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Art Of Racing In The Rain

by Garth Stein (Goodreads Author)

4.13 of 5 stars 4.13 · rating details · 156,676 ratings · 20,703 reviews

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

Hardcover, 321 pages

Published (first published May 13th 2008)

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Jan 06, 2013 Jason rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: for-kindle, 2012, reviewed, flames-on-the-side-of-my-face

You know that guy who comes up to you when you’re having a bad day and says something like, “just think positive thoughts and good things will happen” as if it were really that simple? As if the spirit of Karma or whatever is patiently waiting around for you to will happiness upon yourself so that it can be befittingly bestowed? Yeah, well fuck that guy. Bad things happen all the time to people who don’t deserve it, regardless of whether or not they are in touch with their “positive energies.” S...more You know that guy who comes up to you when you’re having a bad day and says something like, “just think positive thoughts and good things will happen” as if it were really that simple? As if the spirit of Karma or whatever is patiently waiting around for you to will happiness upon yourself so that it can be befittingly bestowed? Yeah, well fuck that guy. Bad things happen all the time to people who don’t deserve it, regardless of whether or not they are in touch with their “positive energies.” Similarly, people who are jerks are at no greater risk of having a safe fall on their heads while they walk down the sidewalk than anybody else is. Not in the real world, anyway.

Apparently this book does not take place in the real world.

By now, I think it is pretty much known that this book is written from the perspective of a dog. While this may be a turnoff for a lot of people, it is not what ruined it for me; I can be very open to unconventional styles of storytelling. No, what ruined it for me is the fact that the entire thing is horribly botched.

First of all, when you are a writer and you choose to narrate your tale through the eyes and ears of man’s best friend, you need to adhere to your own limitations. If your story involves any kind of tromping through courthouses, police stations, or hospitals, YOU CANNOT GO THERE. Nor can you give your canine narrator ESP or amazing powers of deductive reasoning, either, as compensation. That is cheating.

Second of all, please don’t be smarmy. You are already asking your reader to suspend his convictions enough to buy into this whole concept of a dog harnessing a human soul; please do not expect him to swallow that your dog is also an earthy-crunchy environmentalist with a belief in the law of attraction and a distrust of the medical community to boot, because that is just asking too much. When you do that, you expose yourself as a fraud trying to push your own agenda onto the reader through your characters. Again, cheating. (And as an aside, I can assure you that doctors and drug companies are not sitting around boardroom tables scheming over how to swindle sick people out of all their money. How ridiculous.)

Putting all this aside, the book still fails on so many other levels. Its characters are hollow shells, driven by motivations I could in no way relate to. This, in turn, translates to an exceedingly weak plot in which events occur unnaturally, giving the entire novel a contrived quality. It also tries—constantly—to draw analogies to race car driving, which comes off sounding rather pathetic. And its ending actually nauseated me. Truly, I am at a loss to explain the popularity of The Art of Racing in the Rain, because really? This book is for the dogs.(less)

143 likes · like · see review

Jul 02, 2008 Anastacia rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: animal lovers, dog lovers

Recommended to Anastacia by: No one - I came across it in bookstore.

Shelves: favorites, fiction

I was meandering around Borders one Saturday when I saw a dog's head on the cover of a book, and since I am magnetized to animals (especially dogs), I had to pick it up and leaf through it. I was pleasantly surprised to read the cover to find out it is written entirely from the perspective of a dog. Adorable and unique; I have always wanted to know what it's like in the mind of a dog. Although obviously written by a person (or my dog has some explaining to do as I was under the impression that d...more I was meandering around Borders one Saturday when I saw a dog's head on the cover of a book, and since I am magnetized to animals (especially dogs), I had to pick it up and leaf through it. I was pleasantly surprised to read the cover to find out it is written entirely from the perspective of a dog. Adorable and unique; I have always wanted to know what it's like in the mind of a dog. Although obviously written by a person (or my dog has some explaining to do as I was under the impression that dogs do not have opposable thumbs and can't write), it would be so interesting and heartwarming to read through a dog's perspective.

By page six I was sobbing and sniffling.

