The Art of Racing in the Rain

Last updated
The Art of Racing in the Rain
TheArtOf RacingInTheRain.jpg
First edition
Author Garth Stein
LanguageEnglish
GenreFiction/Adult
Publisher HarperCollins
Publication date
January 1, 2008
(hardcover)
June 9, 2009
(paperback)
Publication placeUnited States
Media typePrint:
Hardcover
Paperback
Audio:
Audio-CD
Pages321 (hardback)
336 (paperback)
ISBN 978-0-06-153793-6
OCLC 165478930

The Art of Racing in the Rain is a 2008 novel by American author Garth Stein. Narrated from the perspective of the protagonist's dog Enzo, the novel explores philosophy and the human condition through the narrative device of car racing. The novel was a New York Times bestseller for 156 weeks. [1] A film adaptation of the same name directed by Simon Curtis and starring Milo Ventimiglia, Amanda Seyfried, and Kevin Costner as the voice of Enzo, was released in 2019.

Contents

Summary

The novel follows the story of Denny Swift, a race car driver and customer representative at a Seattle BMW dealership, and his dog, Enzo, who believes in the legend that a dog "who is prepared" will be reincarnated in his next life as a human. Enzo sets out to prepare, with The Seattle Times calling his journey "a struggle to hone his humanness, to make sense of the good, the bad and the unthinkable." [2]

Enzo spends most of his days watching and learning from television, gleaning what he can about his owner's greatest passion, race car driving —and relating it to life. He watches as Denny marries Eve, the birth of their daughter, Zoe and then Eve's development of brain cancer, which only he can detect through his acute sense of smell. Enzo eventually plays a key role in Denny's child-custody battle with his in-laws and distills his observations of the human condition in the mantra "that which you manifest is before you." Enzo helps Denny throughout his life, through his ups and downs, and gets Zoe back.

Background

Inspiration for the novel came after Stein watched the 1998 Mongolian documentary State of Dogs , [2] [3] and then later in 2004 heard poet Billy Collins give a reading of the poem "The Revenant" [4] told from a dog's point of view. [3] [5]

Stein had originally named the dog "Juan Pablo" after Colombian race car driver Juan Pablo Montoya, but changed his name at the suggestion of his wife, naming the dog instead after Enzo Ferrari, founder of the famous Italian automobile marque of the same name. [3] [5]

The race car driving experience of the novel's character, Denny, is based on Stein's own experience in racing cars, [5] and on another race car driver who is a close friend of Stein's who was dealing with some family turbulence at the time. [3] Stein moved from New York City to Seattle in 2001 and became involved in "high performance driver education," [5] received his racing license with the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA), [5] and won the points championship in the Northwest region Spec Miata class in 2003. [5] Stein left racing after crashing while racing in the rain. [6]

Film adaptation

Universal Pictures acquired the rights to the novel in July 2009, for Patrick Dempsey to star in. [7] The project was unable to find a director. [8]

After the project came to a halt with Universal Studios, Disney acquired the rights in January 2016 with the film adaptation to be produced by Neal Moritz. [9]

In 2017, screenwriter Mark Bomback revealed that the project was now set up at Fox 2000, saying, "I'm hoping the third time's the charm, and I'm optimistic that next year will be when it finally goes into production." [10]

The film was released on August 9, 2019, by 20th Century Fox. It is the first 20th Century Fox film to be marketed on the Walt Disney Studios' official website since the acquisition of the studio by Disney. [11] Milo Ventimiglia and Amanda Seyfried play Denny and Eve, respectively, while Enzo is voiced by Kevin Costner. [12]

Censorship

In 2022, The Art of Racing in the Rain was listed among 52 books banned by the Alpine School District following the implementation of Utah law H.B. 374, “Sensitive Materials In Schools." [13]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kevin Costner</span> American actor and filmmaker (born 1955)

Kevin Michael Costner is an American actor, producer, and director. He has received various accolades, including two Academy Awards, three Golden Globe Awards, and a Primetime Emmy Award.

The Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium is an annual non-championship pre-season NASCAR Cup Series exhibition event held in February before the season-opening Daytona 500. The event was held each year at Daytona International Speedway from the race's inception in 1979 until 2021, after which it was moved to the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in 2022 until 2024, when it was announced the Clash would be moved to Bowman Gray Stadium in 2025. Previously at Daytona, the race, along with the ARCA Menards Series' season-opening BRANDT 200, served as the kickoff events for Daytona Speedweeks. The event is one of two non-points races on the Cup Series schedule, the other being the NASCAR All-Star Race.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Patrick Dempsey</span> American actor and racecar driver (born 1966)

Patrick Galen Dempsey is an American actor and racing driver. He is best known for his role as neurosurgeon Derek "McDreamy" Shepherd in the ABC medical drama series Grey's Anatomy from 2005-15, and returned again from 2020-21. He is also known for his leading man romantic films roles, including in Enchanted (2007). Dempsey has received nominations for a Primetime Emmy Award and two Golden Globe Awards, and was named as People's Sexiest Man Alive in 2023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Amanda Seyfried</span> American actress (born 1985)

