The Art of Racing in the Ran Comprehension Questions

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QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION

• Some early on readers of the novel have observed that viewing the earth through a dog's eyes makes for a greater appreciation of existence human. Why do you think this is?
• Enzo'south observations throughout the novel provide insight into his earth view. For example:
  • "The visible becomes inevitable."
  • "Understanding the truth is uncomplicated. Allowing oneself to experience it, is often terrifically hard."
  • "No race has ever been won in the get-go corner; many races have been lost there."

  How does his philosophy apply to existent life?

• In the book's darkest moments, 1 of Zoe'due south stuffed animals — the zebra — comes to life and threatens Enzo. What does the zebra symbolize?
• Can y'all imagine the novel being told from Denny's betoken of view? How would information technology make the story different?
• In the first chapter, Enzo says: "It's what's inside that's of import. The soul. And my soul is very human." How does Enzo's state of affairs–a human soul trapped in a domestic dog's trunk–influence his opinions about what he sees around him? How do you experience most the ideas of reincarnation and karma as Enzo defines them?
• Practise you find yourself looking at your own canis familiaris differently after reading this novel?
• In the book, we get glimpses into the mindset and mentality of a race machine driver. What parallels can you recollect of between the art of racing and the fine art of living?
• The character of Ayrton Senna, as he is presented in the book, is heroic, most a mythic effigy. Why do you think this character resonates so strongly for Denny?

AUTHOR Q&A

Q: Where did the idea for the book come from?

The first seed for this book was planted in my listen about 10 years ago. I was no longer working in documentary films, but a friend asked me to consult on the U.Due south. distribution of a film he knew virtually from Mongolia, called "State of Dogs." I took a await at the film and the press cloth they had on it. I didn't end up getting involved with the film, but the idea really stuck with me. In Mongolia, in that location is a belief that the next incarnation for a dog is as a man. I thought this was a cool concept and I tucked it abroad thinking I might some solar day exercise something with it.

Then, in 2004, I saw Baton Collins speak at Seattle Arts and Lectures. He'south a keen poet and a terrific reader. He read a poem, The Revenant, which is told from the signal of view of a recently euthanized dog as he addresses his old master from sky. The poem begins, "I am the dog you put to slumber…come back to tell you i uncomplicated thing: I never liked you–non one bit." I loved this poem. When Baton Collins finished reading, I knew I had to write a story from the bespeak of view of a dog. And my dog would know the truth: that in his next incarnation, he would render to earth every bit a human.

So I had the character and the goal, simply I still needed the framework of a story. A close friend of mine, who is a semi-professional race car driver but who supplements his racing by working backside the counter at an upscale automotive repair shop, was going through some personal difficulties. His plight wasn't Denny's, only it gave me some ideas about what happens to families when one member suddenly passes away. I developed a story that would really put my main character, Denny, through his paces, and so it was all at that place for me.

Q: What inspired you lot to tell the story from a dog'southward point of view?

Using a dog equally a narrator has limitations and information technology has advantages. The limitations are that a dog cannot speak. A dog has no thumbs. A dog can't communicate his thoughts except with gestures. Dogs are not allowed certain places. The advantages are that a domestic dog has special access: people will say things in front of dogs considering it is assumed that a dog doesn't understand. Dogs are allowed to witness certain things considering they aren't people and have no judgment.

I was able to work with this idea a lot in terms of giving the reader a unique viewpoint into the action of the book. Enzo goes off with Zoë, and while Denny, her father, doesn't know what happens, we see through Enzo's eyes so we do know. In that sense, it was a lot of fun playing with this "fly on the wall" point of view. Peculiarly since the "wing" in our case, is Enzo, who has very keen powers of observation.

Q: Is there any significance to the name Enzo?

Yep! Denny'southward dog, Enzo, is named after Enzo Ferrari, who built 1 of the greatest car trademarks in the earth. Ferrari automobiles are famous everywhere. And Ferrari is a dominant player in the world of Formula One racing.

Simply I have a funny story about how I arrived at Enzo'south name….

When I first started writing this novel, Enzo was not named Enzo. He was named Juan Pablo, afterward Juan Pablo Montoya, the race car driver. When my wife read the first few pages, she said that she loved what I was writing, but the name of the dog wasn't quite right.

"How about Enzo?" she asked. Nosotros had two sons already, and were expecting our third. I had ever wanted to name one of my boys Enzo. I thought it was the ultimate absurd name: Enzo Stein. Only my wife very much disagreed. "We accept a lot of different nationalities in our combined backgrounds," she reasoned. "Russian, German, Austrian, Tlingit Indian, Irish, English…just nosotros have no Italian."

