Review - The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein

As a dog lover, I was first drawn to this book by the cover. Then I learned that the story was narrated by a dog, and I was intrigued. Who hasn't wondered from time to time what their dog was thinking? In this book, we get inside an intelligent, philosophical dog's mind and hear the story of one family from the dog's point of view. His thoughts guide us through the story. (You can watch the book trailer here. I love book trailers!)

Enzo is a dog who belongs to Denny, a race car driver. Enzo is fiercely devoted to his family. As Enzo nears the end of his life, he reflects on all the wisdom he has gained from Denny. Enzo knows a lot about racing from watching videos with Denny, and he believes the techniques used while racing in difficult conditions can be applied to the difficult situations in life. Denny is no stranger to hard times--he has had to put aside his racing dreams for awhile and deal with both a personal tragedy and a legal battle.

A fair warning--keep a box of tissues handy while reading! I shed a few tears over the course of this book. There were also times it had me smiling and laughing, though. Dog lovers will enjoy this touching tale of a loyal dog and his family.


Rating: 5/5


This review is cross-posted on Goodreads and my library's blog.
The Art of Racing in the Rain is going to be made into a movie soon, and Patrick Dempsey will star as Denny. I hope the movie will be as good as the book! (But is the movie ever really as good as the book?)


Just for fun, here's some McDreamy eye candy. Apparently he races in real life. 

Have you read The Art of Racing in the Rain? What did you think?