Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1274255 in Books
• Published on: 2008-05
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 336 pages

Review
Praise for The Art of Racing in The Rain: 'The Art of Racing in the Rain is the perfect book for anyone who knows that some of our best friends walk beside us on four legs; that compassion isn't only for humans; and that the relationship between two souls who are meant for each other never really comes to an end. Every now and then, I'm lucky enough to read a novel I can't stop thinking about: this is one of them.' Jodi Piccoult 'The Art of Racing in The Rain has everything: love, tragedy, redemption, danger, and--best of all--the canine narrator Enzo. This old soul of a dog has much to teach to us about being human. I loved this book.' Sara Gruen, author of Water for Elephants 'The Art of Racing in the Rain takes you on an unforgettable journey through another kind of mind, through the eyes -- and nose -- of a dog. I found it fascinating.' Temple Grandin, author of Animals in Translation "I savored Garth Stein's The Art of Racing in the Rain for many reasons: a dog who speaks, the thrill of competitive racing, a heart-tugging storyline, and -- best of all -- the fact that it is a meditation on humility and hope in the face of despair. Since finishing this engagingly unique novel, I've found myself staring at my own dog, thinking, Hmm, I wonder ..." Wally Lamb, Author of She's Come Undone and I Know This Much Is True Praise for How Evan Broke His Head: "An engrossing family drama." Publishers Weekly "A powerful story!" Seattle Times "A compelling tale." Seattle Post-Intelligencer "Funny, bewitching, observant." Portland Oregonian

Stein (How Evan Broke His Head and Other Secrets, 2005, etc.) uses a dog as narrator to clever effect in this tear-jerker about an aspiring race-car driver who suffers more woes than Job but never mistreats his dog.Lab mix Enzo believes he is different from other dogs, that he has a human soul in a dog body. Enzo is frustrated that he can use only "gestures" to communicate with his beloved owner Denny. Denny works in a Seattle auto-repair shop to earn money to race. Enzo watches racing channels on TV, soaking up facts and lore. Dog and man are happy in their bachelor Eden. Enter Eve. She and Enzo are wary at first. Then she goes into labor while Denny's away racing and she keeps Enzo beside her. Enzo adores the baby, Zoe, but he soon smells that something is off with Eve. By the time Zoe is a toddler, Eve has increasingly bad headaches but refuses to see a doctor until it's too late. Now come the travails. During Eve's painful, lingering death, her parents, who have never approved of Denny, loom increasingly large. When Eve dies, they sue for permanent custody of Zoe. Their case is weak until Denny is charged with rape: After a reunion of Eve's family shortly before her death, Denny gave a ride home to Eve's 15-year-old cousin, who attempted to seduce him; he rebuffed her but Enzo was the only witness. Eve's evil parents are behind the trumped-up charges. Noble Denny keeps fighting for Zoe, living by his mantra, "That which you manifest is before you." When he almost buckles, Enzo provides some rather unique assistance.Pointedly inspirational. (Kirkus Reviews)

Jodi Picoult
'A novel I can't stop thinking about'

From the Publisher
From Publishers Weekly
If you've ever wondered what your dog is thinking, Stein's third novel offers an answer. Enzo is a lab terrier mix plucked from a farm outside Seattle to ride shotgun with race car driver Denny Swift as he pursues success on the track and off. Denny meets and marries Eve, has a daughter, Zoë, and risks his savings and his life to make it on the professional racing circuit. Enzo, frustrated by his inability to speak and his lack of opposable thumbs, watches Denny's old racing videos, coins koanlike aphorisms that apply to both driving and life, and hopes for the day when his life as a dog will be over and he can be reborn a man. When Denny hits an extended rough patch, Enzo remains his most steadfast if silent supporter. Enzo is a reliable companion and a likable enough narrator, though the string of Denny's bad luck stories strains believability. Much like Denny, however, Stein is able to salvage some dignity from the over-the-top drama. (May)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Customer Reviews

A dog's view of life, love and racing cars
This hilarious yet moving story has all of the epic elements of life, death, love, betrayal and loss but what makes it unique is that it is narrated by Enzo, the family dog. From his unique canine perspective Enzo describes the idyllic life he leads with his owners, Denny and Eve, until it is devastated by illness. Enzo, wise beyond his doggy years - which of course are seven of ours - describes the events that unfold as the family tries to cope with Eve's cancer diagnosis and the fall-out from it. The title is a reference to Denny's passion for Formula One driving which has many similarities to life itself. If you love dogs, cars or the concept of triumph over adversity this book will tick your boxes. It's a cross between Love Story and Marley and Me with some Kramer v Kramer thrown in along the way. I read it in one long train journey and loved every second.

Have your tissues at the ready!
This is simply the most amazing book and is within my top ten of 2008 so far. I'm very grateful that I've had the opportunity to read this through Amazon Vine and I don't think I've gushed about a Vine product in this manner before! It's absolutely amazing and when I say get the tissues ready I'm not even talking about a specific event, I just found it all so heart-warming and a fantastic reflection on life itself that every now and then I had big fat tears rolling down my cheeks at Enzo's observations.

There's not much product information available on Amazon and the question from the inside jacket is enough to get you thinking, "Have you ever looked at a dog and wondered whether there might be more to him than meets the eye?" well in the case of Enzo there definitely is. Through Enzo we explore morality, philosophy, sociology, psychology and what it is to be human. You don't forget at all that you are reading the book from the perspective of Enzo and Garth Stein has written this into it so well - particularly all the bits about monkeys, they did have me laughing.

Enzo is adorable - that's coming from a cat person rather than a dog person as well! It shows how much we are a nation of animal lovers and I could hear how I talk to my cat in the way that other characters talked to Enzo. I now wonder what's going through her mind when I'm chatting away to her!! The plot takes you through some difficult times for Denny - a semi-professional racing car driver - and his family (to which I include Enzo!). Enzo's thoughts and opinions take what is somewhere between an outsider's perspective, mixed with a child-like attitude in order to formulate a very sensible solution.

It's a highly readable novel. I fully intended this morning reading a few chapters before getting on a doing some other work, however I couldn't put it down. I just wanted to read 'one more page', then 'a few more chapters' and before I knew it I was over half way through. It seemed pointless then putting it down ;-) Well worth the read, get it through any means you can.

Entertaining, but not for everyone.
This is the sort of book that can be read quite quickly and which is quite satisfying and entertaining. However, I would warn that it is not for everyone. There are some books that follow an animal's perspective which anyone could enjoy, but I found 'The Art of Racing in the Rain' to be more of a book that requires the reader to be an animal-lover to enjoy. This is not to say that the book was not emotionally involving (I am myself a serious dog person) but I can't see everyone enjoying it, so ask yourself that before buying. The other downside is that I sometimes felt that the author's political beliefs were being quite unsubtly thrust into the dog's thoughts, which sort of broke the immersion at times for me. Nevertheless, even though I knocked two stars off for these two reasons, I found this book to be a fairly enjoyable read and would recommend it to someone who enjoy the 'animal perspective'.