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Dog-Eared Reads: The Art of Racing in the Rain

By Wesley Coburn

DAYTONA BEACH, FL - JANUARY 25: The #58 Wright Motorsports Porsche 911 America driven by Madison Snow, Jan Heylen, Patrick Dempsey and Phillipp Eng races during The Rolex 24 at Daytona at Daytona International Speedway on January 25, 2015 in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo by Jerry Markland/Getty Images)
DAYTONA BEACH, FL - JANUARY 25: The #58 Wright Motorsports Porsche 911 America driven by Madison Snow, Jan Heylen, Patrick Dempsey and Phillipp Eng races during The Rolex 24 at Daytona at Daytona International Speedway on January 25, 2015 in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo by Jerry Markland/Getty Images) /
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Labrador looking out from his box on first day of Crufts---Dog Eared reads, Arizona rescue dog
BIRMINGHAM, ENGLAND – MARCH 05: A Labrador peers from its box on the first day of Crufts dog show at the National Exhibition Centre on March 5, 2015 in Birmingham, England. First held in 1891, Crufts is said to be the largest show of its kind in the world, the annual four-day event, features thousands of dogs, with competitors travelling from countries across the globe to take part and vie for the coveted title of ‘Best in Show’. (Photo by Carl Court/Getty Images) /

Thanks for reading this far into our Dog-Eared Reads pick this week, Garth Stein’s “The Art of Racing in the Rain.”

Our thoughts

The philosophical parts trying to equate racing skills to life’s situations was a good idea, but they don’t quite work, and neither does Enzo’s professorial narration style. When he’s talking about daily things – who his favorite actors are, explaining how his knowledge of courtroom and police procedure comes from Law and Order and The Rockford Files – that stuff is believable and funny.

A dog fervently believing in reincarnation is probably not that farfetched on the West Coast – he does live in Seattle, after all – but it’s a little hard to take seriously his “preparations to become a man.”

The ending wraps up a little too neatly for my taste, the saccharine pleasantness feels out of joint with the reality depicted throughout Enzo’s lifetime, but given his optimism, it sort of fits. Characters can be a little one-dimensional, but a dog, no matter how well-educated he is from watching TV most of the day, would likely see them that way, so it’s allowable.

It’s not the greatest novel ever written, but as a reader who writes about dogs and racing (generally NASCAR for Frontstretch), The Art of Racing in the Rain still makes for an enjoyable read, even though (or perhaps in part because of) how heart-rending it is at times.

I was bothered by Enzo’s depiction on the cover of my copy as a Golden Retriever, since he’s definitively not one in the actual text, but that’s a small annoyance and not relevant to the work itself.

The Art of Racing in the Rain will be adapted into a film set to be released in late September 2019. It will star Kevin Costner (Field of Dreams, Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, Dances with Wolves) as the voice of Enzo, Milo Ventimiglia (Gilmore Girls, Heroes, This is Us) as Denny, and Amanda Seyfried (Mean Girls, Veronica Mars, Letters to Juliet) as Eve.

Next. Dog-Eared Reads: Stephen King's Cujo reviewed. dark

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