I didn't buy the book then because, as an animal lover, I am especially sensitive to certain subjects. As a doggy mom, I am more sensitive and I can't bear to think about certain things, whether peaceful or otherwise. I cry watching Animal Cops. I cry whilst watching Wild Discovery. I love animals intensely. So when I read those first six pages and discovered how the story would unfold, I didn't think I could do it. I felt like I needed to get my bearings. I did and I bought it.

The book isn't short, but I read it on one Sunday. I couldn't stop. There were many times where my tears were blurring my vision and I couldn't read further until I wiped my eyes sloppily. But there were also many times when I laughed out loud, something I rarely do. When you're an avid reader, you tend to immunize yourself to a really good laugh (or a good scare, although that wasn't at play here). But Enzo, the dog, is witty, hilarious, immensely introspective, brilliant and sensitive. And I cried more because of this, because he is all of these things and because he was being so unflinchingly brave and honest. And, yeah, I know it was written by a man and not a dog, but if you've ever been a parent to a dog you'll know that the author's voice is eerily similar to expressions and personality "isms" that are directed at you every day.

My pup is very well taken care of and loved with a fierceness that astonishes me, but after reading this book I have been talking to him, laying on the floor with him, treating him more as a friend who can hear and understand me even though he can't form or speak the words through his mouth. This story is beautiful and hopeful and devastatingly sad, but it is told in such a delicate way that you'll find yourself sobbing but feeling okay about it. If Enzo is okay, I thought, then so am I.

Maybe it's because this is what I want to hear and what I want to think because I know my own boy will leave me some day, but I want to believe that all of Enzo's thoughts are real and that when it is time, they want you to let them go. I can't imagine it and I'm tearing up just writing this, but maybe thinking about this when I'm forced to will make it just a tiny, infinitesimal bit less paralyzingly heartbreaking.

The book took my breath away and makes me feel closer to my dog. For that alone I am indebted.(less)

250 likes · like · see review

May 24, 2012 Lisa Kay rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: animal-dog-in-story, theme-inspirational-msg, genre-fiction, borrowed-returned, reviewed-by-me, authors-s, authors-g, male-pov, all-time-favorites, genre-grief

Ferrari F430

★★★★★ An amazing book; one of the best I’ve read in over a decade. Some of you, who know me, are aware that I am still friends with my ex-husband; a relationship that spans over 32 years. What you may not know is that he is battling the Big “C” – cancer. Now, after five valiant years, he is debating whether to enter Hospice or not. Needless to say, the last thing I, a dog-lover and ex-ICU nurse, wanted to do was read a book where a wonderful canine, Enzo, on the eve of his death, re...more

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May 23, 2011 Nikki rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: contemporary

I was rather sceptical about The Art of Racing in the Rain. I continued to be so as I read, even when I was more than halfway through. It bothered me: the description of Eve's illness, the situation with Annika. And I wasn't sure I was getting much out of it in return for getting so unsettled. I didn't think that much of the narration -- the conceit of a dog narrating the story. Parts just didn't go together: you can't have a really smart dog with ideas on philosophy who then gets confused about...more

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Jul 04, 2008 Lisa rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: anyone wanting to reclaim direction and a sense of purpose

Recommended to Lisa by: no one had to, it's narrarated by a dog and used racing as a met

this is positively one of the most masterfully simple yet profound novels i have read/heard in years. i listened to the audio version on the way back from my last trip to pittsburgh and, as another reviewer commented, it's a tear jerker. i boo hoo'ed quite a bit and then raced to the nearest borders to reread the parts of the story that moved me the most. this story is a fascinating study of the human condition as witnessed by Enzo, the dog narrator. this will at once seize your emotions and pro...more

60 likes · like · see review

Jul 31, 2008 Andrea rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: read-animal-books, favorites

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. This is the best book I have read in a long time!

Let me just say - I'm not a race car fan at all, but this book really isn't about race car driving. It's about the love a dog has for its humans, the nature of life, and how - according to the dog - race car driving is a metaphor for all of life. (And I have to admit that I'm crying my eyes out right now!)

To start at the beginning, the book is narrated by the dog - Enzo. He is smart and funny, observant and clever, good and loyal. He is everything...more This is the best book I have read in a long time!

