The Art of Racing in the Rain

Title: The Art of Racing in the Rain
Author: Garth Stein
HARDBACK
Amount of Pages: 321
Publisher: HarperCollins
Publishing Year: 2008
Geared Towards: Older teens and adults
Extra Info: A good book for those who loved Marley & Me





Summary (Credits to the front flap): 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 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 (Dang those rich ppl). In the end, despite what he sees as his own limitations, Enzo comes through heroically to perserve the Swift family, holding in his heart the dream that Denny will become a racing champion with Zoe at his side. Having leaned what it takes to be a compossionate and successful person, the wise canine can barely wait until his next lifetime, when he is sure he will return as a man.

Wdebo's Review: This book was great, the use of a dog, Enzo, as the narrator was really fresh and a very interesting point of view. Enzo had a very sarcastic voice that was fresh and funny at moments and sad at others. Though it was very predictable and it begins with Enzo getting ready to die, I still teared up badly in the end.


Pro: A fresh narrator, one who's heart is always in the right place, he had this "doggy-ness" that no other narrators have. The ending might have been really predictable but it was still written so well that you just can't help it but tear up, even though in the first three pages you already knew that this was going to happen.

Con: Yeah, I guess the predictablitly could be counted as a con. Also, in the middle of the book the problems just kept on coming and coming and coming suddenly they all ended they were all worked out in the 1/10 the pages of the actual problems, not that I don't like happy endings I just thought it should take a bit longer to work everything out when all these problems are thrown right out.

All in all, this book was great. I really enjoyed it mainly because it was from a dog's point of view and let's just say Enzo sees things a bit different then we do. I would reccomend this for older readers, there wasn't a lot of mature content the writing just seemed for older readers.

Grade: B+

Wdebo :)

P.S. Sorry I haven't been posting a lot recently I'll try to do better!!