The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein (2008)

The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein

                Enzo isn’t afraid of what comes next. He knows that when he dies, he will leave his canine body behind, and become a human. He saw that on a documentary and believes it to be true so he isn’t afraid. He will miss Denny though. Denny chose him out of all the puppies at the farm. He took him home and loved him. Taught him everything there is to know about racing and then expanded the family to include his wife Eve and their daughter Zoe. But when Eve got sick things began to change. Their schedule became completely different. Denny was afraid to leave and race. Enzo saw everything and it’s their story that he is telling now. The story of his family, the love they shared and the life he lived with them.

                This is one of those books that make you think about every single relationship you have and how it affects everyone around you. The idea of having the dog narrate the story was brilliant. Enzo is an amazing character, rich with detail and an amusing personality. This is a dog with a wide plethora of information, witty and charismatic. I loved the way he focused on the nuances of being human. The simple changes in body language, dialect, even hormones that can give off so many signals to the persistent observer or dog. I couldn’t get enough of Enzo’s narrative. It was so straight forward and so matter-of-fact that it almost caught me off guard at times. The emotions Stein was able to portray through Enzo was absolutely amazing. It might be because (many) humans find dogs so trustworthy and intuitive that it was easy to trust Enzo regardless of the fact that he was bias towards Denny. Enzo could easily detect and convey the emotions of other people, whether they were genuine, deceitful, loving or trifling and in this story his instinct was always correct.

                I loved Enzo’s depth and the depth of the story. I read this is one sitting and I genuinely could not stop turning the pages. The narrative flowed so easily and the story, while slightly predictable at times, was so well done that I had to finish. There was so much about what is great about the human spirit and what could be inherently selfish about human beings. And again this was all through the eyes of a dog. Stein executed this plot so well. I needed a book to get me out of a stagnant reading spell and this was it. I applaud him for developing these characters so well and creating a story that while simple at first, held so many intricacies. This is a sad story but not because Enzo was in any way mistreated or unloved. But because he was loved and loved those around him and had to watch them experiencing, as he did, devastating loss and trials. Well done. I give this 5 out of 5 stars. Easily recommended to dog lovers and people who consider their pets to be family. Because they are in so many ways.