The Art of Racing in the Rain

by Garth Stein

I watch too much TV. When Denny goes away in the mornings, he turns it on for me, and it’s become a habit. He warned me not to watch all day, but I do.

A movie-watching, television-binging dog? What? This was all a matter of making the plot work. Enzo had to believe he would be reincarnated as a man. But how would a dog know that? He wouldn't, unless he saw the documentary I had seen when I came up with the idea for the book. Where would he see that documentary? On television! Why would he be watching television? Well, when our last dog, Comet, was a pup, I would leave the radio on for her when we went out, always changing the station so she could have variety. It made sense, then, that Denny would leave the TV on for Enzo when he went to work. Thus began the self-education of our Enzo--a twisted education, no doubt. But if YOU rarely left the house without supervision, and watched cable TV all day long, wouldn't YOU be a little twisted, too?