The Art of Racing in the Rain--Jessica Delande

The Art of Racing In The Rain, Garth Stein.Fiction.Bright White Lights, LLC.2008.
“The Art of Racing in the Rain has everything: love tragedy, redemption, danger, and -most especially- 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 provides a different perspective than most fictional stories. The intelligent family dog Enzo, with an obsession of thumbs and racing, narrates the book explaining how his owners’ lives affect him. Enzo believed he was human and Denny always treated him like he was. “ Sure, I’m stuffed into a dog’s body, but that’s just the shell. It’s what’s inside that’s important. The soul. And my soul is very human.” (3) In the beginning it was just Denny and Enzo. Denny was a pro racecar driver and took Enzo always took the track to see the cars. They were the best of friends and couldn’t have been happier. Then Eve came along and married Denny. At first Eve and Enzo never really grew a bond. Enzo had a sort of envy for her because Denny adored her. Denny and Eve finally had a daughter, Zoë, who could not have loved Enzo more. They ran around, took naps, and watched TV together all day long. Everything was going well for the Swift family until Eve got very sick. Enzo became a support system for Denny, always there to listen. Eve’s sickness changed their entire life especially because of her parents who thought Denny was never good enough for her. Enzo helped Denny stay strong throughout his tough times and then when he passed away, Enzo left Denny with freedom to race again.

Before reading this book I was skeptical. Why would I want to read a book narrated by a dog? It seemed a little strange but when I began reading I could not put it down. Enzo was a hilarious narrator with his insane obsession on why dogs should have thumbs and monkeys should not. I also loved how he would sit in front of the TV all day and tried to teach himself how to read at one point. How funny is that? I became very connected to Enzo and the Swift family. The connection between a dog and their owner was portrayed so correctly in this book. Enzo was always there for Denny throughout the story not matter what, it was unconditional love. During Eve’s sickness and death Denny was accused of many things from her parents. Without Enzo, Denny would have most likely never made it through. I would recommend everyone to read this book, girls and boys, any age. I could honestly say this is now one of my favorite books. I loved how Enzo was portrayed as a human more than just a dog. At some points in the book I forgot that it was a dog telling the story. He was so compassionate about his owners and did anything to help them out. Garth Stein is an incredible writer and put an appealing and creative look onto the lives of dogs.