Garth Stein

A heart-wrenching but deeply funny and ultimately uplifting story of family, love, loyalty, and hope--a captivating look at the wonders and absurdities of human life . . . as only a dog could tell it

The Art of Racing in the Rain

Naomi Kemph

However, I don’t understand why people insist on pitting the concepts of evolution and creation against each other. Why can’t they see that spiritualism and science are one?

Merry Rudinger

Erin G.

I'm generally wary of books narrated by children or pets but the narrator's voice really grabbed me from the start. Enzo's such a well-written character it makes up for some farfetched plot twists.

Stephanie Denton

Easy to feel for both the human and his dog. One I'd read again.

Deepika Ramesh

This review was written on 11-March-2015

Eight hours after my 12-year-old Lab was immobile, but showed no signs of being in pain, we took him to the vet yesterday. Doctor's answer wasn't new. Calvin's Hip Dysplasia has begun to bother him more, and I should ensure that he doesn't exert himself.

My dog, Calvin has been on pain management since he was six. His body must now be cursing me for filling it with numerous tablets everyday. But, I only hope, that with those cataract filled eyes which once used to twinkle, and with that heart which still brims with unconditional love, he could see that he is loved as ever.

As the memories of Calvin's recent struggle with Hip Dysplasia continued to linger, I began reading The Art of Racing in The Rain by Garth Stein. The narrator is a dog named Enzo. His life's also controlled by Hip Dysplasia.

Page no. 2 carried this passage:

  I'm old. And while I'm very capable of getting older, that's not the way I want to go out. Shot full of pain medication and steroids to reduce the swelling of my joints. Vision fogged with cataracts. Puffy, plasticky packages of Doggie Depends stocked in the pantry. I'm sure Denny would get me one of those little wagons I've seen on the streets, the ones that cradle the hindquarters so a dog can drag his ass behind him when things start to fail. That's humiliating and degrading. I'm not sure if it's worse than dressing up a dog for Halloween, but it's close. He would do it out of love, of course.

I knew I had started reading a book that I really wanted to. A book that seemed to talk to the heart.

From the very beginning, Enzo tells us that he is not a regular dog. He is philosophical and sagacious. And, he has a penchant for several things under the sun. Racing, watching TV, Mangolian legends among many. Raised by an up-and-coming car-racer Denny Swift, Enzo, named after Enzo Ferrari, is an integral part of his torn family. He also acts beyond his canine-abilities at one or two junctures just to thwart his master from making wrong decisions. It might come across as a cliche, and sometimes, a bit preachy too, but since the time he started relating the story, he told us that he is not ordinary. So, I wouldn't want to want to think any other way. :)

Enzo shines at explaining the limitations of the communication between his humans and himself. When people around him ask for his opinions, and pour their hearts out, all that he can offer in return are gestures. But some grand ones. As they still fail to understand his methods, his heart sinks. At places like these, my heart sank too, for the helpless dog that is so full of thoughts.

His reflections on human absurdities are first-class. The clever dog has some strong opinions about the common, yet expensive mistakes that humans commit.

  Learn to listen! I beg of you. Pretend you are a dog like me and listen to other people rather than steal their stories.
  

  

  People are always worried about what's happening next. They often find it difficult to stand still, to occupy the now without worrying about the future. People are not generally satisfied with what they have; they are very concerned with what they are going to have.
  

  

  The human language, as precise as it is with its thousands of words, can still be so wonderfully vague.

As Enzo accompanies Denny in a long battle and a lonely life, the dog makes many an observation about his master's indomitable spirit. He does extol his virtues. However, it is not mere hero-worshiping. Several life-lessons are subtly packaged in his opinions.

  Lock the sun in a box. Force the sun to overcome adversity in order to rise. Then we will cheer! I will often admire a beautiful sunrise, but I will never consider the sun a champion for having risen.

To live every day as it it had been stolen from death, that is how I would like to live. To feel the joy of life, as Eve felt the joy of life. To separate oneself from the burden, the angst, the anguish that we encounter every day. To say I am alive, I am wonderful, I am. I am. That is something to aspire to. When I am a person, that is how I will live my life.

Such a simple concept, yet so true: that which we manifest is before us; we are the creators of our own destiny. Be it through intention or ignorance, our successes and our failures have been brought on by none other than ourselves.

Enzo harbours a dream to live a human-life (No! I didn't spoil it for you). He wants a thumb that would let him hold Denny's collar when he is crestfallen, and a small tongue that would allow him to comfort his master again with his words. On the other hand, he pities the kind of deplorable lives humans lead. On such occasions, he asks himself if he is ready yet, to live a life that is full of trials and tribulations. For all we know, Enzo would make a better human being with all his wisdom. And that's really saying something.

