The Art of Racing in the Rain

by Garth Stein

IMOLA, ITALY

When I first wrote the book, the epilogue wasn't a part of it. The book ended with Enzo running off into the endless golden fields. I sent it to my agent, and he hated it. He said he couldn't sell it. So I fired him. And every other agent I tried said the same thing: we can't sell a book narrated by a dog. And I wondered, why not? Because dogs don't have "human" thoughts? What if Enzo is already dead at the beginning, I thought. What if he's in doggie heaven, waiting for his new incarnation? Surely, a doggie angel can have "human" thoughts. Okay, I thought, so how would that story end? It would end with Enzo becoming a little boy again. So I wrote that scene. I gave up on the "doggie heaven" idea, but I kept that final scene--this one--because I think people really want a sense of closure. And even though we cynically say, "Oh, it's a fairy tale?" my resonse is, yes, it is a fairy tale. And in a fairy tale, dreams come true...