AR book review

 Devin Brantley 

Mr. Davidson 

Contemporary Literature, Period 2

20 October 2023

AR Book Review

Garth Stein's The Art of Racing in the Rain is a novel written from the unique perspective of a dog named Enzo. Enzo is a very wise dog and has the conscience of a human. Enzo belongs to Denny who is a talented race car driver who is struggling to make ends meet. Denny is married to a woman by the name of Eve and they have a daughter named Zoe. In the beginning of the story the family is happy, they move out of their apartment into a bigger house, Denny gets more opportunities to race. But that happiness spirals down to a pit of sadness when Eve gets sick. She is given 8 months to live because she has brain cancer and because she didn’t want to see a doctor, the cancer already caused too much damage. As her health gets worse the family’s lives and bonds get worse. Even after Eve's death the family still have many struggles ahead of them.  Through Enzo’s eyes, we as the readers are able to see the ups and downs of this family's life, from the death of Eve, to the custody battle for Zoe, and all the events between. Enzo’s insights reflect the connection between humans and their dogs, the love and feelings that can grow from these relationships. 

In this novel I very much enjoyed Enzo’s unrealistic character. How he is able to cognitively understand what people say to him and the situations he is placed in. It shows that Enzo is not a normal dog, he is very special not only to Denny, but in his own way. Enzo’s human consciousness allows him to view situations much like us humans, but he still acts upon those situations as a dog. Much like when he is handling sadness or anger, even though his primal instincts take over, he is self aware. My favorite example of Enzo’s enhanced understanding of human language was when he barked twice for faster. “One bark means slower, two means faster, got it? I barked twice, that surprised him and Pat and Jim, who were both leaning in the passenger window.” Page 153. As the reader I was just as surprised as Benny, Pat, and Jim when I read that Enzo barked twice. And that wasn’t his only time either. He barked twice again when Denny asked while they were driving around the track. There are many other ways that Enzo shows why he is special compared to other dogs, but nothing like this situation and another. The other situation was when Enzo was gnawing and urinating on the agreement papers that Mr. Lawrence had given Denny. Enzo took the papers from Denny’s lap and ran with them. That started a fierce chase with Denny that took them to the backyard after Enzo jumped through a window. When Denny couldn’t understand Enzo’s actions, he urinated on the papers. Mike and Denny bursted out laughing and it was all resolved. 

One aspect of this novel that I like a lot is the life of all the characters. No matter if they are a main character or a side character. Mr. Stein is able to make sure that the character isn’t just an extra to the story but a story within themselves. The best example of this is Annika’s friend. When Denny was explaining the damage that Annika had caused, the friend was tearing up and was able to understand the severity of the situation. More of her character showed when she informed Annika that Denny was using a metaphor when talking to her. But this situation shows more of Annikas character as well. The conversation gives the readers a glimpse of her character and what she is going through. “Annika dipped her head at the mention of Eve”. Page 283. She had nothing to say because she was realizing the mistakes she made. She knew it was just better to listen, as well as her friend. 

Garth Stein’s The Art of Racing in the Rain is a fantastic book for highschool readers and above. The unique narrative perspective of the novel helps it stand out from others. This was my first time reading a novel from an animal's perspective and I was not disappointed. The storytelling was very intriguing as well. I don’t usually read genres other than action and fantasy that I actually like, but this book was something else. It had just enough conflict and an extremely satisfying ending. I recommend this book without a doubt. Whoever reads this book will be happy they picked it up. 

 

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