Book Review: The Art of Racing in the Rain
In one of his columns, Dave Barry proposed a new TV show entitled Adventure Dog. It follows such exciting exploits as “Adventure Dog Wakes Up and Goes Outside”:
That’s pretty much how humans tend to view a dog’s life. Everything is big, everything is glorious, everything must be sniffed and explored and played with.
Author Garth Stein goes in a different direction with The Art of Racing in the Rain. His narrator, Enzo, is a philosophical dog, having gleaned much of his perspective from watching television. His owner, Denny, is a race car driver who models for Enzo the mental acuity required for racing, in particular that life is about being prepared for the turn beyond the next one. Also, that the body goes where the eye goes.
As a narrator, Enzo certainly has his dog-like qualities: he loves playing, going on walks, and being close to his family. He knows that his role is companion and caretaker, and he possesses the canine skills of picking up on emotion, tension, and interpersonal dynamics. He is even sensitive enough to detect disease. What he lacks is the ability to communicate his insights.
"A ball is fun, but
I want a race car!"The novel follows Denny and Eve through their relationship, the birth of their daughter, the tragedy of Eve’s illness and death, and eventually the custody battle between Denny and his in-laws for his daughter, Zoë. But it is Enzo’s perspective as a marginalized participant that teaches the lessons of how to navigate the challenges.
If Stein had limited Enzo’s intelligence to that of Adventure Dog, the novel would have been cute but it would have lacked insight. By endowing Enzo with a philosophical nature, the reader experiences a comfortable form of empathy. Life may be viewed through a dog’s perspective, yet it lifts the day-to-day events and the highs-and-lows to greater poignancy. Stein does not give in to maudlin sentimentality, but rather emphasizes the emotional connection we have with our pets. This is why we tend to anthropomorphize them; we already recognize the intelligence there.
Like a race course, the novel pretty much goes where you expect it to go, and the beginning of the novel forecasts the ending. But those are small complaints. It’s navigating the turns that unfold before us that make the race worth it.
“And now Adventure Dog is through the door, looking left, looking right, her finely honed senses absorbing every detail of the environment, every nuance and subtlety, looking for … Holy Smoke! There it is! The YARD! Right in the exact same place where it was yesterday! This is turning into an UNBELIEVABLE adventure!”
That’s pretty much how humans tend to view a dog’s life. Everything is big, everything is glorious, everything must be sniffed and explored and played with.
Author Garth Stein goes in a different direction with The Art of Racing in the Rain. His narrator, Enzo, is a philosophical dog, having gleaned much of his perspective from watching television. His owner, Denny, is a race car driver who models for Enzo the mental acuity required for racing, in particular that life is about being prepared for the turn beyond the next one. Also, that the body goes where the eye goes.As a narrator, Enzo certainly has his dog-like qualities: he loves playing, going on walks, and being close to his family. He knows that his role is companion and caretaker, and he possesses the canine skills of picking up on emotion, tension, and interpersonal dynamics. He is even sensitive enough to detect disease. What he lacks is the ability to communicate his insights.
"A ball is fun, butI want a race car!"The novel follows Denny and Eve through their relationship, the birth of their daughter, the tragedy of Eve’s illness and death, and eventually the custody battle between Denny and his in-laws for his daughter, Zoë. But it is Enzo’s perspective as a marginalized participant that teaches the lessons of how to navigate the challenges.
If Stein had limited Enzo’s intelligence to that of Adventure Dog, the novel would have been cute but it would have lacked insight. By endowing Enzo with a philosophical nature, the reader experiences a comfortable form of empathy. Life may be viewed through a dog’s perspective, yet it lifts the day-to-day events and the highs-and-lows to greater poignancy. Stein does not give in to maudlin sentimentality, but rather emphasizes the emotional connection we have with our pets. This is why we tend to anthropomorphize them; we already recognize the intelligence there.
Like a race course, the novel pretty much goes where you expect it to go, and the beginning of the novel forecasts the ending. But those are small complaints. It’s navigating the turns that unfold before us that make the race worth it.
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