The analogy that Enzo employs to explain life is racing, which is a foreign theme to me. But, with his deep-dives, I have now got an acquired taste for the sport. After Diana Wynne Jones's Dogsbody, The Art of Racing in The Rain moved me immensely. I kept shedding buckets of tears, adjusted my glasses, and received incredulous looks from my dogs. :)

Enzo observes Denny's struggles at close-quarters, and he provides a fly-on-the-wall perspective, which is heart-wrenching and enlightening. It's a book that I see myself reading again. The duo's story is a tribute to our memories of our pets, and a demonstration of some beautiful values like friendship, hope, loyalty... They remind us that these values are not overrated.

Enzo is as endearing as Hachiko, and as brilliant and brave as Denny Swift, his hero.

Meagan Fischer 

** spoiler alert **
           I could maybe give this 3 stars but it doesn't feel right. The story was easy to read, went down like water and the dog POV gimmick was cute. But the gimmick was thrown off a few times by the dog reporting on things he didn't witness just for the expediency of the story. Some good character descriptions from a dog's POV and lots of humorous prose related to life as a dog considering human concepts. 

One major aspect I disliked was the "manifest" stuff - the idea that we create our own destinies. Not trauma informed at all. (Yet the story somehow also conveys a sense of compassion in ways that does seem trauma-informed-adjacent). There's this mentality that people are responsible for the outcomes of their lives completely, without acknowledging access to resources and how much of a difference that makes. But I was still able to enjoy the story despite this philosophy woven throughout.

Lauren Grey

This book was so original and different than anything I had ever read before. Sure I got a few laughs from people around me when I told them I was reading a book from a dog’s perspective, but it was so worth it. One friend said it had to be a spin-off of Marley and Me, but I would like to exclaim that it was nothing like it at all!

Being a dog lover and having a personal connection with my own dog, Zoey, I have to say that I could relate to this book in a few ways. Although my Zoey is not as well behaved as Enzo, the dog in the book, I still knew that Stein was on the right track when he wrote this book. There are days I am absolutely positive Zoey known what I’m saying or thinking and some of her qualities and characteristics are so human-like that I question it on certain occasions.

I felt that the beginning was a little slow; it gave me a few laughs, but overall I enjoyed the book more once all of the drama began with the grandparents.

Overall this book was fantastic! It was so different and refreshing and funny. If you have a dog it will for sure make you think twice when talking or playing with them. I loved that the book was from a dog’s perspective, because many people see the world only through our narrow human eyes, so getting to experience it from the eyes of a dog is so exciting!

Nearing the end of his life, Enzo, a dog with a philosopher's soul, tries to bring together the family, pulled apart by a three year custody battle between daughter Zoe's maternal grandparents and her father Denny, a race car driver.

A Novel

Peggy Walker

I must have been short on time that I didn't write a review for this book. Loved it. Really, really loved it. I learned a lot about auto racing, but mostly I fell in love with Enzo. Who wouldn't love a dog who bemoans the lack of opposable thumbs and who watches TV when the master is away. Anthropomorphic characters are very difficult but he did a stellar job. My highest recommendation.

Shannon Fisher

Caitlin Moore

Such a sweet story, and an incredible writing style. Stein makes you feel like you are part of the story. In. The first chapter, Enzo is on his death bed and telling his life story, so you know the ending will be sad, but still worth reading.

Kristen Claiborn

My future husband has determined that every story about a dog is sad. He's correct. Sad, however, doesn't necessarily equal a bad story. There was a lot that happened in this story that made my blood boil, so kudos to Stein for provoking feelings. That's pretty much how I review books: based on how the book made me feel. Enzo's person was treated terribly by his wife's family...ALL of that family should be ashamed of themselves. Those people were just horrible. It ended well...so that terrible family got what they deserved (love that). It's worth reading, but be prepared-it's sad.

Katie Siegle

Amazing, wholesome, and overall inspiring. Stein weaves a tale filled with motivation and sticks to the constant theme of never-giving-up. Overall easy read; I couldn’t put it down.

eliz

served as a solace for me when I read it in a day. heavy... and consoling at the same time. I may know nothing about racing nor a fan of it, but I'm surprised how the author managed to describe things to the littlest details and tell us how these move and shift and develop from the perspective of a dog.

Seah Andrea

** spoiler alert **
           I love itttttt! You barely see books with this theme of having the story in the dog's point of view. The amount of frustration and tears this books has given me.

Although at the whole Enzo testifies thing with the Stephen Hawking device, it could have been a better scene if Enzo was to bark twice of the questions are true and once if not or something related to that because the whole device could have been a hoax, like if I were there, I would have thought that someone just put a speaker on a dog and pretended like the dog could speak when in fact it was a person. And the judge didn't even ask "is this working?" "Was this proven to recognize a dog's thought?" There was no hesitation whatsoever, but overall it was a great book. Everyone has their own opinion of it, but that's just how I think of the book.

