We are testing my memory with this review, as this book flew with me to Mexico with a friend and his family in February 2020, right before COVID-19 hit and shut us inside for 2 years. You would think that, having had a vacation immediately before mandatory stay at home orders were issued, I would be grateful - my other friend had her ticket in hand to the Caribbean for April 2020 and was still struggling to get a refund a year later - but my trip consisted of my friend talking about how much he missed his girlfriend (now fiancée) and how he wished she was there instead of me, and his uncle sexually harassing me while four grown adults stood around and pretended like he wasn't (his wife, among them). While I was disappointed with the company I was in, it did afford me plenty of time to get lost in fictional worlds in a beautiful setting.
Unfortunately for me, I chose to bring this book, Garth Stein's The Art of Racing in the Rain, which I started and immediately put back in my bag. When I picked it up again months later, it made me increasingly uncomfortable with its fake rape allegation plot line and nonsensical litigation. But let me back up for a minute.
"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 very 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. On the eve of his death, Enzo takes stock of his life, recalling all that he and his family have been through.
A heart-wrenching but deeply funny and ultimately uplifting story of family, love, loyalty, and hope, The Art of Racing in the Rain is a beautifully crafted and captivating look at the wonders and absurdities of human life ... as only a dog could tell it."
Enzo is a dog, and dogs love their humans. Dogs look at you like you have never done anybody wrong and you always make the right choice. That does not translate well to building a character, because as is the case with Enzo's owner Denny, he ends up being described as a sort of pseudo-human, the outside shell of a person, glorified in Enzo's eyes and being served shit on a platter but dealing with it as only a saint could. The story is fine-ish, and I enjoyed the racing analogies and the dog as a character on the edge of his reincarnation into a full human being the next time around, but Denny and his seemingly undeserved suffering felt supremely unbelievable - when in real life would this alleged angel of a man be handed 1) a dying then dead wife, 2) a fake rape allegation, and 3) losing custody of his child to evil in-laws, all within a dog's natural lifespan? It was too much. It felt like I was reading the outline to a story, and the author forgot to put all the depths of the human experience into it. My therapist told me last week that leading authorities on the subject think there are up to 24,000 emotions that can be felt by a human! This book elicited two - and they can both summed up with a modification in tone while saying "aw".
That said, it was very readable, and once I got past the first chapter or two, I finished it in no time at all. I did like Enzo's philosophical rumination and, in contrast, his incredibly dog-specific behaviours, like being scared of a stuffed toy. HIs relationship with Denny's daughter was adorable, and anybody who has loved a dog will understand that special bond.
Sweet and suspiciously surface level - 3.5 stars.
Stay muddy!
Holly
Wonderful. Thank you. I hope to read more.