The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein has been reviewed by Focus on the Family’s marriage and parenting magazine.
The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein has been reviewed by Focus on the Family’s marriage and parenting magazine.
From the first page, readers learn Enzo is an old, ailing dog. Having watched a television program on dogs in Mongolia, Enzo is convinced he will come back in his next life as a man. This excites him, and he’s ready to go. He just has to convince his master to let him.
Enzo narrates his life story, beginning with his puppyhood and adoption by Denny, an up-and-coming racecar driver. Enzo loves and admires his master, who talks to him about everything as if he’s human. They watch Denny’s racing tapes together, so Enzo knows a good deal about the sport. The dog also watches a lot of TV, which helps him develop his philosophies on life.
Enzo is annoyed when Denny meets Eve and she moves in with them. Eve and Denny marry and have a daughter, Zoë, and Enzo warms up to family life. Denny’s career success means he is often out of town. Eve begins having pains, which she ignores as long as she can. She finally agrees to let Denny take her to the doctor, and she learns she has terminal brain cancer.
Eve’s wealthy parents, Maxwell and Trish, urge Denny to move their ailing daughter into their house. They have more time and resources to care for her. They also want Zoë to stay with them. Denny is unhappy with the arrangement, but Eve agrees it is best for now. Denny continues his job as a high-end car mechanic, follows racing opportunities and visits his wife and daughter often. During this time, he dutifully takes Zoë to a family reunion with some of Eve’s relatives. A 15-year-old cousin named Annika becomes obsessed with Denny and wheedles a ride home from the reunion with him. Denny, Annika, Zoë and Enzo are caught in a snowstorm that puts them home 10 hours later. Annika stays at Denny’s place for the night, and tries to seduce the dead-tired man when she comes out of the shower. Denny refuses her advances.
Months later, the cancer kills Eve. Even before her body has been removed from their house, Maxwell and Trish tell Denny they want full custody of Zoë. They believe they can provide for her much more effectively than he can. Denny has little money to fight Eve’s parents, but he hires a lawyer. He eventually sells his house to pay for legal fees. He struggles to cover unexpected expenses, like a vet bill when Enzo is hit by a car. Police arrest Denny at his workplace, and he learns Annika has come forward with allegations of rape.
Although many people in the racing world are interested in Denny’s talents, the statutory rape trial means he’s not allowed to leave the state. For a while, he’s not even permitted to visit Zoë. The trial drags on for several years. Denny is broke and downhearted, but Enzo supports him and helps him persevere. Luca Pantoni, manager of the Italian Ferrari headquarters, visits Denny and offers him a dream job in Italy. Denny says life circumstances make it impossible for him to accept right now, as much as he’d love to say yes. Luca urges Denny to call him when his situation changes.
Denny has a chance meeting with Annika and her friend at a coffee shop. He kindly explains his predicament and pleads with her to take back her false testimony. Sometime later, she recants. Maxwell and Trish realize they have lost their advantage, and they drop their custody suit. Denny is finally free to take Zoë and go to Italy.
Enzo finishes his narrative as Denny makes preparations for the move. Enzo finally convinces Denny to let him die, and Denny holds Enzo as the dog runs joyfully into the vast fields of the universe.
An epilogue some years in the future shows Denny as a racing champion in Italy. Zoë brings two fans to meet him, a father and son. The Italian father boasts about his young son’s innate racing knowledge and skill. The son says how much he admires Denny and quotes one of the phrases Denny always used to say to his dog. The boy says his name is Enzo, leaving readers to suspect the dog got his wish to become reincarnated as a human.
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Enzo gets his ideas about theology and the afterlife from TV shows. He’s convinced that some dogs are reincarnated to become men, and this is what he hopes will happen to him. He thinks a dog’s soul is released into the world until it is ready to be reborn. He believes in karma, likes the idea of assisted suicide and accepts all of Denny’s mantras that essentially claim a man can shape his own destiny with enough effort. He’s also convinced that dogs, not monkeys, are the closest evolutionary relatives to men. He looks at death as a demon and tries to save Eve from it. He eventually becomes convinced the demon is within each soul.
Denny adores Enzo and views him as part of the family. Denny pushes through tragedy and despair, making a conscious choice not to drown his sorrows in alcohol. He keeps fighting for his parental rights and trying to prove his innocence despite the financial strain involved. After Eve warms up to Enzo, she talks to and relies on him like Denny does.
The Lord’s name is used in vain several times. The f-word, s—, p-cker, crap, a–, b–tard and b–ch also appear a number of times.
When Enzo is a puppy, a vet cuts off his thumbs (dewclaws) without using anesthetic. It is painful, and the dog bleeds a lot. Angry after Eve’s death, Enzo attacks, crushes and eats a squirrel.
Enzo witnesses and describes several sexual encounters (including pre-marital sex) between Denny and Eve. He talks about them being naked, rolling around and mounting each other. Eve and Denny joke about using a turkey baster to inseminate her with Denny’s pre-extracted sperm because he is gone so often.
Enzo sees and describes Annika getting naked and attempting to seduce Denny. He makes it clear to readers that Denny does not respond to her advances. Annika later accuses Denny of rape, and he spends years in court trying to prove his innocence.
Enzo mentions dogs mounting one another and talks about a movie where a girl and a bear are copulating. Some scenes are described with words like breasts, balls and erection. Denny’s friend Mike lives with his male life partner.
A movie version of this book, starring Kevin Costner, is scheduled for release in the fall of 2019.
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