At ten years old, Enzo knows his life is coming to an end.  He doesn't mind.  As a dog whose soul is "very human," he's pretty sure he's going to be reincarnated as a man, a prospect he's very much looking forward to.  After all, Enzo has been studying humans his whole life.  Not only has he watched a considerable amount of educational television, but he's also been observing his owner, Denny Swift, ever since the race car driver brought him home as a puppy.  With all the wisdom he's gathered, Enzo knows he'll make a stellar human.

As Enzo ruminates over what he's learned from a canine life well lived, he tells the story of Denny's life—from his career as a pro race car driver, to his marriage to Eve, to the birth of their daughter, Zoë, to how everything changed when Denny began to lose all of them.  Like all faithful companions, Enzo is there through it all to mourn with his best friend, cheer him on, and lick his wounds (sometimes literally).  Along the way, he learns some great lessons about what it means to be human.  

I'm not a big fan of stories narrated by animals, so I have given The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein a wide berth for a long time, in spite of the many rave reviews it's gotten.  I only decided to take it on because I needed a new audiobook to listen to and my library seemed to have nothing else that was immediately available.  Although it started as a reluctant listen, I ended up finding the novel compelling enough to finish.  Did I love it?  Can't say that I did.  Do I understand why it's so overhyped?  I do not.  The story moves at a glacial pace for much of the book, although it does pick up after the Big Event happens.  Problem is, I hated the direction the tale took at that point.  It wasn't what I expected or wanted.  Thus, the read just felt sad, depressing, and...ugh.  I did finish the book, like I said, but I found The Art of Racing in the Rain to be an average read at best.  Part of the problem, I'm sure, is that I don't love animal books and I have no interest in car racing; a lot of my issues, though, stemmed from a story that just didn't resonate with me.  Bummer.

(Readalikes:  Hm, I can't think of anything.  You?)

To the FTC, with love:  Another library fine find