Review: The Art of Racing in the Rain

The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Oh, why did I wait so long to read this book? What a wonderful, sad, heart-warming, roller coaster of a story it is – and made exquisitely magical through the voice of Enzo.

Confession first – I am not really an animal person. Other than Watership Down, and books I use to read to my kids when they were all younger, I’m not sure I’ve ever chosen to read a book (for my own personal enrichment) which centered on an animal. This book has switched on a light for me. Every dog I look at now …. I really see. And, I really regard. So, that’s huge. But, actually, this isn’t a book about dogs. It is a book about life.

“My soul has learned what it came to learn, and all the other things are just things. We can't have everything we want. Sometimes, we simply have to believe.”

There is something so distinctively charming about a dog who wants to talk but who cannot, but who still reveals immaculate wisdom and reason in his thoughts. His incapacity to become human sets him apart; he continually laments his own dog-ness. Like a mute guardian angel, he wants to do more. He wants to prevent suffering. He alone is a silent witness to so much inevitable pain and so much injustice.

“Such a simple concept, yet so true: that which we manifest is before us; we are the creators of our own destiny. Be it through intention or ignorance, our successes and our failures have been brought on by none other than ourselves.”

The reader hears Enzo’s astute observations page after page and the reader knows … knows that Enzo is not just Denny’s dog. Enzo is our own voice of reason – the one we silence when we are selfish and unwise or just plain ignorant.

“There is no dishonor in losing the race. There is only dishonor in not racing because you are afraid to lose.

We are pummeled by the storms in Denny’s life, but Enzo makes us brave, as he helped to make Denny brave. Enzo will live in your heart long after you finish this book. He will give you strength for one more lap around the track; he will help you finish strong whatever race you are in.


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