Salsabila's book review : The Art of Racing In the Rain

 

 

Title : "The Art of Racing In the Rain"

Author : Garth Stein

Publication place and year : USA, 2008

Page : 321 ( hardback ), 336 ( paperback )

This novel tells an emotional story from a dog's perspective. Enzo is the dog's name. From the beginning, Enzo was able to understand human's emotions deeply. He belonged to a race car driver Denny Swift, his wife Eve, and his daughter Zoe. Everything was peaceful until doctors diagnosed Eve of brain cancer and passed away shortly after. Eve's parents, who knew about the news, tried to claim Zoe away. Through this hard moments, Enzo stayed beside Denny all the time, offering him emotional support. 

Enzo also reflected his life lessons through racing. He sees racing not just as a sport, but he sees it as a metaphor to master through life. Knowing how to handle a car mirrors how someone handles through challenging and dark moments in their life. The ending of this novel seems sad at first, but turns out to be happy later on.

This novel uses light language that is easy to understand. and this novel uses a perspective from animal, which is refreshing. We can feel how Enzo felt when he accompanied Denny through his vulnerable moments. Loyalty and friendship are the main theme in this novel. Metaphor is used too in the book. I don't feel the difficulty to read this book.

In my opinion, this novel is touching. The same thing happens to me, whether it's in the past or now. this really relates to me as a pet owner.. I recommend this for the age 13 to adults. You can buy this book for sixty thousand rupiahs to one hundred thousand rupiahs at marketplaces.

Thank you and happy reading!