My Two Pence: "The Art of Racing in the Rain"

Anyone who was in the little park on Chestnut St. today, if you saw a woman in a bright coral jacket openly weeping, don't worry  That was just me, trying to hold it together while finishing "The Art of Racing in the Rain."

Verdict
 
I was warned by my friend Jen that this was a very sweet book and she found herself teary throughout. Because she emphasized "sweet" and not "sad," I predicted it was a different sentiment from "Marley and Me," which had me wailing/crying, and then finally calming down, only to re-read pages and start wailing and crying again. Still, I wish I had read the last several chapters in the comforts of my own home so I could have experienced a good cry at the beauty of this novel.

"The Art of Racing in the Rain" is told from the perspective of a dog named Enzo. Enzo is a thoughtful and insightful dog, and extremely eloquent, but of course he is unable to express his thoughts to humans. So as readers, we have the exclusive privilege of seeing the world through his wise dog eyes.  I love how human he often seems, and how his canine instincts often get in the way of that humanness. For instance, he's embarrassed that he sleeps with a toy dog. He'll give into anything for a banana. He knows that hot peppers are not good for him, but he eats them anyways.  He can't say no- he's a dog!

I won't give any more details of the book away, but I definitely recommend this book. It was nice to end every evening in bed, reading a light-hearted, sentimental story told from the viewpoint of the sweetest dog ever.

Well, the sweetest fictional dog ever. This is the sweetest dog ever:

Sadie!

My wild puppy

Goofy, but still such a sweet picture.  Photo courtesy of Bens xx