Nicky's Reviews > The Art of Racing in the Rain

I agree with you. I found Enzo's narration kind of charming, but the situations were very cliche "Law and Order - SVU" moments that still affected me while reading, and I still cried at the end, but I still can see that a lot of this story was plain old, tear-jerkey corny.

I agree! I didn't get Eve's brain cancer and Annika's personality. Wished Stein expanded more with those two. For some reason, I had a hard time caring within the first half of the book.

We obviously didn't read the same book...I LOVED it...but I am a HUGE dog lover :-) I thought having the dog as the narrator was clever and it has sent me on the search for more books told through the eyes of the dog. I have came upon A Dog's Purpose, A Dog's Journey and One Good Dog which the latter is split between the human and the dog telling the story. I think if you really love dogs then you will love this book no matter what :-) just my opinion anyways

I do really love dogs, and miss my dog very much even thirteen or so years after his death. That doesn't make a book which isn't very well written automatically good, for me.

I agree. I thought this book was cliche and depressing. Meh.

I agree with your review. A lot of fuss was made over this book and it is weak compared to so many classics.

I think, as with all things in life, you experience a story through the bias of your own life and because everyone's life has its own individual blueprint, and we are all at different levels of awareness and sympathy, of course it's going to affect everyone differently. Some people may choose to focus on the fact they needed more from the human characters or that the author was "smarmy", and some people may see it from the perspective that Enzo is the center of gravity in this tale and the others orbited so it wasn't necessary to connect with them. Personally, I found this book to be raw and quite poignant about the human soul. And I think telling it from a dog's perspective was actually a smart move. We don't know how a dog (or any animal for that matter) thinks or feels because they can't communicate it to us to e point of exact understanding. So why not, then?! Why not give "man's best friend" a voice of reason and an educated perspective? I was so successfully wrapped up with Enzo that I literally had to take multiple mental time outs to remind myself that it was a still human writing this story. Truthfully, I don't know of many humans that have such a profound grasp on the human soul, so yeah, it made sense to me that of course it wouldn't be a human thinking those things. I thought this book was artful, raw, enlightening and so many other things. But I have my own life blueprint and I was lucky enough to be where I was in my path when I read this book so that I could thoroughly drink it down.

I enjoyed it well enough, but my life's blueprint features a lot of literary texts and lots and analysis of them, so I can't just sit and be with a text. Which to me is not a bad thing, but it does mean I don't enjoy some things as much as other people.

I am not sure what you mean by the central conceit.

The idea that makes it stand out.

I'm a little over half through and not overly impressed, but after reading your review, I'll trudge on for a bit longer.

I wholeheartedly agree with Tiffani. The book is about Enzo and his observations and feelings, everything else is secondary. The way the author described the scent of Eve's cancer while she was giving Enzo his food... "Like wet wood, mushrooms and decay" really bothered me for some reason. I can't get it out of my head, maybe because an illness like that which is so beyond control is something I really fear. That is why I agree with Tiffani. The book is meant to play upon our own personal emotions, experiences, and thoughts about things. It's meant to make us think. Not liking the book isn't a bad thing, it just means we as people think and feel differently; which, is actually a great thing.

I finished the book. The idea of a view of the world through a dog's eyes struck me as intriguing, but I found it completely unbelievable. The story line was mildly absorbing, but the artificiallity of the narrating voice killed this book for me. I will not be recommending it.
BTW, I, too am a dog lover and have been owned by 8 dogs; this story just didn't ring true to their wonderful natures..

I agree so much with your review, with two additional comments. I'm a huge dog lover, it's why I picked this book. I HATED the way Enzo was abused by being left alone with no food & water. Also, slapped in the face by his beloved owner. Took much of my empathy for the human characters away.