I heard about "The Art of Racing in the Rain" in the local newsletter of my car club. They covered it because the main human character was a Seattle area auto racer, and the book has a lot of racing related content. From the article I knew the story wasn't really about racing, and that the story was written from the perspective of a dog. My friend Christopher nabbed me a copy from a signing event at Starbuck's headquarters during the original book tour. I read most the book inside a rain soaked cabin outside Ocean Shores, surrounded by our three dogs, which seemed an appropriate setting. The book really is written from the perspective of a dog, Enzo, owned by a BMW service advisor (Denny) who is also I gifted road racer. Early on there were a few points where I would ask myself, "would this be a plot point if the character wasn't a dog?". But he never exceeds the limits of canine-hood, and the approach works in the end. Enzo loves auto racing, and is convinced he will be reincarnated as a human. The story describes struggles in Denny's person life through a spiritual lens focused on racing. Lots of commentary on how to handle certain driving situations. While I have never spent at-speed time on a track, I have read Ross Bentley's Speed Secrets (he's a legendary instructor) and taken the BMW CCA's car control class. Every statement in the book about proper driving technique rings true. When I say struggles, the man is certainly stretched to his limits. The storyline is very heavy at its zenith, but I enjoyed the book. The bounty of local references certainly helped. Give "The Art of Racing in the Rain" a read.