by Kristine Cuer

Created on: January 19, 2011

“Gestures are all that I have; sometimes they must be grand in nature”, goes the opening line of the book.

It's not every day that you'd get to read a book written by a dog. That doesn't sound quite right isn't it? Let's rephrase that then: a book narrated by a dog. That being said, one can easily conclude that this is another unorthodox way of writing. But isn't it that most of the times, movies and books involving animals has that different way of piercing through your heart — often, even more heart-breaking than a normal human relationship?

Art of Racing in the Rain is a story about Denny Swift, a race car driver and his dog Enzo. Enzo narrated his life with Denny. How Denny found him. How he became a part of Denny's family. How well he spends most of his time learning like a normal human through watching television mostly about his Master's passion: race car driving. Enzo feels he is no ordinary dog. He relates racing with life. Weird as it may seem but he helped Denny with his battle over child-custody with his in-laws. And most especially, he believes that by doing all the things he is doing now, that if he is well prepared enough, he will be reincarnated in his next life as a human.

The book is rich with racing metaphors about life. Enzo and Denny’s mantra: That which we manifest is before us. Greatly reminding us that we are the creators of our own destiny. Be it through intention or ignorance, our successes and our failures have been brought on by none other than ourselves. Enzo is one heck of a philosopher dog.

If you are a dog lover or a race fan, you will definitely love this book instantly. But you don't have to be one in order to be caught up in Enzo and Denny's world. Garth Stein will make you want to have a lab-terrier dog after reading this or go searching about F1 racing right after. Or the next time you look at your dog, you'd probably go about wondering if he thinks the same way as Enzo.

In our lifetime, every now and then we'd probably stumble upon a book that we can't stop thinking after we're finish reading them. Art of Racing in the Rain is one of those few books you won't mind re-reading all over again.

Rating: 5 stars.

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