The Art of Racing in the Rain: A Novel
by Garth Stein
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Book Reviews of The Art of Racing in the Rain: A Novel
Book Review: Cars, A Canine, Some Karma
Summary: 2 Stars
This novel is narrated by a dog. Whatever you dog is thinking, this isn't it. A lab terrier mix is randomly chosen from a litter on a farm outside Seattle by race car driver Denny Swift. Denny Swift. Swift...race car driver. You get it, right?
Denny names the dog Enzo. Denny marries Eve and together they have daughter, Zoë. Enzo watches television, especially the American Movie Channel, ESPN when NASCAR is on and apparently the International Film channel when it is showing French films. Enzo can understand human speech but can't talk. Like a Frenchman, Enzo complains on his deathbed about the collective ennui of the human race. Yes, Enzo thinks the words 'collective ennui.'
Other TV channels, though not mentioned in the narrative, must have been watched by the dog. The Buddhism Channel, the Hindu Channel, The Rosicrucian Channel, and the Reincarnation Channel. This novel is in the same vein as that early 1970's bestseller Jonathan Livingston Seagull in which a bird teaches humans the many answers to the question "Who Moved My Cheese?"
Denny uses the family's savings and home value to make it on the professional racing circuit. Eve gets cancer and dies. The evil twins, the grandparents, create suspicions and file a lawsuit to take Zoe away from Dad. Enzo takes time away from watching Denny's racing videos to create Buddhist koans that apply to both driving and life: "The car goes where the eyes go". Melodrama advances the plot through which the human characters sit, walk, fetch and file lawsuits.
The end comes suddenly. A Porsche heir enters with an offer of employment. Denny's parents, who have been missing from the novel from page one, drop in overnight and leave a check equal to the value of their farm. A witness recants testimony.
The Art of Racing in the Rain is destined for the Hallmark television channel. It is suitable for young adults and their parents, while they are in a car with the cruise control on.
Book Review: Listen to What I Am Saying!
Summary: 5 Stars
"The full moon rises. The fog clings to the lower branches of the spruce trees. The man steps out of the darkest corner of the forest and finds himself transformed into....
A monkey?
I think not."
And thus begins the hilarious, heart-breaking, philosophical, loving, life journey of our narrator Enzo. No ordinary canine, this Enzo tells the story of his human companions and the bond that unites man and his dog. Denny is a professional race driver who explains to Enzo all the nuances of racing while they watch racing films together. The reader soon realizes that "That which you manifest is before you" is more than just a mantra for Denny, it is the secret of his life. We are caught up in the tragedy of the death of Eve, the custody battle for Zoe, the situation of the Evil Twins, the true friendships of Mike and Tony, and the physical problems of Enzo. We are introduced to the art of car racing, and Denny's knowledge and understanding of the physical and mental aspects of the skill. We are educated in the traditions of the great cars and the race drivers who lived and died at the wheel. Through all of the drama of this story, Enzo tells us of his view of human life and his own struggle to be a part of it.
I know nothing about racing, and I only recognized two names in the entire book: Chinetti and Jackie Stewart. It is not important to know about racing, because this story is about life. All the elements of a great drama are here. The hints of impeding events are easily picked up by an experienced reader, yet it does not change the emotional impact. I found myself screeching with laughter over Enzo's revenge over the Evil Twins, and I cringed with his fear of the demon giraffe. I understood his idea of loneliness as a virus that invades us, and I felt his rage in the killing of the squirrel. I knew what was coming, yet I found myself wiping away tears at the end. I will read this book again because I had to finish it before I could absorb it all.
Book Review: Who Doesn't Like Dogs? But Philospher Dogs? That's a Different Story.
Summary: 1 Stars
If you are into auto racing or really think that dogs have more wisdom than people you'll probably love this anthropomorphic story told through the unspoken voice of the family pet, a Lab mix named Enzo.
I know I'm bucking the tide but this novel really didn't do it for me. While learning some aspects of driving in auto races was interesting and I like dogs, learning it all through the contrivance of a talking dog just didn't offer enough substance to make up for the other inadequacies. I realize that many have found this book inspiring and I don't question anyone else' emotional responses.
