What a GOOD book! This is a story about a dog named Enzo, told through the perspective of Enzo. It is a touching, heartwarming, sad, funny, lovely book. It is a pretty quick read, and I don't know if it is because it was so good and I just couldn't down, or because it was told through a dog's perspective, and the vocabulary is simple and easy to read. We follow Enzo through his puppy-hood to his adult life, and his owner's life as well. His life as a dog is pretty good, but his owner's life is not. His owner's name is Denny. Denny gets married, has a kid, is a race car driver, and a lot goes down with all of that. His wife gets sick, there's a huge custody battle between the in-law's for his daughter, is offered amazing jobs doing what he loves, there is so much to love about Denny and his character. Enzo is just a dog, so he is limited in a lot of the things he sees, such as in the court room. Dogs are not allowed in court rooms, so all he can do is speculate what is going on. But on the other hand, the things that Enzo knows, and how he describes and explains them, is great. Enzo watches a lot of TV, and he and Denny watch a lot of Denny's racing tapes, and when Enzo talks about racing techniques and the people who race and how they do it and what Denny has taught him, even if you are not a race car fan, you can't help but eat up everything Enzo says because he is so passionate about it.
There are a lot of metaphors throughout the novel, most of them are racing ones, which makes sense, since Enzo grew up with an owner who was a race car driver. The biggest one is the actually the title, the art of racing in the rain. This is talked about a lot, how to do it, how to do it well, and so on. It is these metaphors that help drive the book (hehehe no pun intended) to what Enzo wants to achieve, and kind of alludes to what is going to happen in the end when it is all over....
As I said, Enzo watches a lot of TV, and at one point in his life, he watched a show about reincarnation, basically. So Enzo believes that when he dies, as long as he has done his duty as a dog, which these duties are given to him by his family, and what he thinks he needs to do. So everything Enzo does is meant to help him become a better man, which is what he will become when his life ends. He will begin a new life as a man, as a human, with thumbs and lips and a tongue. So all he can do right now is soak up everything he can, while he can, and take that with him when it is his time to move on. With all that said, one can guess where the end of the story leads to. It is a sad ending, but it does end on a good note, and while you may be sad at the end, you will still smile, and be happy.
This is a great book, a great "I need a good pick-me-up, make me cry, make me feel good" book. This book really does it all. You laugh a whole lot, you cry a little bit, and you just feel better at the end. Enzo is so honest and I guess in a way innocent, because he knows no other way to be. Its a nice change, really. A+ to this book! Read it now!!!!
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