The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein

"The car goes where the eyes go."
                   -from the novel

Last month we read The Book Thief---over 500 pages and narrated by Death. This month's selection is just over 300 pages and narrated by a dog. Needless to say, quite a leap! This book was recommended by a member of our Page Turners group. I wasn't sure I was going to like it, not being a dog owner or a race fan but as it turned out, I found it quite good. I am rating it a 5.

The story is told by Enzo, a dog who aspires to be reincarnated as a man, and who is very frustrated by his inability to speak and his lack of thumbs. He is quite the philosopher and I found many quotable thoughts but chose one that I thought touched on a prominent theme. At times Enzo seems more human than many humans! In fact he even says, "It's what's inside that's important. The soul. And my soul is very human."

Denny Swift, Enzo's owner, is a mechanic and aspiring Formula One race car driver. The author was probably either a race car driver himself, a big fan or he did a lot of research for this book since there are a number of mentions of famous drivers and lots of racing rules and tips. Quite possibly I learned more about racing than I really wanted to know! But in realizing the title is an analogy for life, I could get over it and just be engaged by the story. Though Denny becomes an excellent driver, his personal life is falling apart. At times one might think if he didn't have bad luck, he'd have no luck at all! With the resilience and persistence of a race car driver, and of course the loyal support of his faithful Enzo, he survives the "rain" in his life.

This book made me think of my middle brother, who not only is a dog owner, but also a huge racing fan. I would definitely recommend the book to him.

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The Page Turners met to discuss The Art of Racing in the Rain on a rainy Thursday morning. Fourteen people were present, a testament to the appeal of the book. The groups' ratings averaged a 4. The discussion was very animated with many members relating personal stories of the intelligence and/or sixth sense and the compassion of both dogs and cats. Some of us agreed that with the dog narrating, we could get very different insights of human behavior. Many of us started the book with doubts but were able to suspend our disbelief enough to enjoy the story.

A large percentage of members are or have been dog owners and said they might be seeing their own pets differently after reading this novel. One person shared that she was seeing her baby's stuffed zebra differently! (You will have to read the book, to get the humor there!) We all agreed we would recommend this book to dog lovers!