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姓  名 梁芝瑜 學  校 高雄市立高雄女子高級中學 年  級 二 年 十六 班

 

 

The Art of Racing in the Rain

If you have ever wondered about what your dog is thinking, the book, The Art of Racing in the Rain, which was written by Garth Stein, will give you the answer.

The book The Art of Racing in the Rain is a mixture of love, courage and dreams. As the narrator of the book, Enzo the dog relates his life with his master and the master’s family from his unique perspective.

Enzo knows he’s different from other dogs. In spite of the fact that he is a dog, he has a human soul inside. He always believes that some dogs turn into men in their next lives, but only the ones who are ready. Enzo spends his whole life with his beloved master, Denny Swift, who is an up-and-coming car racer. He participates in every moment in Denny’s life and shares the same interests. Enzo has always enjoyed the time when his master teaches him car racing skills. Nevertheless, by processing Denny’s wife, Eve’s death, and the daughter, Zoe’s right of guardianship problem, he discovered that those skills are a metaphor - a meaningful metaphor of life.

This book overflows with different emotions: a dog’s loyalty to its owner, a husband’s love for his wife and his family, a teenage girl’s adoration of her uncle and a man’s persistence in achieving his dream. Likewise, there are all kinds of emotions in any person’s life. However, when emotions collide and you are forced to make a decision between them, it can be really tough. In the book, the author brings up a series of dilemmas. For example, Denny has to make up his mind whether to stay with his wife who is suffering from brain cancer or seize the chance for which he has been longing. Another example is Eve, who chooses to hide her symptoms of brain cancer in order to support her husband. Some people may agree with the character’s decision, while others may not. It reminds me of a quote, “The human dilemma is not whether to do right or wrong, but rather to do right when it matters the most, and wrong when it matters the least.” Everyone faces dilemmas. Different values result in different decisions. To me, I enjoy digging to discover the reasons for decisions. That is one of the reasons why I like this book so much. Seeing the author analyzing every character’s mind provided me different perspectives from which to see things; meanwhile, it made me wonder what I would do if it were me.

Another reason why I am so fascinated with the book is the unusual but lovely narrator who appealed to me from the outset. Narrated by the dog Enzo, who can't communicate with the rest of the characters in the book with words, it seems as though he is murmuring to himself all the time, saying what he thinks about the person. This makes the book humorous because most of the time, a dog thinks quite differently from a human. Even though Enzo can’t speak like a human, he is as wise as one. Denny always tells Enzo, “ The car goes where the eyes go.” When I first saw that line, I thought it was nothing but advice for racing. Yet, wise as Enzo is, he knows this is not only a racing skill but a life skill. People use it to control their life and all their difficulties successfully. Just like a racer racing a car, people should set their direction first. Once they decide their direction, they have to stick to it unfailingly.

Sometimes, I pull back when facing difficulties. Depression swallows me up and makes me think that I can never make it. Whenever I feel this way, I think of what Enzo teaches me. I can imagine Enzo winking at me, telling me, “ The car goes where the eyes go.” Thinking of Enzo always cheers me up and helps me overcome difficulties. The Art of Racing in the Rain is really an inspiring and heartwarming book. With the lovely narrator and the inspiring content, the experience of reading this book was both remarkable and enjoyable.