The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth SteinI started off really enjoying this book. I loved Enzo humour and take on life as a dog. His view on evolution and how "the man" is keeping him down is hilarious. I was laughing out loud for the first few chapters. Then the car racing analogies came in and they were a little boring but I could ignore that and still enjoy reading about Enzo's life with Denny, Eve and Zoe. It was still an enjoyable book and still had some funny parts and some sad.
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Then, about half way through, the drama starts…wife gets sick but refuses to go to a doctor. Then, Denny allows her parents to keep her and their daughter at their house for months after she gets out of the hospital and ignores all the signs that they are trying to keep their daughter longterm.
Oh wait, there is more…Denny stupidly takes a teenage girl home from a ski trip and allows her to finagle a night stay not realizing she has developed a crush on him. His wife then dies, his inlaws sue for custody of Zoe, the girl accuses Denny of rape…
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There was probably a lot more but I gave up. I just couldn't continue. How completely oblivious can one guy be? How much crap could befall one person and have only the dog realize what is going on? I wasn't expecting a Jodi Piccoult type storyline in this book. I don't read her books for this reason.
Lighthearted and fun, this was not. I saw the dog on the cover and immediately thought this would be a book to put a smile on my face. I should have stopped reading around Chapter 11. If you like books full of drama and don't mind it being narrated by a dog you will enjoy it. This just wasn't for me.
2.5/5
Source: purchased ebook for book group
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This was an unusual book but I liked it. It did make me really emotional though. I was in an online bookclub at Barnes & Noble and the author joined us for 2 weeks. He is such a nice guy! Thanks for your honest review.
ReplyDeleteI haven't read this one, but I did enjoy his initial book that came out in the late '90s which they reprinted after this book was so popular. Raven Stole the Moon is a pretty interesting, sad, and magical realism (I guess?) story, but it was much more of an interesting read.
ReplyDeleteNatalie- I haven't heard much about this book. I will have to look into it and see if it is more my type of read.
ReplyDeleteAs a woman who is not very interested in auto racing there were a few slow spots for me. HOWEVER, those parts are very brief. If you have ever had the blessing of having a special pet, you must read this book. If only for a moment, I was able to imagine what life must be like for our pets. It was great fun. I have a favorite emotion...smiling/laughing through tears.
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