The Art of Racing in the Rain

Reading this book is like cruising along as a passenger in a race car. It's a fast and easy read and requires no special exertion from the reader. The best thing about it is that the dog is a narrator. The worst thing about it is how the author forgets this from time to time, or has to work at getting the dog into the scene to be able to describe to the reader what is happening. I would have definitely preferred a story without all the ends tied up, but more closely aligned with what Enzo, the pooch, might have seen/heard/thought.


I appreciated the last few pages- they made me smile in a way I was hoping to smile through the entire book.

Taken from my post at College Students: One of my best friends recommended this to me when it first came out, and I've seen it on people's “must read” lists for a while now. I was skeptical. I did not expect to like it as much as I did. But I really loved the book; I found Enzo's quips and statements to be concise and poignant without being trite or simplistic.

I read this book in one sitting, and I highly, highly recommend it. I was suspicious of the plot because I thought it sounded silly at first: racing? dogs? I don't like either of those things. I don't even really like cars at all. And I'm definitely a cat lady.

Multiple people recommended this book to me because they know I like books and dogs. This book is narrated by a dog, so it already starts off strong.

However, I found the dog, Enzo, to be pretty unbelievable in his lack of dogginess, and he also wasn't very sympathetic in his self-loathing – it's revealed pretty much off the bat that this dog wants to be a human in his next life, and he often laments the un-humanness of the body he's trapped in. He seems to spend his whole life with the background expectation that he should NOT be a dog, but a human, and looking down on typical dog behaviors, and I think that's too bad because I like those things.

Enzo also spends a lot of time dispensing platitudes and pearls of wisdom about racing - car-racing, not running in the rain, like you might think a dog would love. His great passion, for unpersuasively presented reasons, is being a spectator to others racing cars.

Also, sometimes I wondered if the author even ever had a dog. I just have never personally known a dog to like bananas or watching TV all day. And the author implies that neutered dogs can't get erections, which isn't true. There are some calculated acts of revenge that Enzo takes that are pretty feline.

Overall, the pacing and structure feel slightly amateurish, and the events are quite predictable. There are some nice and surprising turns of phrase in here, though, and overall it's a pretty nice story. They could probably make a good movie out of this and make tons of money.

Sweet and very sad.

My husband is a tried and true F1 fan, so seeing Enzo wax philosophic about the ease with which Michael Schumacher wins was comical and very satisfying.

Enzo's voice was perfect. I talk to my pets all day long and often wonder what they'd say to me if they could. I have nut ball cats, but it's be nice if they were as poetic and wise as the narrator here.

A powerful, heart-rending, and inspiring book. Humans could take notes from this one. You will never look at your dog the same. If writing like this can illustrate the life of the heart using a beloved pet as the protagonist – telling a story from the dog's point of view – just imagine what it will do for the humans in the story. Not one false note.

For every page I turned, this little gem grew on me. It made me quite the emotional mess a few times, too (I cannot deny it may be because I have dogs on my own...).

It got under my skin.

I will put this book on the shelf with all my favourites. And I would like to see myself read it again someday.

The reason it does not get the fifth star is because the author decided to give Enzo, the dog, a mind that works a lot like a human mind... And I'm not sure I find that authentic... But for what it's worth, I really did enjoy Enzo's narrative voice.

Dog Book was not the first thing I should've read. Dog Book didn't really feel good.

Dog Book had way too much cursing for my liking. Dog Book had a non-0, non-1 number of sex scenes. Why did Dog Book need these? I don't know, and Dog Book didn't seem too intent on showing me their usefulness.

Dog Book was also very focused on lots of driving analogies, which felt more like the author flexing than anything else. Dog Book did not convince me that any of the things about the Man driving were believable. Dog Book seemed to use foul language and adult scenes to seem more realistic, but still was not realistic in the plot.

Needless to say, while there were some rather deep-sounding sentences, Dog Book was not something I particularly enjoyed reading. Dog Book didn't feel unique or significant, although it at least was memorable.

I was excited for The Art of Racing in the Rain because it is written from the dog Enzo's point of view. However, this is in no way what I expected. Yes there are scenes that scream dog, but most of the book is too human.

What I expected was something similar to Watership Down. A world translated into what Enzo believed it should be based on his experiences. Instead there is a supposed dog who knows way too much about racing and can spout philosophy. And the best part? TV taught him everything.

And the racing....the entire first half was about race cars. I suppose if you are a fan of the subject like the author seems to be then it would probably be great. I don't care about racing and the analogies on life it teaches.

By the time tragedy strikes the family I could care less. I didn't know anything about the family. I never had a chance to bond with the characters, let alone grieve with them.

