The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein has gotten so many positive reviews that I must admit I was a little nervous about reading it. I'm pretty sure I won my copy from a drawing at Stephanie's blog, though, which means the buzz was enough to catch my interest in spite of the fact that I tend to shy from books that get a lot of hype. I don't enter drawings very often. My book group chose The Art of Racing in the Rain for their June selection and I gobbled it down, then missed the meeting. I heard the discussion was great. Le sigh. At any rate, you've probably heard all about the book, right? Enzo, a dog, is the narrator and he tells all about his life from his adoption until his death. Enzo is a fabulous narrator. Instead of treating Enzo like a dimwit, the author made him intelligent, intuitive, wise . . . often more aware of what was going on in his family's life than even they seemed to know.
What I remember most vividly about this book (and, again, it's been at least a month since I read it) is that the situation for Enzo's owner kept growing worse and worse. The author did an excellent job of ramping up the tension and placing his protagonist in a corner until you truly wondered if there was any way out. I love that. The Art of Racing in the Rain is a very lovely, philosophical, hopeful book. Although it didn't stick with me for quite as long as I expected, I remember Enzo's name without digging for the book and I think that says something.
Also, I did write down one of Enzo's frequently-repeated quotes, which I loved: "That which you manifest is before you." It took me a while to get that what he was saying is that you create your own future through today's actions.
The bottom line:
Definitely recommended and you don't have to be a dog person to love The Art of Racing in the Rain. Creative, surprising and poignant with a solid storyline, great narrator and terrific writing.
©2011 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery and Babble or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.
I read this back when it first came out and really enjoyed it! Glad you did, too. :)
ReplyDeleteI thought this was a wonderful book! I laughed, cried, and it really got me thinking in places
ReplyDeleteI loved the book. Even though it was different, from the view point of a dog, it was very enjoyable. I would recommend it to anyone who has had a dog. I look at my dog in a whole new light.
ReplyDeletelisa
Kelly,
ReplyDeleteIt might be partly your fault that I had to read it, then. ;) Little as I can remember, I do recall thinking it was every bit as good as everyone said.
Helen,
I remember laughing and crying, too. But, it's strange - I'm mostly stuck with the emotions and just a sketchy memory of the story. I really thought it would stick with me, for some reason.
Hey Lisa!
ReplyDeleteSo . . . does your dog look smarter, now? :) I liked the point of view, too. I've read several books with dog narrators and The Art of Racing in the Rain is my favorite. I love the way he made the dog so wise and dignified.
I love this book...It was so wonderful. I have a dog and am a dog lover. I tend to personify my dog's thoughts and actions constantly. lol
ReplyDeleteSerena,
ReplyDeleteThumbs up from the dog lovers, I see. :) I do the same thing with my cats. They're probably convinced they're just humans with fur and much better jumping skills. Speaking of which . . . crazy husband left out a lamb chop on the counter (I'm still pondering that -- he just walked off with it sitting there and left the house!) I swear Isabel was grinning when I caught her up there having a feast.
I thought this book was great as well!
ReplyDeleteKathy,
ReplyDeleteI remember reading your review, actually! You were likely one of the reasons I decided to read it.
I also read this one with my book group recently and we all loved it! I'll be posting my review later this week. Enzo was sure an exceptional dog!
ReplyDeleteJo-Jo,
ReplyDeleteI'm envious that you actually made it to the discussion with your group! "Exceptional" is a great word choice. You couldn't help but love Enzo.
It sounds like a cute read but 'that which you manifest is before you'? Gah. I wish I had that much control over my life.
ReplyDeleteCarrie,
ReplyDeleteIt's a much better read than I expected. Haha, yeah. Me, too. But, it's a very nice thought, isn't it?
I listened to this one on audio, and when things went really bad for the husband I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to finish it. I'm glad I did though because it was a good read. And Enzo's wisdom was great.
ReplyDeleteAlyce,
ReplyDeleteI can see why you were nervous about finishing the audio. He really did make it seem as if there was no way out for the husband, at one point. It was a relief when things started to go right. Yes, Enzo was awesome. So very wise. I would never have expected a dog narrator to be treated with such respect.
GREAT review.
ReplyDeleteCare,
ReplyDeleteThank you, m'dear. :)
This is a wonderful, wonderful review of this book. We reviewed it at my bookclub just today. It was a really creative title, I enjoyed it so much because it was so different.
ReplyDeleteI did a review of this book on my blog and linked to this blog. It will be published on October 25th. Great review!
http://missourireadings.blogspot.com
Rachael,
ReplyDeleteThank you! I'm envious of you. Wish I'd made it when my book group discussed this title!
Even if you are not into dogs or racing, this novel will grab you and hold on tightly right to the very last sentence. This realistic tale of hope and the battle we must all fight to get through life is definitely a book worth putting on your booklist if you want a good read, and a real taste of satisfaction when you close the back cover and let out a sigh of content.
ReplyDelete