Monday, December 19, 2011

November/December Book Group: The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein




This months book: The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein

Thoughts about the book:
This was a DNF for me (my review). I just couldn't make myself finish it. I had plenty of time to, but I threw down the book (or would have if it wasn't an ebook on my iPhone) when the drama kept piling on, one event after another. It felt forced and not real and the last one just made me mad and I didn't want to read any more.

Everyone else really enjoyed the book and didn't have the same issues with it as me. There were a couple who agreed that the racing analogies were a bit boring and admitted to scanning over a lot of those chapters. 
In my reading, I felt that Denny was allowing a lot of these dramas into his life without fighting for what was best for him and his family. He seemed resigned to the pain, loneliness and guilt. I got fed up with him, really, not the book entirely. So, I have started back up again and am enjoying it a little better especially since Denny started fighting and Enzo agreed with my assessment of him a few pages in from where I quit.

Popular Question:
How would the book have been different had Denny been the narrator instead of Enzo, the dog?
So different. There is so much inferring done on his part when it comes to things that happen away from him. Also, I would finally understand what Denny was thinking and feeling as he starts losing everything in his life he holds dear. It would be a completely different novel.

Next Months book: The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot
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