How was this a bestseller? How?

I really expected to like this book, but wasn't prepared for the dark parts in the middle so that may have colored my reading. The novel approach of having the dog, Enzo, narrate his own story and use his environment and experiences with his racing owner really worked for me. It was “believable” because it did only use his own experience and understanding of what was going on. The owner goes through some very rough experiences and the dog comments and supports his family to the best of his abilities. If I had been ready for some of the trials, I probably would have enjoyed it more, but I would definitely read more by this author.

I love a good story about man's best friend... And told from the mind of a sweet dog like Enzo has been just perfection. I saw the movie before I read the book, and the book is pretty much the same as the movie. Readers should be aware of triggers of Cancer and Custody Battles. [a:Garth Stein 194531 Garth Stein https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1229127424p2/194531.jpg] has a gift of writing with such heart and emotion. I could feel every emotion, every character felt in this story.

MY SOBBBBBSSSSS. This book was so soul-crushingly bittersweet. If you're going to read it, make sure you have some Kleenex ready. But seriously, this book was really beautiful. I can't say I had a whole lot of fun reading it, because it was very dark and realistic in a way and I'm more into fantasy books. BUT! I definitely don't regret reading it and would gladly recommend it to anyone. I think dog-lovers and philosophy-lovers in particular would really like it. :)

Definitely one of my favorite books. I've read it multiple times and I genuinely get sad at the end (even though it's a happy ending). It was interesting to see it from the dogs pov. It really makes you think. There are some really amazing quotes in this book as well. One of my favorites is “That which we manifest is before us; we are the creators of our own destiny” You should definitely read!!!!

Written from the perspective of a dog, this story follows a race car driver (though, more of his personal life than his career) through a family drama. Had I read this in 5th grade, I would have loved it; it has a dog as the main character and narrator, it has a love story, and tragedy, and triumph, and truisms. But alas, I read this as an adult and couldn't get past that it's incredibly cheesy (sometimes unbearably so – with full-on Harry Potter 7 level of cheesy epilogue), predictable, and frankly just not written all that well. Some sections were so non-nutritive (basically, anything to do with the actual racing of cars... or, when the dog imagines himself testifying at the stand as a witness in his owner's trial.... I mean, cmon) that I skimmed them.

The whole anthropomorphic-pet thing has never worked for me: pretending that an animal without a prefrontal cortex is just a tiny-human-who-can't-speak is absurd—and not in the enjoyable sense of the word. Add to that some silliness about reincarnation, toss in some pointless car racing, a dash of maudlin, ... and thanks but no thanks.

(Audio CD edition; abandoned partway into 2nd disc.)

Hands down one of the best books I've ever read. I think it pulls at you more too if you are or ever have been a dog owner. I never wanted to put it down and invoked strong reactions from the very beginning. I feel equal parts hate and appreciation to my friends that encouraged me to read it. Not only am I incredibly impressed by the depth of the story, but I must admit it got to me. Even gave me a better appreciation for racing. A must read.

It took me a little while to get into this story. I just wasn't understanding how this book was about anything more than a dog and car racing info. Turns out, it really isn't about those things at all! I really enjoyed the camaraderie between dog and owner when faced with the biggest fight of their lives. And I adore Enzo :)

It took me a total of 3 days to read this book and I am sad it's over. I absolutely loved it!

The Art of Racing in the Rain is about the relationship between the narrator, a mixed breed dog named Enzo, and his family: Denny, Eve and Zoe. At the beginning of the book, Enzo informs the reader that he is nearing the end of his life and he begins the tale of his life with Denny and the addition of Eve (the wife) and Zoe (the daughter).

Enzo watches as Denny falls in love with and builds a future with Eve, developing a strong friendship with Eve and protector for Zoe. Enzo also is a fan of race car driving, as Denny himself is an amateur racer. Denny and Enzo's life is ripped apart when Eve dies and a battle ensues over the custody of Zoe, a battle between Denny and his in-laws. Denny also faces other legal battles thanks to an overly ambitious 15 year old cousin who attempts, and fails, at initiating sex with Denny. Enzo witnesses all of this and tells the story from his silent perspective.

Enzo is not a “normal” narrator, as he is a dog but he has such an amazing understanding of what his owner and family are going through, as well as the various injustices Denny must face in order to prove that his daughter belongs with him and that he did nothing to the 15 year old cousin. I also learned a lot about racing in this book, as Enzo using racing to parallel the life he plays witness to.

This is a fast read and the characters are very likeable. As a dog fan, I especially loved that it was a dog who told the story. This has become one of my favorite books.