The Art of Racing in the Rain

By: Garth Stein

Narrated by: Christopher Evan Welch

Length: 6 hrs and 56 mins

Publisher's summary

Now a Major Motion Picture from Fox 2000 Starring Milo Ventimiglia, Amanda Seyfried, and Kevin Costner

Meet the Dog Who Will Show the World How to Be Human

The New York Times best-selling novel from Garth Stein - a heart-wrenching but deeply funny and ultimately uplifting story of family, love, loyalty, and hope - a captivating look at the wonders and absurdities of human life...as only a dog could tell it.

"Splendid." (People)

"The perfect book for anyone who knows that compassion isn’t only for humans, and that the relationship between two souls who are meant for each other never really comes to an end. Every now and then I'm lucky enough to read a novel I can’t stop thinking about: this is one of them." (Jodi Picoult)

"It's impossible not to love Enzo." (Minneapolis Star Tribune)

"This old soul of a dog has much to teach us about being human. I loved this book." (Sara Gruen)

An Audible for Dogs Pick: Make your dog's day. Cesar Millan shares how audiobooks can make dogs happier and calmer. Learn more.

©2008 Bright White Light, LLC (P)2008 HarperCollins Publishers

From the view of an intelligent dog.

This is one of my all-time favorites! Stein's book has several things going for it:
-A believable (oh, I so want to!) narrative from Enzo, the family dog. Enzo has the best characteristics of every dog I have loved. Would that we could breech the communication barrier.
-Main characters that are enjoyable to spend time with; Enzo and his human family.
-A plot that drives the reader to the conclusion, with a dose of fantasy to make it unique.
-Quotable comparisons of auto racing to life; "No races are won in the first turn, but, many races are lost there."
If you like dogs, car racing, family dynamics and stories that end well, give this book a try.

Excellent

What did you love best about The Art of Racing in the Rain?

The fact the book was written from the dog's point of view and done very well. It had humor and pathos. It was also about racing of which I spent close to 30 years in, working for NHRA (drag racing). Just a great read.

Not enough stars

My son and I listened to this on a drive to Ohio and back. He's 11. I did fast forward on one part but it was not too explicit.
He didn't want to go to sleep because he didn't want to miss anything
As an animal lover, particularly dogs I loved hearing it from a dog's point of view. We laughed out loud, cried and even yelled out advice a few times. You can't help but fall in love with Enzo and his obsession with thumbs or the lack there of.
Thank you for making a dull trip a great memory for us.

I loved this book

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I already have. Most of my friend's are dog lovers and this story is written from a dog's perspective. Very clever and very well written.

Who was your favorite character and why?

I loved all of the main characters but I have to say Enzo, the dog, was probably my favorite. He reminds me of what I imagine my own dog thinks.

Which character – as performed by Christopher Evan Welch – was your favorite?

Enzo and Denny were performed perfectly.

Any additional comments?

The only reason I gave the performance 4 stars instead of 5 is because of the random spots of unnecessary music. I'm not sure why they were in there and more often than not they were annoying.

I love Enzo!

From the mouths of babes...uh...dogs. I love Enzo's reflections on life through the eyes of man's best friend and television. This book is a delight from start to finish.

Fantastic! Fantastic! Fantastic!

This is one of the best books I've ever listen to. And it drew me in and Me there I am enamored with the story and the story telling

grows on you

When I first started listening to this book, I wondered if I was going to be able to continue --such an improbable premise of a dog being able to grasp so many aspects of being human, of pop culture. And of course, even for one who believes in the special intelligences, interconnectedness, and emotions of creatures, this pushes the margins in that way. But that's only part of what the story is about and as it went on, it became apparent that the perspective of the dog worked very well as a loving, observant, wise "other presence" that borrows the guise of dog. I know much more about racing than I ever did, this was a crash course (no pun intended!), and I'm still not inclined to be a racing fan. I am, however, a fan of the Author who manages to pull this off and get the reader to "suspend disbelief" and make this tug at the heartstrings time and again. Well done, and well read.

Great book!!

Would you consider the audio edition of The Art of Racing in the Rain to be better than the print version?

I loved it. It made me laugh out loud & it made me cry.

PHENOMENAL!

This book was beautiful. It may have been slow at some very brief points, but overall it was inspirational and entertaining. It definitely tugs at the heart and I would recommend it to almost anyone. It fits a wide range of personalities I think. The entire book is from a dog's point of view--but don't let that stop you. I was skeptical, but I was not disappointed at all.

Such a great story

I couldn't put it down, now I look at my dogs and wonder what they're thinking. I wonder if they ever wish they could talk to me like Enzo