Garth Stein shows the incredible bond between a dog and their owner throughout the book The Art of Racing in the Rain. The emotions that are shown in the book come to life and the ending will have readers sobbing. A dog is a man’s best friend, they say, and this book shows just that. Denny (the owner) and Enzo (the dog) have an unbreakable relationship that continues to grow in strength as the book continues on. 

Enzo shows unconditional love to everyone in the book which is a very refreshing factor that a reader will find. It shows the value in any relationship and how strong love can hold someone together even in their toughest times. This story proves how much joy and support dogs can bring to families in their hardest times. 

Although this book has it’s cheesy and heartwarming moments, readers will close the book in tears. Audiences will never look at a dog the same after reading this novel because of the effect it has on oneself. The compassion shown by Enzo to Denny and his family shows that dogs are some of the best living beings in the world. 

The novel was New York Times bestseller for almost 3 years and it’s no surprise that fans enjoy it that much. Many people love a good dog book because it refreshes society of how much we love our pets. Not to mention that the stories are absolutely adorable. It also allows us to get a small sense of how our pets feel about us because the book is told from Enzo’s perspective. Although the novel is about a specific dog, we can all relate the story back to our loving pets.

Enzo comes into Denny’s life very unexpectedly, but it didn’t take long for them to become the best of friends. Denny and Enzo both grew together and became a fantastic dynamic duo. Enzo was always by Denny’s side and was able to watch him fall in love, start a family, and succeed in his car racing career. 

Many good things come unexpectedly, but when Denny’s wife Eve got cancer it was neither good nor expected. Enzo was extremely supportive of Denny, Eve, and their daughter Zoe. Enzo ultimately kept the family together in their hardest time, still giving them unconditional love no matter what. Enzo was also able to watch Zoe grow up and be a big part of her childhood, which many people can relate to if they had a pet growing up. 

There are many different symbols in this novel, each affecting someone in a particular way. The most well-known message in this book is the idea of making your own destiny. Because Denny is a race car driver he has to drive in the rain. To most drivers, this can seem quite scary, but to Denny, instead of letting the rain take over his tires he takes over and wins the race. This symbol can be understood as taking control of your life and not letting anyone else change your destiny. To many readers, this is very powerful because many people today in our society struggle with taking control and making their own destiny, instead of listening to anyone else. 

The novel may just seem like another sappy dog book, but as a dog owner myself, it really hit home. This book will make readers run home to their pets and kiss and cuddle them until you can’t anymore. Sometimes people forget how much our pets are really there for us and how much they love us despite our mistakes. Dogs and other pets too are a big part of our life because no matter how bad we humans mess up, a dog will always love no matter what. Dogs are family too and this book does that fact justice.