Book Review: The Art of Racing in the Rain
5 years ago, my mom was reading this book at our yearly 4th of July trip to the lake cabin. Eventually, it was lost in my mind. When I was walking laps after my scoliosis surgery, I walked down by our little neighborhood library and saw the book sitting inside. Remembering the familiar cover, I picked it up and took it home, waiting in line with the other books I was wanting to read.
The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein is about a dog named Enzo, a golden retriever with the mind of a human philosopher. On the night of his death (not a spoiler), he recounts his life with his owner, Denny Swift, whose an upcoming race car driver. While the book took a few chapters to take to my liking, I eventually could not put it down.
Enzo, the dog, is such a well defined character (and great and relatable for dog lovers/owners.) Since it's told from his perspective, you really get to see the world in a whole new light. His mind speaks like a human, but in a very philosophical way. He provides the comic relief throughout the book such as how pissed he is that he doesn't have opposable thumbs. Since the majority of his book is his life before the night of his death, his hope is to be reincarnated as a human.
This book is a good length. Depending how much you like to read, it has 321 pages. This book is like a drama series because while there is lots of happy moments, there is a fair share of sadness. You must be mature to read this book because of the swearing, romantic situations, a custody battle, and mention of cancer. Some of the chapters were confusing to me as they were talking about race car driving, car mechanics, and race car drivers, so it was a bit hard to comprehend what was happening. Sometimes they talked in Italian, so it was hard to know what they were talking about.
Just like Beneath a Scarlet Sky, there were many great life lessons to be learned from this book. One of my favorite lines from the book is "There is no dishonor in losing the race. There is only dishonor in not racing because you are afraid to lose." I was debating on if I should compete in a debate competition and I remembered this phrase, and it helped me make the choice to go. My final words? Read this book as there is much to be learned and it was very enjoyable to read.
The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein is about a dog named Enzo, a golden retriever with the mind of a human philosopher. On the night of his death (not a spoiler), he recounts his life with his owner, Denny Swift, whose an upcoming race car driver. While the book took a few chapters to take to my liking, I eventually could not put it down.
Enzo, the dog, is such a well defined character (and great and relatable for dog lovers/owners.) Since it's told from his perspective, you really get to see the world in a whole new light. His mind speaks like a human, but in a very philosophical way. He provides the comic relief throughout the book such as how pissed he is that he doesn't have opposable thumbs. Since the majority of his book is his life before the night of his death, his hope is to be reincarnated as a human.
This book is a good length. Depending how much you like to read, it has 321 pages. This book is like a drama series because while there is lots of happy moments, there is a fair share of sadness. You must be mature to read this book because of the swearing, romantic situations, a custody battle, and mention of cancer. Some of the chapters were confusing to me as they were talking about race car driving, car mechanics, and race car drivers, so it was a bit hard to comprehend what was happening. Sometimes they talked in Italian, so it was hard to know what they were talking about.
Just like Beneath a Scarlet Sky, there were many great life lessons to be learned from this book. One of my favorite lines from the book is "There is no dishonor in losing the race. There is only dishonor in not racing because you are afraid to lose." I was debating on if I should compete in a debate competition and I remembered this phrase, and it helped me make the choice to go. My final words? Read this book as there is much to be learned and it was very enjoyable to read.
Signed,
Midwestern Redhead
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