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The Art of Racing in the Rain | 
 enlarge | Author: Garth Stein
Publisher: Harper
Category: Book
List Price: $23.95
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Rating:  273 reviews
Sales Rank: 146
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 336
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.9
Dimensions (in): 8 x 5.9 x 1.3
ISBN: 0061537934
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54
EAN: 9780061537936
ASIN: 0061537934
Publication Date: May 1, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: BRAND NEW, IN-HOUSE READY TO SHIP!!! NOT A BARGAIN, REMAINDER OR BOOKCLUB BOOK!!! WE ARE A 5 STAR SELLER.
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Product Description
Enzo knows he is different from other dogs: a philosopher with a nearly human soul (and an obsession with opposable thumbs), he has educated himself by watching television extensively, and by listening very closely to the words of his master, Denny Swift, an up-and-coming race car driver. Through Denny, Enzo has gained tremendous insight into the human condition, and he sees that life, like racing, isn't simply about going fast. Using the techniques needed on the race track, one can successfully navigate all of life's ordeals. On the eve of his death, Enzo takes stock of his life, recalling all that he and his family have been through: the sacrifices Denny has made to succeed professionally; the unexpected loss of Eve, Denny's wife; the three-year battle over their daughter, Zoe, whose maternal grandparents pulled every string to gain custody. In the end, despite what he sees as his own limitations, Enzo comes through heroically to preserve the Swift family, holding in his heart the dream that Denny will become a racing champion with Zoe at his side. Having learned what it takes to be a compassionate and successful person, the wise canine can barely wait until his next lifetime, when he is sure he will return as a man. A heart-wrenching but deeply funny and ultimately uplifting story of family, love, loyalty, and hope, The Art of Racing in the Rain is a beautifully crafted and captivating look at the wonders and absurdities of human life . . . as only a dog could tell it.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 268 more reviews...
 Characters you care about, a story that grabs you -- maybe more dogs should write novels May 13, 2008
90 out of 92 found this review helpful
I have finally found a new novel I can stand to read.
To my great astonishment, it's told by a dog. (I'm not a pet-lover).
It contains many insights about car racing. (I have no interest in car racing, and I look askance at sports analogies.)
And the author has described it as "Jonathan Livingston Seagull' for dogs." (That book is tied with 'The Giving Tree' as my Least Favorite Ever.)
So what do I find to praise?
The concept: "When a dog is finished living his lifetimes as a dog, his next incarnation will be as a man." Not all dogs. Only those who are ready. Enzo, a shepherd-poodle-terrier mix, is ready.
Enzo has spent years watching daytime TV, mostly documentaries and the Weather Channel (It's "not about weather, it is about the world"). And because Denny Swift, his owner, is a mechanic who's training to race cars, he and Enzo watch countless hours of race footage. So Enzo knows about the world beyond the Swift home near Seattle.
The situation is equally appealing: Enzo is old, facing death. While he has learned from racing movies to forget the past and live in the moment, this is his time to remember. And he can remember objectively --- as a dog, his senses are sharper, his emotions less complicated. With the clarity of a Buddha, Enzo can see. And he can listen: "I never interrupt, I never deflect the conversation with a comment of my own." So he's quite the knowing narrator.
And then the story: a happy family, brimming with good feeling and ambitious dreams. Denny loves Enzo like a son. Denny loves his wife Eve, who works for a big retail company that "provided us with money and health insurance." And Denny lives for Zoe, their daughter. Then Enzo smells something bad happening in Eve --- the dog is always the first to know --- and you start to brace yourself. But not enough, not nearly enough. Bad things happen to good people in this novel, and then worse things, and soon you are so angry, so hurt, so tear-stained and concerned that you do not think for one second to step back and say, hey, wait, this is just a story! A shaggy dog story, at that!
It works out. This is fiction, of course it works out. Not without cost to the characters and the reader. But the payoff is considerable --- a story that commands you to keep going, ideas that are a lot smarter than the treacle Garth Stein could have served up.
"How difficult it must be to be a person." Enzo nails that. "To live every day as if it had been stolen from death, that is how I would like to live." Who wouldn't? "Racing is about discipline and intelligence, not about who has the heavier foot. The one who drives smart will always win in the end." And there's more --- yeah, this could be summer reading in progressive high schools some day.
Or you could take a refresher course now in learning how to race in the rain.
Why wait?