Let me just say - I'm not a race car fan at all, but this book really isn't about race car driving. It's about the love a dog has for its humans, the nature of life, and how - according to the dog - race car driving is a metaphor for all of life. (And I have to admit that I'm crying my eyes out right now!)

To start at the beginning, the book is narrated by the dog - Enzo. He is smart and funny, observant and clever, good and loyal. He is everything a dog should be. He watches TV and learns from TV documentaries - although he's never learned to read even though he tried by watching Sesame Street. He thinks that humans are evolved from dogs and not monkeys - as in case study #2 when he says "The full moon rises. The fog clings to the lowest 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."

After watching a documentary about Mongolia and how they believe that dog's are reincarnated as humans, he knows that he is a misplaced human soul in a dog's body and when he dies he'll become human. He has it all planned out and while he doesn't long for death, he is certainly ready to embrace it. And so he practices being human and controlling his base animal instincts.

His love of race car driving? He watches races all day, and his owner, Denny, is a race car driver. Often they even watch the races together!

As the reader, you become intimately connected with Enzo - his every thought and emotion. But reality isn't so skewed in this book that he can talk. He has to communicate with gestures which frustrates him greatly. But that's one reason why this book is SO good...at least if you've ever owned a pet. It's believable. Reading this I believe - I believe that pets could/do communicate with us and understand us. I became completely immersed in Enzo's world.

Of course, Enzo's world centers around his family which is absolutely just torn apart by tragedy and maddening circumstances - his wife's death due to brain cancer, his in-laws suing him for custody, a made up law-suit against him so they can win custody of his granddaughter. Visitation rights being revoked, his entire life's savings gone with lawyer and trial fees. Almost giving up time after time after time. Enzo is there narrating the entire thing, giving his perspective of the situation and being there completely and utterly for a human in need.

There is a heartbreaking scene when Enzo is hit by a car and Denny rushes him to the hospital. And Denny can't afford to pay the vet bill because he has nothing. And even though Enzo is in such pain afterwards and he never fully recovers, he pretends he is fine for Denny because he knows that Denny doesn't have the money to pay for more vet bills!

In the end, everything works out for Denny and his daughter Zoey. And in the end, of couse, Enzo gets what he wishes for. But in the end, he realizes there is so much more to life that he wants to live. In the end he realizes that he doesn't want to leave Denny and Zoey even though they don't need him as much anymore. And in the end, Enzo is reincarnated as a human - a boy who is a natural born race car driver named Enzo who is Denny's biggest fan.

I loved this book! Loved it! I can't express how much I loved this book. Go out and read it today!!!! "Sometimes I believe...Sometimes I really do believe!"(less)

36 likes · like · see review

Feb 18, 2012 Dana Stabenow rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Note on May 18--Oh man. My book club's selection this month. Just started reading it last night. A dog narrator. And car racing. I dozed off in self-defense.

May 20--Not my kind of book. Don't read any farther if you loved it.
-----

Elsewhere on this site my friend Judy compared Garth Stein to Robert James Waller. I think that's insulting to Waller. It felt like Stein had a list -- dog hero, check. Wonderful woman with fatal brain tumor -- check. Adorable child -- check. In-laws from hell -- check....more Note on May 18--Oh man. My book club's selection this month. Just started reading it last night. A dog narrator. And car racing. I dozed off in self-defense.

May 20--Not my kind of book. Don't read any farther if you loved it.
-----

Elsewhere on this site my friend Judy compared Garth Stein to Robert James Waller. I think that's insulting to Waller. It felt like Stein had a list -- dog hero, check. Wonderful woman with fatal brain tumor -- check. Adorable child -- check. In-laws from hell -- check. False accusation of rape -- check. Wait, what was that last? Are you kidding me? Daughter taken away -- check.

And then of course fairy godFerrarifather -- check. Rape victim recants -- check. Gets his daughter back -- check. Reconciliation with estranged parents -- check. Who also give him check -- check. No good deed goes unrewarded! The top of his profession -- oh of course check, how could it be otherwise. But wait, there's more! Dog reincarnated as human boy and race car driver wannabe!

I didn't buy the dog as narrator for a moment. I'm not saying an animal's point of view can't be done, and done well (The Incredible Journey, The Silent Meow, Watership Down, The Wind in the Willows), but not here. And the whole plot was just so implausibly over the top. I put it down at page 3, page 26, and page 29, and then I remembered that I, too, have picked books for book club that people hated. Readers, I finished it. I consider it to be a triumph over my gag reflex.