"Merely and then we won't be able to proper noun the infant Enzo," I said.

"I idea of that," she said, nodding slowly.

"I really wanted to name him Enzo," I said. "Enzo, the canis familiaris, is your new baby," she replied. "And when our new baby comes, we'll discover the right name for him."

(For those of y'all who are interested: We named our son Dashiell.)

Q: Are you a dog owner yourself?

Yeah. Our dog, Comet, is a Lab/poodle mix. She's goofy and lightheaded and sweet.

Q: The racing scenes evangelize a real adrenaline rush and a feel for the intricacies of the sport. Is this seemingly expert cognition based on personal experience or all-encompassing enquiry?

When I moved back to Seattle in 2001, I got involved in "high performance commuter education," which is a fancy way of saying I learned to drive a car really fast on a race runway. That soon led to my getting my racing license with the Sports Car Social club of America (SCCA). While I did adequately well as a commuter (I won the points championship in the NW region Spec Miata grade in 2003), I didn't really have the skill equally a mechanic or the time and money needed to really excel. When I crashed my car pretty badly–ironically, while racing in the rain–I decided to semi-retire from racing, and now I just race enough to keep my license current.

The funny thing is that while I love cars, I never really thought of myself as a "auto guy." When I finished the draft of this book, my wife said, "And then that's why you were racing. You were doing enquiry!" I gauge, on a subconscious level, that'due south what I was doing.

Q: The custody boxing betwixt the widower Denny and the parents of his tardily married woman is ugly and horrible, with the latter trying to dispense the outcome past any means necessary. Is this over the acme portrayal meant to exist colored by Enzo'southward strong feelings of loyalty?

Any narrative point of view is biased–the narrator has his opinions–and Enzo is extremely biased toward all things Denny and family. So what Enzo relates to the states is filtered through a couple of things: showtime, beingness a dog, he's limited in what he is immune to encounter; 2nd, being and so devoted to his master, his opinions are all highly skewed.

That being said, I accept spoken with attorneys who have assured me that in custody and visitation battles, particularly ones involving grandparents, things can get extremely ruthless, and it is non inconceivable that, for example, 1 side might try to drag things out in order to put the other party into extreme economic distress.

Q: The book contains many wise phrases. Which is your favorite? Why?

Oh, I can't do that. I dear all my children as! (Okay, I'd have to pick: "Somewhere, the zebra is dancing." There's just something so funny and incongruous about the zebra! I know it's non one of the "wise" phrases, but it's my favorite one-liner.)

Q: Why was racing your sporting analogy of pick? Practice you expect that a novel well-nigh a race car driver, told from his dog's viewpoint, will exist more appealing to men than women?

Honestly, the thought for this book grew organically from a Mongolian pic nigh reincarnation I saw most xv years ago. I didn't set out to write about racing or cars; the racing came into it because of my ain racing experiences and the bang-up people I met while I was doing it. While men typically are more than into cars than women, the response I've gotten from women is merely as passionate almost racing every bit the response I've gotten from men, and I call back that'south due to Enzo'south unbridled passion.

Q: What lessons can nosotros all learn from Enzo?

I'm not certain that's for me to judge. Just I would say the important things for me are twofold.

First, Enzo's mantra: "That which you lot manifest is before you lot." I recollect it'due south very important to take accuse of your life, not to feel like you're a victim of circumstance or fate, just that you lot are an agile participant in your hereafter. Information technology's non a new idea: "And in the finish, the dearest you take is equal to the dear you make." (Lennon/McCartney) Where I focus my free energy always matches what comes back to me in my life.

Secondly, Enzo's epiphany–the thing he learns at the stop of his life–is that his assumption that race car drivers have to be selfish to be successful, is incorrect. In fact, he determines, in order to be successful, a race car commuter has to be completely selfless. He must cease looking at himself every bit the brightest star in the solar system, and brainstorm to see himself as only a unique attribute of the universe around him–and, most importantly, as an extension of the universe around him. In this way, a race car driver sheds his ego; his actions go pure and as powerful as the entire universe, which in turn leads to success.

All athletes speak about the mental element of athletics, and information technology commonly boils down to the same thing: if you lot can remove your ego from the game, you can role with much more than clarity and you are more likely to succeed. Wouldn't it exist interesting if we all began speaking almost the mental element of our lives in this way? How would our lives alter if we did?

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Source: https://www.garthstein.com/works/the-art-of-racing-in-the-rain/reading-group-guide/

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