Wrenching and inspiring May 14, 2008
118 out of 128 found this review helpful
I picked The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein simply because, being a dog lover and seeing the dog on the cover, I couldn't resist. It was one of those moments, as a reader, you'll remember for a while. What a wonderful book.
Enzo, the narrator, is a dog and Enzo wants nothing more than to be a man. Here is the only aspect of the book I might doubt. Anyone who is aware of "man's" human nature knows that dogs, as a creature, are much nobler. To become a man might not be an upward move. Nuff said there.
Enzo is part of a happy family, Denny, the racer; Denny's wife Eve, and his daughter Zoe. Life is good. But then Eve develops cancer and decides to remove herself to her parents home along with Zoe. In the end, the parents of Eve decide to challenge Denny for custody to Zoe and do so in a manner that isn't befitting grandparents.
This book will tear at you in so many ways and on so many levels. Without giving too much away let me just say that I haven't felt compelled to tear up so often by a book in a long time. Reading The Art of Racing in the Rain is like sitting through Old Yeller as a young boy and not crying. But don't let me scare you off. The Art of Racing is a book you've got to read, especially if you love dogs (or animals in general). With a wonderful storyline and characters you become attached to this book is cathartic.
Garth Stein is to be congratulated on writing a book that is sure to become a classic.
A dog's eye view of humanity May 19, 2008
45 out of 46 found this review helpful
I might secretly be a dog person, or maybe subconsciously ... but if you were to ask me I would tell you I'm not a dog person. Oh, but how I loved Enzo.
On the eve of his death, Enzo (a dog) tells what amounts to his master's life story. Stein's attention to detail was amazing - the book read like it was written by somebody who took the time to stop and think "what would a dog feel/do in this situation?" As a result, Enzo is memorable and lovable. He's at once a crotchety old man, and an innocent youth. He's wise, he's naive, and he is devoted.
I'm not going to lie to you, this book is very sad. But it is also laugh out loud funny at times, and filled with love, devotion, philosophy and hopefulness.
It's a beautiful book and definitely one of my favorites of the year.
A Novel with Tremendous Heart May 13, 2008
38 out of 41 found this review helpful
Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/R2W9PSBE2WVOEK This morning, my wife and I learned that our son has been diagnosed with speech delay. He is our first child, and we've never been through something like this before. It is easily one of the most difficult days of my life.
This evening, after we put him to bed, I settled into the last 100 pages of Garth Stein's The Art of Racing in the Rain. The story concerns one family's near total collapse as seen through the eyes of the family dog, Enzo. It is filled with more emotion than any other novel I have read recently, and it shines with wit, humor, and poignancy.
Narrated by Enzo the dog, we are brought into the home of the Swifts -- Denny, Eve, and Zoe -- as Denny works to realize his dream to become a race car driver. Soon though, we learn that Eve has cancer and is going to die. Denny, who possesses tremendous compassion, patience, and selflessness, gives up his dream to race cars in order to take care of Eve in her final months.
But Garth Stein ratchets the emotional screws tighter, and Eve chooses to leave Denny and live with her parents in her final months. To make matters worse, she takes Zoe with her, and Denny is left alone with Enzo.
Just when Denny's situation can't get any worse, it does. His in-laws inform him that they're going to file for custody of his daughter, and they intend to fight him brutally in court to do so.
It would be wrong to give too much of the second half of this novel away, but let me just say this: if this novel doesn't make you cry, you should have someone check your heart to see if it's still beating.
The Art of Racing in the Rain is easily one of the most human and compassionate novels I've read in a long time. Harper Executive Editor Jennifer Barth compares it to Charlotte's Web, an appropriate choice for a lot of reasons. If I had to draw a comparison, I'd pick Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men... by virtue of the fact that both novels are short, poignant, sad, funny, and ultimately brilliant. And both stories are models of grace under pressure.
Congratulations to everyone at Harper and to the folks at Folio Literary Management for bringing this novel to publication. And congratulations most of all to Garth Stein.
This is an outstanding novel, and I highly recommend it.
A wonderful novel that you'll never forget. June 5, 2008
12 out of 12 found this review helpful
This novel is now on my top ten favorite books list. It has a unique narrative voice, that makes this novel both singular as well as inventive, standing apart from the onslaught of new releases readers face each year. With themes that many people can empathize with balanced with the racing metaphor, which I thought would never work coming from a non-racing background yet ultimately will add to the experience to any reader. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!
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