The plot is predictable, overly-sentimental, and basically suffers from the crime of being dull. The human characters including the main protagonist are flat, but the hero is the Philosopher Dog who loves to watch racing movies, TV shows, and Hollywood films. He reveals his 5th favorite actor is Dustin Hoffman, or is Dustin his 4th favorite? I guess a dog listing his favorite actors was intended to be funny or just cute.
By a quarter of the way through I could see it all coming but knew that a happy ending was in the offing after the yet-to-come travails. There had to be travails and I knew that Enzo (or Lassie) would be there to help straighten it all out.
The aphorisms and comments on human behavior as told by this Philosopher Dog would be simplistic if they were spoken by a mere biped.
If, on the other hand, you would like to read truly clever observations on the human condition presented through the voice of non-humans, try the collections of the work of the late Don Marquis. These are short and pithy articles about Archie (the cockroach, a reincarnated free-verse poet) and Mehitabel (the cat) written in the early 20th Century. The Lives and Times of Archy and Mehitabel
Book Review: FABULOUS book
Summary: 5 Stars
This book is fabulous. I'll just start right there. Fabulous. I totally get why it is a New York Times Bestseller. It is appealing to almost everyone. There is no niche target audience here. It's just good.
The Art of Racing in the Rain is told from the point of view of Enzo, a Shepherd-Poodle-Terrier-who-knows mix. I know, sounds like a corny concept. It makes a great book. And looking at other reviews, people who aren't animal-lovers agree. Which I get. Since the other major aspect of this is racecar driving, something I have absolutely zero interest in (really not a big sports fan at all, let alone car racing), and yet, in this book, it's made fascinating.
The book starts at the end of Enzo's life, and then Enzo takes us on a recap of all he has witnessed. Enzo was brought home by Denny when he is just a puppy, and watches as Denny goes through life: finding a wife, having a daughter who he is devoted to, becoming a semi-professional driver. And then he watches as it is all torn apart, by fate, by others' selfishness, by trickery and lies. Enzo is there for Denny through it all, with a unique and insightful look on everything as it happens. You are entranced, crying for the characters, desperate for everything to work out, screaming for Enzo to share what he has seen..and then remembering he's a dog. This book Sucks. You. In.
It is fabulous. There is no way to describe it. No way to convey its power. All I can say is: read it.
(A warning (and semi-spoiler alert): a dog dies in this book. This is no real spoiler, as I said, the book starts at the end of the dog's life. But still, if you have lost a dog recently and are still hurt by that loss, this book may be too painful to handle for now. But remember it. And when you're ready, come back. Because Enzo's view of death for a dog is a beautiful, if heart-wrenching, thing.)
Book Review: A Father's Touching Story
Summary: 4 Stars
"The Art of Racing in the Rain" surprised me but not from the beginning. It started out slow diving into the relationships of Denny (the father) with that of his wife, his daughter and Enzo (his dog). Interestingly enough the book is written entirely from the perspective of Enzo as you get his perspective on the storyline as it develops. I felt this was a little distracting at times and the dreamy court sequence could have been eliminated with good editing but overall I was moved by the events. Admittedly I have three daughters so I can relate to the feelings of betrayal and abandonment that Denny must have felt when he lost his daughter.
Denny is a race car driver looking for his big break and he marries into a family with money as he falls in love with Eve. The buy a little two bedroom house, struggle to make ends meet while raising their daughter and their beloved family dog Enzo. Unfortunately disaster strikes and Eve becomes very ill setting into play a series of events that pummel Denny left and right exhausting the reader with the constant battles this poor father faces on a daily basis. By the end you are amazed at the fortitude Denny possess and although he falters at times he keeps pulling himself back to the fight staying true to his family.
One can only hope that all fathers would have the strength to weather the storm for their children but very few of us are ever forced to prove that we can. Denny was not so fortunate.
The writing was decent and the storyline while starting off slow injected enough twists towards the middle and end raising the level of the book several notches by the time I was finished. If you are in the mood for a teary fight about love and family and the darkness that some people can inflict told through the eyes of a dog I would highly recommend this one. It is an easy read and casually entertaining.