The Art of Racing in the Rain

Reading this book is like cruising along as a passenger in a race car. It's a fast and easy read and requires no special exertion from the reader. The best thing about it is that the dog is a narrator. The worst thing about it is how the author forgets this from time to time, or has to work at getting the dog into the scene to be able to describe to the reader what is happening. I would have definitely preferred a story without all the ends tied up, but more closely aligned with what Enzo, the pooch, might have seen/heard/thought.


I appreciated the last few pages- they made me smile in a way I was hoping to smile through the entire book.

Taken from my post at College Students: One of my best friends recommended this to me when it first came out, and I've seen it on people's “must read” lists for a while now. I was skeptical. I did not expect to like it as much as I did. But I really loved the book; I found Enzo's quips and statements to be concise and poignant without being trite or simplistic.

I read this book in one sitting, and I highly, highly recommend it. I was suspicious of the plot because I thought it sounded silly at first: racing? dogs? I don't like either of those things. I don't even really like cars at all. And I'm definitely a cat lady.

For every page I turned, this little gem grew on me. It made me quite the emotional mess a few times, too (I cannot deny it may be because I have dogs on my own...).

It got under my skin.

I will put this book on the shelf with all my favourites. And I would like to see myself read it again someday.

The reason it does not get the fifth star is because the author decided to give Enzo, the dog, a mind that works a lot like a human mind... And I'm not sure I find that authentic... But for what it's worth, I really did enjoy Enzo's narrative voice.