jrk's Full Review: Garth Stein - The Art of Racing in the Rain
So, there I am, waiting for my iced caramel macchiato in one of those ubiquitous establishments that specialize in blending smooth music with caffeine jolts, and it beckons me -- a tastefully calming midnight blue cover with a hint of yellow lab and its oh-so-Zen title, The Art of Racing in the Rain. I pick it up. I start to read. I'm hooked long before the barista calls my name.
Garth Stein's The Art of Racing in the Rain reduced me to tears and made me laugh out loud, sometimes within the course of one sentence. While I've read a great many wonderful books, few have earned that clichéd phrase "I couldn't put it down." The Art of Racing in the Rain definitely warranted that statement.
If You Love Dogs
OK, as a dog lover, I was already predisposed to adore the narrator of this story -- a very wise yet goofy golden lab (with possible terrier ancestry). But Garth Stein's ability to capture the very essence of a golden lab with the narrative voice he bestowed upon Enzo is nothing short of brilliant. The Art of Racing in the Rain is Enzo's story, told by Enzo himself. Guess you'd call it a first-dog narrative.
It is also the story of Enzo's human family -- Denny, Eve, and Zoe -- and the love and heartache they endure. As far as plot goes, there's nothing extraordinary here. It's just a dog's-eye view of life with its concomitant joys and pains, successes and obstacles, wisdom and stupidity. It could be anyone's story in any time or place. And yet it is a remarkable tale precisely because it is the tale of Everyman (and Everydog) told with tenderness and wisdom and an appreciation and understanding of everything life throws at us.
Don’t Know Squat About Formula One Racing
When I first read the dust jacket blurb on The Art of Racing in the Rain, I was wary of the car racing motif that Stein would use throughout the tale. I'm no racing fan. Heck, I'm not even a car lover. So how well would a book appeal to me with a huge emphasis on Formula One racing? The answer: very well.
In the hands of Garth Stein, even a subject of no interest whatsoever to me became intensely interesting and instructive. Denny, Enzo's man, understands racing. It pulses in his veins. It's instinctual for him. And Enzo shares Denny's enthusiasm and marvels at Denny's ability to confront and overcome all the obstacles any car racing circuit throws at him, even in the rain. As the story unfolds, however, Enzo yearns for Denny to translate these innate car-handling abilities into life skills off the track as well. And if Denny can't do it all on his own, then Enzo is determined to find a way to help him do it.
Life Hurts
At the time I was reading The Art of Racing in the Rain, my sister was dying. It was, needless to say, a very sad and difficult time for me. But Garth Stein's narrative worked wonders on my mental state. Through his narrator, Stein delivers a Zen view for dealing with all the hurt life throws at us. No matter whether the focus is on life's little annoyances or bigger issues like sickness and death, Stein dispenses some pretty remarkable doses of wisdom to his readers.
I haven't yet read Stein's other novels, How Evan Broke His Head and Other Secrets (2005) or Raven Stole the Moon (1998), but I intend to. If they come even close to being as tender, sensitive, wise, and funny as The Art of Racing in the Rain, I'll be amazed. But, hey, miracles do happen!
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 b...More at HotBookSale
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