Book Review: The Art of Racing in the Rain

The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Enzo is a highly evolved dog who dearly loves his owner Denny. On the eve of his death, Enzo recalls his life with Denny which started when Denny was single. Enzo saw Denny through getting married, the birth of his daughter Zoe and great tragedy and adversity throughout their time together.

The Art of Racing In the Rain was my book club, Conversati-om's, January pick. I was a bit apprehensive about it because 1)I am ambivalent toward dogs 2)I do not like car racing. I think it's a true testament to the power of this book's story that I loved it anyway. The racing parts were brief and mostly used as metaphors so I was not bothered by them. And I kept forgetting Enzo was a dog, he was so insightful as a narrator. On the brief occasions that he did do something dog-like, it caught me off guard. I thought the author did a great job of explaining the rational behind Enzo's actions when he did do something that I wouldn't think a highly evolved dog would do - like tearing up Zoe's stuffed animals.

I was totally caught up in Denny's journey throughout this book. I don't want to give to much away but my stomach was in knots for him at times. This the first book by Garth Stein that I've read - I'm looking forward to reading more.