The Art of Racing in the Rain

Last year a little quiz thing circulated Facebook stating that according to the BBC, out of 100 "classic" books, most people had only read 6. It has been my goal since then to read every book on that list. So far I have read The Great Gatsby and The Lovely Bones, but I recently decided to take a detour from my BBC list and read The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein.

I was warned. This book was going to make me cry, and that it did.

I usually don't read books about animals, because I know they are going to die, and for some reason an animal dying almost always has to be more sad than a person dying. I was intrigued with the concept of the dog narrator, and I enjoyed the quirkiness of dogdom, but midway through it began to feel a little tedious to read. You know the dog is going to die, it is not really a spoiler, the first chapter sort of starts Pulp Fiction-style near the end. But as I got to the end it pulled nicely together and left me overall feeling like it was worth my time and money.

I recommend this book to anyone who can handle the emotional story of a dog and his master, and the story of their lives together and the beautiful wisdom and the pictures it paints of a dog and his family. I will honestly always look at my doggies differently now.