation, a dog wanting to earn his way show more to reincarnation as a human. He wishes he had thumbs, and he wishes his tongue were short and dexterous instead of long and slobbery. Otherwise, he has the mind of a human, and the kind of understanding of human aspirations and relationships that any of us would love to have. He believes that by conquering his dog-ness he can, by the end of his life, earn his way to what he regards as the next step up, to become human.

Denny and Enzo help each other along the way. Enzo studies and admires Denny. Racing is everything to Enzo. He doesn't just enjoy it, he learns the lessons of life in the lessons of racing, drawn from what he sees in Denny's driving and in what Denny tells him. Mostly, he learns, "The car goes where the eyes go." Achievement follows hope. Enzo's aspiration to be human is his compass. Sometimes Denny leads the way, but sometimes Enzo leads the way for Denny.

Enzo wants more than anything else to stand with Denny, on two feet, shaking Denny's hand and introducing himself. He wants it so badly that in death, there's no real sting, only the promise of following and living in Denny's footsteps. show less

Told from the point of view of a man's best friend, his dog, The Art of Racing in the Rain is a mixture of sweetness and sorrow in just the right proportions. Seeing some of what people do to one another, I wondered why the dog, Enzo, would be anxious at all to become a man (as he has been told might happen to him in a National Geographic documentary he has watched on TV). I couldn't help thinking that this same story told from the point of view of the hero/protagonist, Denny, Enzo's owner, would have been less appealing a probably seemed a bit of a cliche. Happily, Garth Stein was smart enough to put the story to us through Enzo and give it life without too much bruising emotion. Many of the things that happen Enzo doesn't completely show more understand, but we do, and they play better at one remove from the participants.

I thoroughly enjoyed this. It moved quickly, I learned a bit about race car driving and found it quite interesting, and, of course, who doesn't love a good dog. This is another book that I must thank my Goodread's friends for. I would probably never have picked it up had I not been told by people I trust that it was worth the reading. show less

5***** and a ❤

The narrator of this gem is Enzo … a Labrador / ? mix (Airedale, perhaps). Enzo spends much of his time watching television and he has learned a lot. Race videos or the Speed Channel are his favorites, but one memorable program on National Geographic was about the dogs of Mongolia. It was from this program that he learned that when a dog dies, if he has been a very good dog, his soul will return as a man. Enzo is certain this will be true for him, and when that happens he will find his master, shake his hand and tell him “Enzo says hello.”

Enzo’s master is Denny Swift, who works as a “customer service technician” for the most prestigious BMW dealership in Seattle but who is a talented (nay, genius) driver who show more just can’t catch a break. Denny marries Eve, the daughter of wealthy parents who do not approve, and they have a daughter Zoe. It’s Enzo’s job to “take care of Eve and Zoe” when Denny is on the road pursuing his racing dreams. But Enzo can sense that there is something wrong with Eve; he knows, long before his humans do, that Eve has something deadly growing in her brain.

The story could be maudlin but it isn’t. Enzo is a philosophical narrator, and also a fair one. (Though he does have a thing for the zebra demon.) There are moments of laugh-out-loud humor, sing-out-loud joy, and sigh-out-loud sadness.

When I got to the last page I wanted to start reading all over again. This is a book I WILL read multiple times.

Dec 2010 update: I listened to the CD for this re-reading. The audio is performed perfectly by Christopher Evan Welch. Have a hankie ready for the last few chapters. show less

Ever since I was completely traumatized by Old Yeller in elementary school, my policy is to avoid any books that involve the death or injury of pets. This is further cemented in my Bibliophile Personal Commandments List above even the biggies like "Do Not EVER Dogear Pages, Useth a Bookmark'' and "No Murderous Spine Creasing.'' When my son came home last year from school carrying That-Evil-Book-I-Can't-Stand, I went so far as to completely spoil the ending for him from the start. That book -- known as OY from here on out as I can't even say its name without cringing -- should come with a warning label for children: Warning Warning Warning....young child has to shoot his pet at the end of this book. Make therapy appointment now in show more preparation. As it was, my son was the only one who didn't cry in class when they read and discussed the ending. 22 kids traumatized. 1 kid pre-prepared and able to deal. I call that a Mom-win.

But I digress.....back to The Art of Racing in the Rain. The above rant does figure in to this -- I promise.

When I saw the blurb for The Art of Racing in the Rain, I immediately started my OY-esque shunning behavior. I avert my eyes from you .....oh dog-killing tome! But, the cute dog on the cover did bring my eyes back to the page. Then I read a review. The reviewer said the story is emotional, but kind. That the author gives the dog the love he deserves....not a shot gun blast to the head.

Ok. Commandments get broken all the time, right? Gray areas do happen. It's not a Biblio-sin to do a bit of a side-step and let the right one in. So, I took the plunge. I had to do this as a buddy read though. I needed a hand to hold as I read into a plot area I had avoided like the plague for 40 years.

This is a beautiful book. Lots of emotion, humor and life lessons within its pages. The dog is one of the main characters and talks a lot about what it's like to be a dog, how he wishes he could talk to the people around him, and even how he wishes often that he had thumbs. Oftentimes while the people around him were fumbling around and really making a mess of their lives, the dog was the one that understood and had the answers. But he had to creatively try to impart his wisdom on his family.

Beautiful dog. Beautiful story. A bit of a tear-jerker in spots.....but decidedly hopeful and beautiful as well. The ending was definitely full of joy and hope. Just a lovely book. And I went and hugged all 4 of my dogs when I was done reading. :)

I still hate OY. But I'm glad I broke my commandment to read this book.

For more information on the author and his books, check out his website: http://www.garthstein.com/ show less