REVIEW: The Art of Racing in the Rain

The Art of Racing in the Rain
Author: Garth Stein

Ever since I was completely traumatized by Old Yeller in elementary school, my policy is to avoid any books that involve the death or injury of pets. This is further cemented in my Bibliophile Personal Commandments List above even the biggies like "Do Not EVER Dogear Pages, Useth a Bookmark'' and "No Murderous Spine Creasing.''  When my son came home last year from school carrying That-Evil-Book-I-Can't-Stand, I went so far as to completely spoil the ending for him from the start. That book -- known as OY from here on out as I can't even say its name without cringing -- should come with a warning label for children: Warning Warning Warning....young child has to shoot his pet at the end of this book. Make therapy appointment now in preparation.  As it was, my son was the only one who didn't cry in class when they read and discussed the ending.  22 kids traumatized. 1 kid pre-prepared and able to deal.  I call that a Mom-win. 

But I digress.....back to The Art of Racing in the Rain. The above rant does figure in to this -- I promise.

When I saw the blurb for The Art of Racing in the Rain, I immediately started my OY-esque shunning behavior. I avert my eyes from you .....oh dog-killing tome!  But, the cute dog on the cover did bring my eyes back to the page. Then I read a review.  The reviewer said the story is emotional, but kind. That the author gives the dog the love he deserves....not a shot gun blast to the head.

Ok. Commandments get broken all the time, right? Gray areas do happen. It's not a Biblio-sin to do a bit of a side-step and let the right one in. So, I took the plunge. I had to do this as a buddy read though. I needed a hand to hold as I read into a plot area I had avoided like the plague for 40 years.

This is a beautiful book. Lots of emotion, humor and life lessons within its pages. The dog is one of the main characters and talks a lot about what it's like to be a dog, how he wishes he could talk to the people around him, and even how he wishes often that he had thumbs. Oftentimes while the people around him were fumbling around and really making a mess of their lives, the dog was the one that understood and had the answers. But he had to creatively try to impart his wisdom on his family.

Beautiful dog. Beautiful story. A bit of a tear-jerker in spots.....but decidedly hopeful and beautiful as well. The ending was definitely full of joy and hope. Just a lovely book. And I went and hugged all 4 of my dogs when I was done reading. :)

I still hate OY. But I'm glad I broke my commandment to read this book.

For more information on the author and his books, check out his website: http://www.garthstein.com/