The Art of Racing in the Rain p. 1 - 97

             The Art of Racing in the Rain is a fictional story that is written by Garth Stein who is the author of two novels: How Evan Broke His Head and Other Secrets and Raven Stole the Moon. It follows the life of Denny, a customer service agent at a BMW/Mercedes auto shop, who has a passion for racing and does it on the side. He has a dog named Enzo who tells the story and has a remarkably human spirit. He understands racing just as well as anyone, mostly because of Denny talking to him and playing videos or movies of races of either himself or all-time greats like Ayrton Senna. Denny later meets his wife Eve and they have one daughter named Zoe who was named after Eve's grandmother. Denny also has a friend at work named Mike.

             The book starts off with Enzo being old and about to die. He tells us about his life in a big flashback that lasts at least as far as I am now in the book. He tells about how Denny came home one night with a girl named Eve who later became his wife. They had one daughter, Zoe, and moved from Denny's apartment into a house that was still in Seattle. But one day, while Denny was at a race at Watkins Glen, Eve woke with an insufferable pain, she said "I feel like someone's crushing my skull." She quickly gathered Zoe's things in a bag and they both left for her parent's house, leaving Enzo behind. Enzo had to survive in the house until Denny came back three days later. He starved and drank out of the toilet and went to the bathroom near the back door, but he made it. Denny was really angry at Eve for leaving him for three days. After that, Eve's condition worsened, she would have good days and bad days and it was unpredictable what kind of day it would be. On one of her good days, the four of them went hiking up a mountain and came across a lake with a natural dam of smooth stone. The stone made a ramp to the stream below. And since there was water running over them, they were slick. So Zoe thought she could slide down them. With Denny at the bottom and Eve at the top, Zoe had a lot of fun sliding down the stone, time and time again. But one time, as Eve picked her up out of the water and onto the "slide", Zoe shifted her weight which caused Eve to lose her balance. She managed to set Zoe down before falling and hitting her head hard against the rocks.

I believe this book is told how a nonfiction book is normally, as a story of events in the past rather than in a fiction book where it's usually told in the the present with a well thought out story line. I think the author did this on purpose to make it seem like a nonfiction book. That being said, there is always something happening, from the very beginning when Enzo is about to die to where I am now where Eve hits her head. Stay tuned for the next blog when I explain what happens next. Anyways, if you didn't catch on, the book is told as a flashback from when Enzo is about to die. I like how he does this, retelling the events of his life by what he remembers. I think that if you are going to read this book, you should have general knowledge on racing. If you don't, it's like reading a book about a football star and knowing nothing about football. You can follow the story, but it will be harder to understand. For those of you who know nothing, I'll start you off. Enzo Ferrari was the founder of Ferrari, the car company. I think the author named the dog Enzo because they closely resemble each other in that they both love racing and the dog is basically a human trapped in a dog's body. Overall, I love this book, it never bores me and I think anyone with a little racing knowledge will love it too.