The Art of Racing in the Rain

I actually took the time this week to sit down and read a book. Our Christmas stuff is done, packages sent (that is a blog for another time.), kids presents wrapped, stocking stuffer's bought, Christmas Eve and Christmas dinners' planned (but not shopped for.) neighborhood gifts done, the list could go on and on, but I'm done gloating.... So I sat down to read a book.

This is a book that my friend Tommy told me about several months ago, and that has been on my wait list at the library for MONTHS, I finally got sick of waiting, and borrowed Tommy's copy, only for the copy I'd ordered to show up at the library. (I was a little afraid to open the book as the cover picture looks just like Harley, and I still get a little teary about him.) I could not put this book down. It was amazing. I cried all the way through the first chapter, I cried in the middle, I cried all the way through the last chapter, and at places between. I cheered on the protagonist out-loud on a couple of occasions. In short, I love this book.

I don't want to spoil it, if you decide to read it. The story is basically this... the struggles of a family as told from the perspective of the family dog. A highly human dog who is obsessed with opposable thumbs, and saying the right things, at the right time. It is told on the eve of his death, as a remembrance of the things he has learned about being a man, because he is certain that he will come back to earth as a man, after his life as a dog. It is a beautiful story, and make you wonder just how much the family dog understands. Interlaced into the story are life lessons he has learned from his owner, Denny who is a semiprofessional race car driver. The most true of all is the adage, "the car goes where your eyes go." Which is so true of life. Your life goes where your eyes go...gives you a lot to think about, huh?

For those of you who need to know before hand... there is swearing, and I'm fairly certain that someone takes the Lord's name at some point.

The name of the book is The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein. Hope you read it... it would be fun to discuss it with someone.