I see now that I've been completely wasting my time for the last twenty years. My next book will be about the mother of a little girl with leukemia as told by their cat. Husband deserts them -- check. Mother loses her job because of bad economy -- check. Has to work three jobs to replace it -- check. She sells their house to pay medical bills -- check. Arrested and child removed by family welfare due to child neglect -- check. Husband's mother sues for custody -- check. Through it all the only comfort is the cat -- check.

Child dies. Cat runs away. The abyss.

No, wait, this is a cynical feelgood Stephen Spielberg book, what am I saying? Of course the child doesn't die, the child is cured by a all! new! and improved! treatment! Check! Mother discovers an ability to make yarn from cat's hair -- check! Fairy godartgallerymother discovers cat hair sweaters on mother's do-it-yourself website online and gives her her own show -- check! She sells them for millions -- check! Doctor who invented the treatment falls in love with mother -- check!

Cat lives to twenty-one and comes back as third child of now leukemia-free daughter, and grandma gives her knitting lessons.

On the other hand, Stein's book sold a zillion copies and I'm sure he's crying all the way to the bank. I just hope they don't make a movie out of it.(less)

27 likes · like · see review

Jan 17, 2010 Anita rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I was a little doubtful I would like this book when I first heard about it. (I mean it was a Starbucks book recommendation and so what kind of new age garbage would I be getting into?) But I need to read more fiction, and I heard from another source it was very good, so I bought it.

I was immediately sucked into the book and did not want to put it down. It has very short chapters so I kept saying, "Just one more," and then the book was over. But it is still in my thoughts, a really good sign.

I th...more I was a little doubtful I would like this book when I first heard about it. (I mean it was a Starbucks book recommendation and so what kind of new age garbage would I be getting into?) But I need to read more fiction, and I heard from another source it was very good, so I bought it.

I was immediately sucked into the book and did not want to put it down. It has very short chapters so I kept saying, "Just one more," and then the book was over. But it is still in my thoughts, a really good sign.

I think what held me was that the unique narrator of the book is a dog, Enzo. He thinks very philosophically (and humanly) about life because his master, Denny, talks to him like an equal. Denny is a semi-pro race car driver and they watch lots of racing videos together and Denny tells him about racing techniques required under difficult conditions on the track. Enzo, being the dog he is, applies these techniques to how to get through life's difficult conditions.

The book is told from Enzo's perspective on the eve of his death. He recounts his life, which is really his observation of Denny's life and the many hardships Denny, his wife Eve, and daughter Zoe have to live through as a humans. Enzo desperately wants to be human. And this brings humor to his philosophy. He saw on a documentary about Mongolia that if dogs are ready after they die, they come back as humans. Enzo does everything he can to be ready. He longs to experience life as a human. He desperately wants a pair of thumbs and a tongue that will allow speech!

If it were a movie, I would have to give it a pg 13 rating for some language and one adult situation. Thankfully the language is very limited and the adult situation is not terribly explicit. A great book about love, loyalty, and the importance of family. I felt a full range of emotions reading this book, another good sign.

The only real complaint I have about this book is the picture of a yellow lab or golden the publishers put on the cover. Enzo was a mixed breed with wirey terrier hair...a lab/airedale mix which produced a dog that was sold as a lab/poodle/shepherd mix. I kept fighting trying not to see Enzo as a lab or golden. Both great dogs, but not Enzo.(less)

53 likes · like · see review

Jul 06, 2010 Reese rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Recommended to Reese by: Barbara Thompson

