The Art of Racing in the Rain – Garth Stein

Susan and I saw Garth Stein at a local bookstore several years ago and he was charming. It was after we had read the book (of course, at Susan’s recommendation), The Art of Racing in the Rain,  and I was compelled to purchase an autographed copy. In my mind, he looks like the author of The Art of Racing in the Rain should look and he has created a character, Enzo, a dog, like none other. Enzo is wise, philosophical, knowing, much more so than a mere mortal.  It is funny, then, that that is what he would like to become in his next life-a man.

Denny Swift is the mortal protagonist. His life in a nutshell: he finds and adopts Enzo, falls in love with Eve, marries her, and has a child, Zoe. Eve passes away prematurely from cancer and her rich parents, dubbed “the Twins” by Enzo because they dress alike, act alike, are a similar shade of nasty, decide that they want custody of Zoe, since Denny’s life as a race car driver is so unstable. When Denny refuses, they sue for custody, creating an emotional ordeal that is the crux of this amazing book.

Enzo, unfettered by societal conventions, calls it as he sees it.  He describes the Twins in uncensored terms, saying what we, who might know them, would like to say but feel constrained in doing so.  He acts upon his feelings, both negative and positive, including shitting on the Twins’ white carpet when they’ve pissed him off.  In essence, he is our alter ego. The fact that life is compared to automobile racing is only secondary, but so apt. “The car goes where the eyes go”, as does our life.

My dog’s name is Harley…it’s about as close to a motorcycle as I’ll ever get. After reading The Art of Racing in the Rain for the second time (and enjoying it as much as the first time), I look at Harley differently. I wonder if he is all knowing, if he sees things that we, wrapped up in our own little worlds, are too blind or pre-occupied to see. I wonder whether he wants to be a man in his next life. I wonder whether he has all these thoughts in his head that he can’t articulate because his mouth wasn’t constructed for speech. I wonder if he realizes that I love him, even when gets me angry. I hope so.

Denny, when taking Enzo for a spin around a race track, tells him “Bark once for slower, two for faster” and, of course, Enzo barks twice. Well, if I was a canine, I’d bark twice to have Garth Stein write a little faster, because it’s been a long time (especially in dog years) since The Art of Racing in the Rain was published.  It’s time for a new Garth Stein book. Put this book on your holiday wish list.