Ms. Smarty Pants Know It All

This is going to be hard to describe because I feel that everything I say will sound either too negative or too positive.

The first few pages of The Art of Racing in the Rain really had me worried. Even though our narrator is a dog who thinks he has a human soul, I’m not really interested in seeing a dog humanized. I would be much more interested in seeing how any author would imagine dogs to think—as dogs.

I am currently revisiting my love for Jane Goodall and my admiration for her work so that does color my vision a bit. She managed to introduce us to the ideas that chimpanzees have thoughts, feelings, goals, loves, etc., without letting us forget that they are chimpanzees. These things are of their being.

That being said, I grew to love Enzo-the-dog’s voice.

Garth Stein is clearly a gifted writer capable of very clever and imaginative ideas. I love practically all of the details he gives Enzo to build his personality (doggy-ality?).

Enzo has learned a lot about the world through the television programs he watches. Can you imagine if that’s the basis of most of what you know? For Enzo, it gives him a very charming worldview.

It is through this worldview that we experience a family’s growth and dissolution as well as a man’s growth and dissolution.

The family drama is gripping and heartfelt (although very, very predictable). I was fully invested in the plot.

What nags at me though—is that the dog doesn’t really have to be a dog. This all could have been accomplished through a novice guardian angel, a curious extraterrestrial, or a sentient love seat.

Why have the narrator be a dog when he never really feels truly dog-like? (At least Enzo doesn’t feel like my dog.)

This premise and structure aside, I really did enjoy my read. I finished the novel in one sitting and with several tissues.

Garth Stein is able to show off a fine sense of humor and a crisp writing style.

The characters, though cliched, worked for the story. We are, after all, seeing them through the eyes of a dog. The plot, also overly romanticized and cliched, worked because the narrative elevated it.

I really could have done without that final chapter though. The ending was so strong, and he had to tack on an unnecessary and eye-rolling coda.

Garth Stein has a sentimentality streak that works both for and against him. Overall, the balance for this book tilts more towards the positive.

Tags: Books // Comments Off