Shelves: favorites, gr-finds

One review, written by my GR friend Barbara Thompson, led me to THE ART OF RACING IN THE RAIN. I've read none of the other hundreds, thousands of reviews -- who's counting? I can easily dismiss unintentional plagiarism and chance as explanations for any similarities between my thoughts and those of other reviewers because I have just finished a book that sold me the belief "that one's car is merely an extension of one's body. . . . [T:]he track is an extension of the car, . . . the rain is an ex...more One review, written by my GR friend Barbara Thompson, led me to THE ART OF RACING IN THE RAIN. I've read none of the other hundreds, thousands of reviews -- who's counting? I can easily dismiss unintentional plagiarism and chance as explanations for any similarities between my thoughts and those of other reviewers because I have just finished a book that sold me the belief "that one's car is merely an extension of one's body. . . . [T:]he track is an extension of the car, . . . the rain is an extension of the track, and the sky is an extension of the rain. . . . [Y:]ou are not you; you are everything. And everything is you"(314). Even taking into account the possibility that Jeni Stepanek's MESSENGER softened me, I know that selling me comforting thoughts is a task that would have challenged Franklin D. Roosevelt. Nevertheless, Garth Stein's novel has brought me immeasurable comfort.

Experiences with dogs have prompted many of us -- the smart, the stupid, the observant, the oblivious, the spiritual, the materialistic
-- to believe that man/woman is not God's best work. If, however, some human beings ARE top-of-the-line creatures, each one probably had a life as a dog and remembers it. I'm resting my case on THE ART OF RACING IN THE RAIN.

If you've read MOBY-DICK and you feel certain that Melville, not a dog, wrote it, most intelligent dog lovers will understand your belief in the superiority of humans or a certain white whale. And if you've studied MOBY-DICK, you may recall "The Mat-Maker" chapter, which offers a brilliant examination of the roles that free will, fate, and chance play in our lives. Ishmael's experience leads him to conclude that luck or chance can trump free will and fate -- an easy view for someone like me to embrace and the "oh-well" answer to "Why do bad things happen to good people?" So it's good for me to, at least now and then, put down Melville and pick up Garth Stein. With Stein's work on my mind, I can ignore fate altogether; not deny the luck factor; and concentrate on using the steering wheel in my hands, the accelerator and brake pedals beneath my feet, the mirrors around and above me, and the eyes on and in me. And unlike the you-create-your-own-life-story folks, Stein doesn't put you on a road with signs declaring that the blinding rain, the crap falling from somebody's open truck, the deer darting across the highway, the drunk driver crossing the median -- well, you caused them to be there. Nope, none of that shit.

The comfort I found in THE ART OF RACING IN THE RAIN doesn't depend solely on the author's presentation of this life as an invitation to use one's eyes and what's behind them in all sorts of weather. The novel offers an alternative to the view that "There's one life, and there's no return and no deposit" ("I Am What I Am," LA CAGE AUX FOLLES). And by the next time around, I hope that I will have moved up the animal ladder to dog. (less)

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Jun 23, 2008 Emilie rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: dog lovers, anyone looking for something a little different

What I loved:
1. Enzo is the coolest. dog. ever. And that includes my dog, who happens to be pretty hip. He's caring, he's funny. I love it.
2. The way Enzo narrates is awesome. I have a feeling that if dogs - smart dogs, who are about to come back as men - could talk, this is what they would sound like.
3. I plowed through this book because I was utterly unable to put it down. It isn't so much that I wanted to find out what happened next in the plot; I wanted to find out what Enzo had to say and w...more

56 likes · like · see review

Sep 01, 2012 Merve Özcan rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: non-fantastic, favorite-books

http://kitabisevda.blogspot.com/2012/...

Daha önce insan olmayan bir anlatıcıdan kitabı okumuş muydunuz, mesela bir köpek?
Eğer benim gibi böyle bir tecrübeniz yoksa ve güzel hikayelerden -birazda acıklı- hoşlanıyorsanız sizi Yağmurda Yarışma Sanatına davet ediyorum. Pişman olmayacağınızı düşünüyorum.

Kitap Enzo adlı bir köpeğin gözünden anlatılıyor. Zebraların şeytani olduğunu düşünen, muza ve pankek'e bayılan, hayatta Denny ve Zoe'dan başka kimsesi olmayan bir köpek Enzo. İnsan ruhuna sahip olduğ...more http://kitabisevda.blogspot.com/2012/...

Daha önce insan olmayan bir anlatıcıdan kitabı okumuş muydunuz, mesela bir köpek?
Eğer benim gibi böyle bir tecrübeniz yoksa ve güzel hikayelerden -birazda acıklı- hoşlanıyorsanız sizi Yağmurda Yarışma Sanatına davet ediyorum. Pişman olmayacağınızı düşünüyorum.