Ofelia

** spoiler alert **
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Per leggere questo libro bisogna avere a portata di mano una grandissima scorta di fazzoletti, perciò siete avvertiti, sopratutto nel finale. Non sono una grandissima fan dei libri sugli animali, perché finisce che gli animali muoiono sempre e io ci rimango malissimo. Per fare un esempio mi è dispiaciuto quando è morta Eve, ma era una cosa che non era evitabile, che si capiva fin dall'inizio prima o poi sarebbe accaduta. Per la morte di Enzo non ero pronta, anche se già dal primo capitolo si capiva che sarebbe morto, io non ero pronta comunque.
Il finale sarebbe un pò troppo sdolcinato per i miei gusti, ma in una storia così dolce/amara non avrei potuto sopportare un finale brutto. E' irrealistico, lo so. Danny accusato di stupro ma la ragazza che lo accusa si fa commuovere dal suo amore per la figlia e la moglie morta e ritratta l'accusa, cosa che nella realtà non accadrebbe mai e poi mai, Danny che alla sua età viene preso sotto l'ala protettrice di un membro dell Ferrari solo perché gli ricorda il suo sè stesso giovane e quindi decide di scommettere su di lui (parliamo di soldi, un sacco di soldi in effetti, e persone che pensano quasi solo al denaro.. non succederebbe mai) arrivando a farlo diventare un famoso pilota di F1 nonostante la sua età. Ma insomma, abbiamo tutti il diritto di sognare no? 
Il finale è stato un pò una sorpresa poi. Non ho mai creduto che Enzo si sarebbe davvero reincarnato in un umano dopo morto, come lui invece sperava, però far incontrare a Danny un ragazzino che si chiama proprio Enzo (nome non comunissimo poi qui da noi) è stato messo lì proprio per far pensare al lettore: ma sei proprio sicuro che non sia lui?

Tracie McMurray

Such a sweet book! I loved the characterization of Enzo. It makes you think about the abilities we know and don’t know, yet, about dogs.

Rory O'K

I'm a dog person, what can I say? Mix in the awesome racing metaphors and an interesting story and I was sold. The narrator was great on Audible also, highly recommended.

Dana Kraft

About halfway through I got a little tired of the dog as narrator but I came around and really liked that simple child-like perspective that reminds you of what's important. This is a great book.

hana darley 

I believe this is my all time favorite book.
 I try to think of a reason to describe why this novel has so much meaning to me and I cannot quite grasp it. Garth Stein's choice to tell this utterly human story through the eyes of a dog, is something that can come across as cheesy, and perhaps gimmicky, but it is perfect. 
My copy of this book is battered, it has lost its back cover, the front cover is torn. I have read this upwards of 10 times and I find myself continually falling in love with the story.

This novel tugs at the heartstrings in just the right ways, and reminds us that sometimes more than anything, we need to listen, rather than speak.
I will sing the praises of this novel forever, and I recommend it to just about every person who asks for a new book to start.

Shan

WOW. My heart was shattered and put back together over and over again.

Parker Jones

Read this book if you hate yourself and want to be depressed for weeks

Robin M Cabana

I have been looking at my dog Penny a little differently and wondering just what she's thinking since I finished this book. Loved seeing things from a dog's perspective! The race car subject had really kept me off from this book for awhile, but it really wasn't any different from any other sports book that I loved (like the similarly named Art of Fielding!). Enzo might be a dog, but he's very wise and perceptive, and from his point of view, there are lots of laughs as well as insights into characters and humanity.

Jill Basilone

This book has just become one of my favorites. I smiled, laughed, and cried through the entire book. I was hesitant to start reading because I don't know much about race car driving but that didn't stop me from loving this book.

Caroline Lewicki

This book was beautiful and  only a little  heartbreaking! It has beautiful touches of humor but on the whole it just moves you. I was surprised by the ending. I'm interested to see how the book gets adapted to film, but it'll be a dog movie so I'll cry no matter what.

Melody Izard

Who knew Zebras were diabolical? Well they are to Enzo. Enzo is the dog that tells us this story. 

When I started the book I thought it was going to be about the dog. But he really is just one of the characters, and he’s also the narrator.

He is dying (that’s not a spoiler because you learn that after just a few pages in) and he’s not scared because he believes he’ll come back as a man and he intends on tracking down his owner and becoming his pal. But he wants us to know about the things he’s learned by watching his master and just living life as a dog.
 
The Art of Racing in the Rain uses the metaphor of formula one racing to teach the reader about sticking by our principals and persevering during trying times.

It’s a feel-good-quick-read kind of book that will probably get a few tears to fall.

David V.

A story about racing and Formula 1 told by the dog. Yes, please! 

This might not be a new classic masterpiece, but it sure is a lovely read I just couldn't put down. Full of fun and heartwarming passages, many great lines about racing, especially Formula 1. A huge emotional roller coaster that no one rides and gets off unhurt. Can' wait to watch the movie with my kids. 

And, oh yes, we will be getting a dog! Enzo, Danny, and Zoe were the tipping point.

The Art of Racing in the Rain

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