Amanda Michelle Seyfried is an American actress, singer and songwriter. She began acting at 15, with recurring roles as Lucy Montgomery in the CBS soap opera As the World Turns (1999–2001) and Joni Stafford in the ABC soap opera All My Children (2003). She came to prominence for her feature film debut in the teen comedy Mean Girls (2004), and for her roles as Lilly Kane in the UPN mystery drama series Veronica Mars (2004–2006) and Sarah Henrickson in the HBO drama series Big Love (2006–2011).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Denny Hamlin</span> American racing driver and team owner (born 1980)

James Dennis Alan Hamlin is an American professional stock car racing driver and team owner. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 11 Toyota Camry XSE for Joe Gibbs Racing. He also co-owns and operates 23XI Racing with basketball Hall of Famer Michael Jordan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NASCAR Cup Series at Pocono Raceway</span> NASCAR Cup Series race at Pocono Raceway

Stock car races in the NASCAR Cup Series have been held at the Pocono Raceway in Long Pond, Pennsylvania since 1974. The 400-mile (640 km) event, currently known as The Great American Getaway 400 for sponsorship reasons, has been held sometime in mid-to-late July or early August each year, except for when it was held in September 1974 when it was held in April, and 2020 and 2021 when it was held in June as a doubleheader event.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Food City 500</span> Auto race held at Bristol, United States

The Food City 500 is an annual 500-lap, 266.5-mile (428.9 km) NASCAR Cup Series points race held at the Bristol Motor Speedway in Bristol, Tennessee. This is one of two NASCAR races held at Bristol, the other being the Bass Pro Shops Night Race. It was the first venue of the 2007 NASCAR schedule to host the fifth-generation NASCAR premiership race car, a race won by Kyle Busch. For much of its history, from 1961 to 1992 the race was run on the original asphalt surface, then on concrete from 1993 to 2020 after Bristol changed surfaces, but was moved to a dirt layout beginning in 2021, under the name Food City Dirt Race. Beginning in 2024, the race was held on the concrete oval.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2006 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series</span> 58th season of NASCAR stock-car racing

The 2006 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series was the 58th season of professional Stock car racing in the United States and the 35th modern-era NASCAR Cup series season. It was started at Daytona International Speedway on Sunday, February 12 with the Budweiser Shootout and ended on Monday, November 20, with the Ford 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. The Chase for the Nextel Cup began with the Sylvania 300 on Sunday, September 17, at New Hampshire International Speedway. This was the last full-time season with the Gen 4 car.

<i>State of Dogs</i> 1998 Mongolian film

State of Dogs is a Mongolian movie that was released in 1998, directed and written by Peter Brosens and Dorjkhandyn Turmunkh. The film was shown at the 1998 Venice Film Festival, the 1998 Toronto International Film Festival, the 1999 Yamagata International Documentary Film Festival, and won the Grand Prix at the 1998 Visions du Réel film festival in Nyon, Switzerland.

The beneficiary rule, commonly referred to as the "lucky dog" or "free pass", is a rule in some motor racing leagues allowing the closest lapped driver to the front of the field to gain back a lap when a caution is called. The driver is called to move to the end of the longest line of the cars at the end of that caution period. This rule was instituted to prevent drivers from racing back to the start/finish line when a caution was called.

Garth Stein is an American author and film producer from Seattle, Washington. Widely known as the author of the novel The Art of Racing in the Rain, Stein is also a documentary film maker, playwright, teacher, and amateur racer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2008 Food City 500</span> Motor car race

The 2008 Food City 500 was the fifth race of the 2008 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, and it was held on Sunday, March 16, 2008 at Bristol Motor Speedway in Bristol, Tennessee. This race aired on Fox starting at 1:30 PM US EDT with radio coverage handled by Performance Racing Network and Sirius Satellite Radio with programming starting at 1 PM US EDT. The race marked the last race utilizing the 2007 Top 35 owners points exemption. Starting with the Goody's Cool Orange 500 on March 30 each week's Top 35 teams will be exempt.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series</span> 61st season of NASCAR stock-car racing

The 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series was the 61st season of professional stock car racing in the United States, the 38th modern-era Cup series, and the last Cup season of the 21st century's first decade, the 2000s. The season included 36 races and two exhibition races with the regular season beginning with the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway and ending with the Ford 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. The final ten races were known as 2009 Chase for the Sprint Cup. Rick Hendrick won the Owners' Championship, while Jimmie Johnson won the Drivers' Championship with a fifth-place finish at the final race of the season. Chevrolet won the Manufacturers' Championship with 248 points.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Milo Ventimiglia</span> American actor (born 1977)

