There are certain books you look back on, years later, and think, “That was some story!” This is one of those books. It is a touching, emotional story made all the more so because its narrator is a dog facing his approaching death. As the story begins, Enzo the dog is ready to accept his fate; in fact, in a way he welcomes it as he believes – based on what he observed on a public television documentary – that his soul will then be freed to return to life as a human being. Enzo’s life-long study of these creatures with opposable thumbs and the ability to speak clearly has convinced him that he’ll do quite well in his next life.
While this story will leave you with a warm and fuzzy heart (and moist eyes) at the conclusion, it is filled with a lot of the negative things that can happen to people in this life… which is why the tale includes stops at a jail, a criminal courtroom, a hospital, and a cemetery. Even two-thirds or three-fourths of the way through you’ll begin to doubt that there can be such a thing as a happy conclusion. But hang in there, reader, because author Garth Stein begins pulling the rabbits out of his writing hat in the very last pages; with this, his writing takes on a magical mystery.
As with Everything Matters! by Ron Currie, Jr., you won’t see the ending coming until it’s upon you. And as with Everything… there’s a fake ending followed by a reprise (or slight return as per Jimi Hendrix) that ties everything together. Maybe… Or maybe the final ending isn’t what it seems to be. This is something that will keep you thinking for a few days after finishing this novel.
I just hope and pray that if this fictional tale is made into a movie they don’t change a single thing – The Time Traveler’s Wife, anyone? – including maintaining Enzo as the narrator. Now, let’s see, who would be the voice of Enzo? Me, I hear Nicholas Cage when I think of Enzo, but that’s just me. As Enzo would say (or bark out), I know a lot about a lot of things, but not everything about everything.
Joseph Arellano
Notes: This book was purchased by the reviewer. Also, if you read and enjoy The Art of Racing in the Rain, you will also likely enjoy reading the fun and marvelous Walking in Circles Before Lying Down: A Novel by Merrill Markoe. It’s another fine feast for dog-lovers, now available as a trade paperback (Villard, $13.95).
Joseph's Reviews 
I adored this book. I am a dog lover but not a race fan (at all) but thought the racing elements added so much to the story. They made sense! Who would play Enzo…Peter Coyote or Morgan Freeman would be fine with me.