Kitap Enzo adlı bir köpeğin gözünden anlatılıyor. Zebraların şeytani olduğunu düşünen, muza ve pankek'e bayılan, hayatta Denny ve Zoe'dan başka kimsesi olmayan bir köpek Enzo. İnsan ruhuna sahip olduğunu düşünüyor ve bu dünyada ki vaktini tamamladığında tekrar insan olarak bu dünyaya geri döneceğini, el sıkışıp, normal ölçülerdeki bir dil ile dudaklarını ıslatacağını...
Kitap sondan bir adım önce başlıyor ve Enzo Denny ile nasıl tanıştığını,birlikte tutkunu oldukları araba yarışlarını, Eve'in -Denny'nin eşi- nasıl hayatlarına katıldığını, kanserden nasıl öldüğünü ve Eve'in ebeveynlerinin nasıl çocukları Zoe'yu Denny'nin elinden almaya çalışını ve Zebraların aslında içimizde bizi saran şeytanlar olduğunu anlatıyor.Aynı anda hem ümitsizliği, hem mücadeleyi hemde sevgiyi size yaşatıyor.
Bu kitap kesinlikle favorilerimin arasına gidecek. Book Club kitapları arasında ve bir kaç tane daha o listeden kitap okumak istiyorum. Blood Rights faciasından sonra gerçekten iyi geldi.
Yaşasın Enzo! O bir kahraman ve dileğine kavuşuyor.
Efendisi Denny'ide hayran olmamak elde değil. Tam bir savaşçı.
Kitap büyük oranda araba yarışı terimleri, konuşmaları barındırıyor çünkü Denny bir yarışçı. Meraklıları için bu kitabı okumak için bir neden daha.
Ben kitabı ingilizce okudum ama Türkçesi de mevcut.
Enzo, The Art Of Racing In The Rain tanıtım videosu.
Bunlarda sevdiğim alıntılar.

"I will often admire a beautiful sunrise, but I will never consider the sun a champion for having risen."
"God gave men big brains, he took away the pads on their feet and made them susceptible to salmonella. When he denied dogs the use of thumbs, he gave them the ability to survive without food for extended periods. "
"zebra is everywhere. I suddenly realized. The zebra. It is not something outside of us. The zebra is something inside of us. Our fears. Our own self-destructive nature. The zebra is the worst part of us when we are face-to-face with our worst times. The demon is us!"
(less)

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Jul 15, 2011 William Bentrim rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Racing in the Rain, My Life as a Dog by Garth Stein

This is a painfully poignant story narrated by a dog. If you like soupy books and love dogs, prepare your reading time with a full box of tissues.

This is the story of a family and their dog. A dog that just knows that his next revolution on the wheel of creation he is going to have opposable thumbs and vocal cords uses his insight and narrative skills to tell the story.

The story is moving and characterizes the value of perseverance, patience...more

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Jun 08, 2010 Barbara rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: lovers of racing, lovers of dogs, lover of life

Shelves: books-i-own, fiction, women-s-nest, favorites, dogs

I know I am years behind, but can I jump on the bandwagon now? The Art of Racing in the Rain has been on my To Read list since it was published. What took me so long? Why didn't everyone tell me about this wonderful book? What a great way to express the heartfelt experiences of the human race: with the metaphor of auto racing, and the narrator a dog! The always patient, unconditionally loving dog who comforts and brings joy to the family members is actually a zen budhist who sees all and underst...more

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Nov 17, 2008 Lucy rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I'm shocked...shocked, by how much I loved this book.

The narrator is a dog.

There is much mentioning of racing - Formula One, NASCAR, Indy....

and the narrator is a dog. But I think I mentioned that already.

I liked this book so much that it made me want a dog. No, it made me want this dog. And I don't even like dogs.

Enzo, a terrier/lab mutt, believes in his next life he will be human. As he feels practically human already, just limited to grand gestures due to his loose-muscled tongue and lack of...more

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Aug 21, 2008 Carol rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: audiobooks, dog-books

This book was amazing. I almost hesitate to recommend it on audio though because I am sure my driving was impaired because I was so engrossed in the story of Denny, his wife Eve and daughter Zoe. The story is told by Enzo, Denny’s dog and although it sounds gimmicky it was actually moving and wonderful. I will be recommending this to pretty much everyone I know, especially anyone who thinks their dog has a soul.

