"bark twice for 'faster'"
The Art of Racing in the Rain
written by Garth Stein
It is said that when a dog dies, if he's ready, he will be reborn as a man. At least that is what Enzo, the aging dog, saw on National Geographic. He is ready to be a man. He wants to have thumbs and shake hands and, most importantly, have a voice. We as humans may take what we have for granted. Our sharp tongues enable us to speak while Enzo must encounter the world with his long and flat one. All he has are gestures. And, it is his gestures that hold his family together.
Garth Stein has constructed a fiction that relates to everyone with a family or a dog, and then makes them laugh. My experience reading this book was unlike any other. I would have been self-councious while reading if I wasn't so engrossed in the story. I would whoop when Enzo would stop Denny from signing papers that would change his life for the worse. I would curse out at the characters when nobody noticed something was wrong except Enzo and me. And, I would laugh whenever Garth Stein reminded me with his writing that Enzo was a dog above all else.
This is a story told from a dog's eyes. Enzo is no ordinary dog, however. He has views on life and people and what connects everything together. He learned a lot of it from his master, Denny. Denny is a race car driver who will leave the TV on for Enzo when he is out. He is a good man. Even though Enzo could not communicate his thoughts in the same way as a man, Denny could usually tell what his dog was trying to express. The biggest adjustment to their friendship came when Denny met, and later, married Eve. She had spoken to Enzo saying, "You don't mind if I love him too, do you? I won't come between you."A nice woman, except she did come between them at times. But, then they had Zoë. Their family settled and became balanced. However there wouldn't be a story without conflict and Enzo was the first to see it coming.
Like Denny told Enzo while watching his car race through the rain on tape, "That which you manifest is before you." Enzo takes this to another level. He applies it to everything that happens in his life including the obstacles they face. Enzo smells the problem on Eve months before the doctors put a label on the sickness she's been feeling. From the moment Enzo first notices the problem in her head, Denny, Zoë, Eve, and Enzo are set spinning down a path that will take them four years to set strait from the decline of Eve's health to the following custody and police charges Denny will be put against.
Did I mention this book made my cry? I'm not embarrassed about it because Garth Stein is a creative and talented writer. I'll bet you the few dollars this book costs that you will cry too, and if you don't you probably have more control over showing your emotions than I do. Rub it in.
There are a lot of good quotes to take from this book. My favorite is, "Enough! you had me at Stephen Hawking.". I like this because this book will have you at "Gestures are all that I have; sometimes they may be grand in nature." because that is the first line in the book that will take you for a ride you'll be grateful for not passing on.
This is him by the way, Garth Stein.
You rock, sir!
