the Art of Racing in the Rain What They Used to Say
Credits
Readability Age Range
- 12 and up
Publisher
- Harper, an banner of HarperCollins Publishers
Awards
- Unknown
Year Published
- 2008
Book Review
The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein has been reviewed by Focus on the Family unit's marriage and parenting magazine.
Plot Summary
From the commencement folio, readers learn Enzo is an sometime, bilious dog. Having watched a television plan on dogs in Mongolia, Enzo is convinced he will come back in his side by side life as a man. This excites him, and he'southward ready to go. He just has to convince his master to let him.
Enzo narrates his life story, beginning with his puppyhood and adoption by Denny, an upwards-and-coming racecar driver. Enzo loves and admires his master, who talks to him about everything as if he's man. They watch Denny's racing tapes together, so Enzo knows a skilful deal about the sport. The dog too watches a lot of Television, which helps him develop his philosophies on life.
Enzo is annoyed when Denny meets Eve and she moves in with them. Eve and Denny ally and have a girl, Zoë, and Enzo warms up to family unit life. Denny's career success ways he is often out of town. Eve begins having pains, which she ignores as long as she can. She finally agrees to let Denny take her to the doctor, and she learns she has final brain cancer.
Eve'due south wealthy parents, Maxwell and Trish, urge Denny to move their ailing daughter into their house. They have more than time and resources to care for her. They also want Zoë to stay with them. Denny is unhappy with the arrangement, simply Eve agrees it is best for now. Denny continues his task every bit a loftier-end car mechanic, follows racing opportunities and visits his wife and daughter often. During this time, he dutifully takes Zoë to a family reunion with some of Eve'southward relatives. A 15-year-former cousin named Annika becomes obsessed with Denny and wheedles a ride home from the reunion with him. Denny, Annika, Zoë and Enzo are caught in a snowstorm that puts them habitation 10 hours subsequently. Annika stays at Denny's place for the night, and tries to seduce the dead-tired man when she comes out of the shower. Denny refuses her advances.
Months later, the cancer kills Eve. Even before her torso has been removed from their house, Maxwell and Trish tell Denny they want full custody of Zoë. They believe they tin can provide for her much more finer than he tin. Denny has little money to fight Eve'south parents, but he hires a lawyer. He eventually sells his house to pay for legal fees. He struggles to cover unexpected expenses, like a vet bill when Enzo is hit by a car. Police arrest Denny at his workplace, and he learns Annika has come up forrard with allegations of rape.
Although many people in the racing world are interested in Denny's talents, the statutory rape trial means he'south not allowed to leave the country. For a while, he'south not even permitted to visit Zoë. The trial drags on for several years. Denny is bankrupt and downhearted, but Enzo supports him and helps him persevere. Luca Pantoni, manager of the Italian Ferrari headquarters, visits Denny and offers him a dream job in Italia. Denny says life circumstances brand information technology impossible for him to accept correct now, equally much equally he'd love to say yep. Luca urges Denny to telephone call him when his situation changes.
Denny has a chance coming together with Annika and her friend at a java shop. He kindly explains his predicament and pleads with her to take back her false testimony. Sometime later, she recants. Maxwell and Trish realize they take lost their reward, and they drop their custody conform. Denny is finally complimentary to accept Zoë and go to Italy.
Enzo finishes his narrative equally Denny makes preparations for the motion. Enzo finally convinces Denny to let him dice, and Denny holds Enzo as the domestic dog runs joyfully into the vast fields of the universe.
An epilogue some years in the future shows Denny as a racing champion in Italy. Zoë brings two fans to come across him, a father and son. The Italian begetter boasts about his young son's innate racing knowledge and skill. The son says how much he admires Denny and quotes one of the phrases Denny always used to say to his dog. The boy says his proper name is Enzo, leaving readers to suspect the dog got his wish to become reincarnated as a human.
Christian Beliefs
Other Belief Systems
Enzo gets his ideas about theology and the afterlife from Television receiver shows. He'southward convinced that some dogs are reincarnated to become men, and this is what he hopes will happen to him. He thinks a dog's soul is released into the world until information technology is ready to be reborn. He believes in karma, likes the idea of assisted suicide and accepts all of Denny's mantras that essentially merits a man tin can shape his own destiny with plenty effort. He's also convinced that dogs, not monkeys, are the closest evolutionary relatives to men. He looks at expiry as a demon and tries to save Eve from information technology. He somewhen becomes convinced the demon is within each soul.
Dominance Roles
Denny adores Enzo and views him as role of the family. Denny pushes through tragedy and despair, making a conscious choice not to drown his sorrows in booze. He keeps fighting for his parental rights and trying to prove his innocence despite the financial strain involved. After Eve warms up to Enzo, she talks to and relies on him like Denny does.
Profanity & Violence
The Lord's proper name is used in vain several times. The f-word, southward—, p-cker, crap, a–, b–tard and b–ch also announced a number of times.
When Enzo is a puppy, a vet cuts off his thumbs (dewclaws) without using coldhearted. It is painful, and the dog bleeds a lot. Angry after Eve's death, Enzo attacks, crushes and eats a squirrel.
Sexual Content
Enzo witnesses and describes several sexual encounters (including pre-marital sex) betwixt Denny and Eve. He talks about them being naked, rolling around and mounting each other. Eve and Denny joke well-nigh using a turkey baster to inseminate her with Denny'due south pre-extracted sperm considering he is gone so oftentimes.
Enzo sees and describes Annika getting naked and attempting to seduce Denny. He makes it clear to readers that Denny does not reply to her advances. Annika later accuses Denny of rape, and he spends years in court trying to bear witness his innocence.
Enzo mentions dogs mounting one another and talks about a movie where a girl and a bear are copulating. Some scenes are described with words like breasts, balls and erection. Denny's friend Mike lives with his male life partner.
Discussion Topics
Additional Comments
A picture version of this book, starring Kevin Costner, is scheduled for release in the fall of 2019.
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Book reviews cover the content, themes and worldviews of fiction books, non their literary merit, and equip parents to determine whether a book is appropriate for their children. The inclusion of a volume's review does non plant an endorsement past Focus on the Family.
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