7 likes · like · see review

Oct 19, 2008 Matthew rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Yet another book I was reading as a preview to see if I should purchase it as a gift. Sadly, no.

Equally disappointing is disliking the work of a local author. I always want to like local authors (and artists of all stripes), but it isn't always possible.

First, I don't think automobile racing is a good metaphor for life. Maybe it is, but I have a bias. I hate the automobile. I think the personal automobile is the single most destructive concept we've conceived. To then race them (in circles, no l...more

70 likes · like · see review

Oct 05, 2008 Linda rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Dog and pet lovers

Recommended to Linda by: The Book Reporter.com

I expected this to be another "Marley and Me." In that it is about a dog's love for its people and its peoples' love of the dog, the two books are alike. But there is a sad undertone throughout "Racing in the Rain," that I never felt in "Marley."

Here's why: from the beginning we know that Enzo (the pooch!) is recalling his life story on the eve of his death. That fact struck like an arrow in my heart because in August I had to put my dog to sleep. A first for me even though I've been around for...more

29 likes · like · see review

May 21, 2008 Malbadeen marked it as holy-shit-this-got-published · review of another edition Recommends it for: dorky, dork headed, dork meisters

A). This book is written from the perspective of a dog.

B). The first line of this book is, "Enzo knew he was diferent from other dogs"

C). This book is written from the perspective of a dog.

D).Inside the book there are statements such as, "That which you maifest is before you." and "No race has ever been won in the first corner; many races have been lost there".

E). This book is written from the perspective of a dog.

F). Starbucks is heavily promoting it.

G). This book is written from the perspectiv...more

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Sep 27, 2008 Jackie rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: just about anyone

Shelves: work-review-related-reading, 5-star

This book is a heartbreaking, can't-put-it-down treasure. The story is told by the family dog, Enzo, who is highly evolved and intellectual and preparing to be a man in his next life (he saw a show on the Discovery channel that
explained that that is what will happen to dogs such as himself). He was picked out of a litter at 12 weeks old by semi-pro race car driver Denny and was there for Denny meeting and marrying Eve and a witness to the couple's
daughter Zoe's home birth. And, alas, he was ther...more

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Jun 11, 2008 Jeff rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I have to admit, I liked this book much more than I wanted to! There are MANY problems with the narrative conceit (a story told from the point of view of a family dog); the denouement is a little rushed; and, there is a plot complication that is so gratuitous and unnecessary that I wanted to scream. However, the author's writing is so smart, so compelling, and so emotionally-fulfilling that you forgive the problems. I moved toward the ending of this book knowing full-well where it was going and...more

5 likes · like · see review

Jun 20, 2008 Ann rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Judging from the other Goodreads reviews and the recommendations of my friends, I seem to be a minority of one in my low estimation of this book. It's not that I disliked it, per se, but I really resented the way this sappy, anthropomorphic story stomped on every emotion in my body. If you need a good cry for some other reason, by all means grab yourself a box of tissues and a copy of this book and go for it. You can get it all out and no one will ask you what's wrong when they see what you are...more

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Mar 27, 2013 Stacy rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This was a wonderful book. I had heard great things about this book, which is the personal (fictional) story of a race car driver's life told from his dog's perspective. His knowledge of the world, of racing and of how racing relates to the world, is gleaned from watching television in his owner's absence, listening in on human conversations and from being spoken to by his master. I, too, talk to my dogs and sometimes, I swear, they understand our "discussions." Moreover, I often look at them lo...more

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Oct 21, 2012 Sparrow marked it as not-gonna-do-it · review of another edition

This book is written from the perspective of a dog.
-(credits)

4 likes · like · see review

Aug 26, 2010 Carolyn rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: dog lovers, car racing aficionados, everyone really

Recommended to Carolyn by: All Fairfax Reads 2010

Shelves: 5-star-books, favorites, own_loaned-out, general-fiction, own

I LOVED this book!

