The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein

This was a wonderful book. 

I had seen this book on the bestseller list but until Jim across the street mentioned it had been on his reading list, I didn't know it was a dog-book.  The story is about a man who is a struggling race car driver, and his relationship with his dog.  Uniquely, it is told through the dog's point of view. 

Right away, I will tell you that unless you are a "dog person" this is a book you probably want to skip.  I envision myself reading it a year ago and I'm not sure I would have made it past the first few chapters.  But now that I have Lucy and spend hours wondering what she is thinking and how much she understands, this book was a joy to read.

Enzo (the dog) is loyal, well-behaved, and well-educated from the TV his owner leaves on for him during the day.  He sees his owner through love, loss, job success and job failure, and develops a strong appreciation for watching races on TV.  He has strong feelings about the humans around him, resenting someone putting his favorite toy in the washing machine, for example, or thinking that "get busy" is a ridiculous cue to urinate at.  He also grasps a complex court case his owner is involved in, and catches many subtle interactions between humans.  In fact, he is the ultimate narrator, present for most of the story but invisible as pets can be during human interaction with each other.

At times, I thought it was indulgent to create a dog character who was anthropomorphized so strongly into a perfect companion.  But then I thought about how we are taught to "be a pack leader" and practice other activities the way a puppy's mother would have done it and realized that this is just another attempt to better relate to our canine friends.