Milo Anthony Ventimiglia is an American actor. Making his screen acting debut on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air in 1995, he portrayed the lead role on the short-lived series Opposite Sex in 2000 before landing his breakthrough role the following year as Jess Mariano on Gilmore Girls (2001–2007).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2010 Gillette Fusion ProGlide 500</span> Motor car race

The 2010 Gillette Fusion ProGlide 500 Presented by Target was a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race that was held on June 6, 2010 at Pocono Raceway in Long Pond, Pennsylvania. It was the fourteenth race of the 2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season. The event was scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. EDT on TNT, but it was delayed by rain to 3:00 p.m. It was also broadcast on the radio station Motor Racing Network at 12 p.m. EDT. The race consisted of 200 laps, 500 miles (804.67 km).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Simon Curtis (filmmaker)</span> British film director and producer

Simon Curtis is an English director and producer. He has directed theatre productions and the television dramas David Copperfield (1999) and Cranford. His feature films include the biographical dramas My Week with Marilyn (2011), Woman in Gold (2015), and Downton Abbey: A New Era (2022).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2015 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series</span> 67th season of NASCAR stock-car racing

The 2015 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series was the 67th season of professional stock car racing in the United States and the 44th modern-era Cup season. The season began at Daytona International Speedway with the Sprint Unlimited exhibition race, the Budweiser Duels, and the Daytona 500. The season ended with the Ford EcoBoost 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Kyle Busch won the championship, despite missing the first third of the season due to severe leg injuries suffered in an Xfinity Series race at Daytona. Busch also became the first Toyota driver to win a Cup championship. Despite not running the full season, Brett Moffitt was named Rookie of the Year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2016 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series</span> 68th season of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series

The 2016 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series was the 68th season of professional stock car racing in the United States and the 45th modern-era Cup series season. The season began at Daytona International Speedway with the Sprint Unlimited, the Can-Am Duel and the Daytona 500. The season ended with the Ford EcoBoost 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Jimmie Johnson of Hendrick Motorsports won his seventh drivers' championship, tying Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt for most all-time. Toyota won the manufacturer's championship, becoming the first manufacturer to win the manufacturer's championship other than Chevrolet since 2002.

<i>The Art of Racing in the Rain</i> (film) 2019 film by Simon Curtis

The Art of Racing in the Rain is a 2019 American comedy-drama film directed by Simon Curtis and written by Mark Bomback, based on the 2008 novel of the same name by author Garth Stein. The film stars Milo Ventimiglia, Amanda Seyfried, Kevin Costner as the voice of Enzo and Parker as Enzo, the golden retriever.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2021 O'Reilly Auto Parts 253</span> NASCAR Cup Series race

The 2021 O'Reilly Auto Parts 253 was a NASCAR Cup Series race that was held on February 21, 2021 at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida.

References

  1. ↑ "Paperback Trade Fiction Bestseller List". The New York Times . March 19, 2010.
  2. 1 2 Davila, Florangela (May 9, 2008). "Old soul inside a good dog in "Racing in the Rain". The Seattle Times .
  3. 1 2 3 4 "Frequently Asked Questions About The Art of Racing in the Rain". GarthStein.com.
  4. ↑ "The Revenant - Billy Collins". Archived from the original on January 15, 2012. Retrieved January 25, 2012.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "AUTHOR TALK: Garth Stein". Bookreporter.com. May 16, 2008.
  6. ↑ "AUTHOR TALK: Garth Stein". Bookreporter.com. May 16, 2008. When I crashed my car pretty badly --- ironically, while racing in the rain --- I decided to semi-retire from racing, and now I only race enough to keep my license current.
  7. ↑ Fleming, Michael (July 15, 2009), "Dempsey shifts gears for Universal", Variety
  8. ↑ Boucher, Geoff (July 25, 2011), "Dempsey hopes to leave 'McDreamy' in rearview", Chicago Tribune
  9. ↑ McKittrick, Christopher (December 2, 2016). "Whatever Happened to 'The Art of Racing in the Rain' Movie Adaptation?'". ThoughtCo.com. Retrieved July 14, 2016.
  10. ↑ McKittrick, Christopher (July 14, 2017). "War for the Planet of the Apes: a "Biblical Epic Western War Movie"". CreativeScreenwriting.com. Retrieved July 14, 2017.
  11. ↑ "New Trailer and Teaser Poster for 'The Art of Racing in the Rain'". The Walt Disney Studios. May 20, 2019. Retrieved May 28, 2019.
  12. ↑ Dry, Jude (2019-05-20). "'The Art of Racing in the Rain' Trailer: Milo Ventimiglia Loves His Dog, and Amanda Seyfried". IndieWire. Retrieved 2019-07-11.
  13. ↑ "Ban on 52 Books in Largest Utah School District is a Worrisome Escalation of Censorship". PEN America. 2022-08-01. Retrieved 2022-08-05.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.