If you've ever owned or loved a dog, you will love Enzo, dog extraordinaire. The book summaries describe him as a philosopher, and we are treated to his thoughts on the meaning of life, on souls, on what comes after death, and more. Not in a pedantic way, but very anecdotal. He celebrates his own doggishness, while striving to curb his 'animal instincts' and live as a human would in order to 'earn' reincarnation as a human. He bemoans his lack of a thumb and a facile tongue to...more

14 likes · like · see review

Aug 12, 2008 Jeff Scott rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: overdrive-library

"That which we manifest is before us." The Art of Racing in the rain is the story of a family from a dog's perspective. Enzo, Denny's dog, is loyal to his master a semi-pro race car driver. The lessons of racing become lessons for life. The art of dealing with adversity, facing your deepest fears, while learning how one dog yearns to be a man(And beware of the zebra of fear). As one reviewer noted, you'll look at your dogs in a different light after reading this book. The ending will bring tears...more

16 likes · like · see review

Aug 28, 2008 Frank rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: personal-classics

I'll start by saying that I'm not much of a "dog person" and nor am I a race car fan. I've never been to Seattle, and the novel as fable genre has not done much for me. That being said, after "The Art of Racing in the Rain" - I need a new dog, I drive faster, and I loved this book.

I had stumbled across three reviews of this book within one 24 hour period, so I felt like I was being led to read this book that on the surface help only a small appeal - a story from a dog's perspective - pretty uniq...more

33 likes · like · see review

Jun 27, 2008 Books Ring Mah Bell rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Recommended to Books Ring Mah Bell by: dog lovers looking for a quick, easy read.

The ex-runner in me was sad when "racing" in the rain did not refer to running. Instead, it was automobile racing. Gack! I hate auto racing. HATE IT!
However, I love dogs. Dogs are much better than humans on any given day. This book was written from the dog's point of view. Cute, right?

Kind of.

Enzo is the old, dying dog who tells the story of his life with his master. I'm not gonna lie. I loved the dog. He destroys a pile of stuffed animals because they are "taunting" him. He eats a pepper and s...more

23 likes · like · see review

Apr 27, 2011 Devin rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: dog lovers

enzo, the dog, is the narrator in this book, which really is the only reason i read it. i'm a sucker for animals, especially dogs.

i got a little annoyed at the writing here and there. stein hits you over the head with metaphors a few times and doesn't follow the tried and true method of "show don't tell." i said aloud a few times, "i get it!"

but i didn't pick up this book for excellent writing or even for the plot. i wanted a quick, easy read and knew i'd love the dog's perspective. it took me...more

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Nov 17, 2011 Hannah rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

In this intriguing fiction novel, a story of hope and loyalty is conveyed through the lens of a lovable dog-named Enzo, with a near human soul. The story is set in modern day Seattle Washington, where most of the adventures of Enzo and his family play out. Denny Swift, Enzos master and a compassionate racecar driver, and his wife Eve and daughter Zoe face many ups and downs, from losing a job to death in the family. When Eve’s parents want custody of her daughter Zoe, things turn up side down fo...more

2 likes · like · see review

Sep 12, 2012 Jane (PS) rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Story: 4.5 stars
Narration: 5 stars

Toy zebras are evil...

Enzo, the dog, knows this and is reminded of it regularly throughout the book. Crows aren't good either.

This is a beautiful story that engaged me at the beginning but didn't really earn it's final star rating until the end. There are twists and turns in this book that keep the reader off balance and firmly in the hero's (and dog's) court.

I liked the way the author relieved pressure after a big scene by bringing the dog's thoughts back into...more

3 likes · like · see review

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About Garth Stein

Garth Stein is the author of three novels: The Art of Racing in the Rain (Harper, 2008); How Evan Broke His Head and Other Secrets (Soho Press, 2005), which won a 2006 Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association Book Award, and was a Book Sense Pick in both hardcover and paperback; and Raven Stole the Moon (Pocket, 1998). He has also written a full-length play, Brother Jones, which received its firs...more

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Quotes from Art of Racing in the Rain

“There is no dishonor in losing the race. There is only dishonor in not racing because you are afraid to lose.” — 688 people liked it

“He died that day because his body had served its purpose. His soul had done what it came to do, learned what it came to learn, and then was free to leave.” — 354 people liked it

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