“The Art of Racing in the Rain” – Garth Stein
If you're like me, you've probably spent many a times contemplating what your dog is thinking. How big of a threat is the mailman, really? Does your dog have a personal vendetta against flip flops, or is the material just fun for him to sink his teeth into? Do they think we're really as awesome as they make us feel, or are we reading too much into their puppy eyes? Garth Stein shows us this and more as he navigates his fictional story, The Art of Racing in the Rain, through the eyes of a dog and his human best friend.
At the beginning of the story, Enzo, now an old dog, ready to cross the rainbow bridge at any moment, reflects on his life and the lessons he's learned being a dog. Since he was a puppy, most of his days are spent with Denny, his master, and later also spent with Denny's wife, Eve, and their daughter, Zoe. Enzo believes that dogs (not primates) are the closest in species to humans because they have dew claws (basically, an emerging thumb). This gives him hope that he may be a human in his next life (if reincarnation is a thing), and he puts humans on the highest pedestal of regard. He watches human interaction, “educates” himself with television, and ultimately prepares himself for if and when he becomes a human. Through the years, Enzo becomes a philosopher, understanding (to the best of his capabilities) the way humans navigate through life.
What became so moving about this book was how Enzo was able to take everything from normal situations like the devastatingness of being left at home for too long with an evil stuffed zebra, to major struggles like death and family legal issues, and see them from the perspective of a being so innocent with only the best intentions. He takes these experiences and reflects on them, learning some valuable lessons that a human might not necessarily interpret from a situation; lessons that may be simple, but are equally important. This book made me question whether or not I could see my own successes and struggles in a different light like Enzo could, or wonder if my dogs may be interpreting our adventures together differently than I interpret them. Perhaps we could all take a page out of this book and learn to think more like a dog.
Stein's words are almost like poetry. You can feel yourself inside of the dog's mind, watching him analyze situations, and feeling like, for the first time, everything's not so grey and blurry underneath that furry head. For those who are dog lovers (and even for those that aren't, if there is such a thing), I'd strongly recommend picking up a copy of The Art of Racing in the Rain. This novel reminds us that, not only are our dogs learning things from us, but we can learn plenty from them too.
