Title:

The Art of Racing in the Rain

Author:

Garth Stein

Category:

Literature

Rating:

Date Reviewed:

May 27, 2024

recall that The Art of Racing in the Rain was a big bestseller when it was published back in 2008, but I only got around to reading the book now. I knew that the story was told from the point of view of a dog (named Enzo, who is a golden retriever - terrier mix). I assumed from the title that the story would be about dog racing. I was wrong. Enzo's owner is Denny Swift, who drives race cars. It is Denny who does the racing, while Enzo stays home. This is my biggest disappointment with the story - Enzo is the narrator, but he is mostly an observer rather than a participant in the events of the story. The title comes from the fact that Denny proves to be an expert at handling race cars while driving in the rain.

Enzo is more than "just" a dog, he is a genius dog who understand all of human society - how race cars work, how money works, the court system, human relationships - Enzo understands all of these things because he watches television all day while Denny is out racing. A side note - although dogs are color blind, they see the world at a rate of 75 frames-per-second, whereas humans see the world at 60 frames per second. A dog can see a hummingbird flap its wings. So when a dog watches television, it will see a herky-jerky frame by frame advancement that would be amazingly annoying. But a dogs' primary sense is not its vision, but its sense of smell using its wonderously sensitive nose. Enzo seemed too human to me - rarely mentioning smell in his narrative, but describing everything that he witnessed - Enzo hardly seemed like a believable dog to me.

Enzo may be a brilliant dog, yet it never seems to occur to him to communicate with Denny. A dog this smart ought to be able establish a method for letting Denny know that he understands things. At one point, Enzo does get a ride in a car that Denny drives on a track. Denny says - bark twice if you want me to go faster. And Enzo does keep barking twice, much to Denny's amazement. But their level of communicating never goes beyond that point.

At one point Stein decides to channel a bit of Stephen King - he describes a malevolent toy zebra. Enzo knows that zebra is evil, and that he must destroy the possessed toy. What was the purpose of this subplot - was there really an evil spirit?

Enzo slips entirely into the role of passive narrator for the final third of the novel. The evil in-laws embroil Denny in endless, expensive lawsuits in a custody fight for Zoe. Enzo explains all the lawyers and courts as the justice system takes its toll on Denny as he defends himself against spurious claims. I felt that the accusation by the spurned Annika was entirely too timely for the evil in-laws. Don't people take lie detector tests? Doesn't there have to be some shred of physical evidence? Can it really take three years for the slow wheels of justice to come to a conclusion?