by Garth Stein · 2008
Narrated by Enzo, an aging dog who is convinced that his next life will be a human one, this novel recounts the years he has spent with his owner, Seattle amateur race car driver Denny Swift. As Denny chases a shot at professional racing, marries, and starts a family, Enzo watches from the floor, applying the racing philosophy of his hero Ayrton Senna to the wrecks and comebacks of ordinary life. When tragedy and a bitter custody fight threaten to take Denny's daughter away from him, Enzo becomes the family's silent witness and, in his own way, its protector. The result is a story about loyalty, grief, and the will to keep driving through the rain, told through the eyes of a dog who has been paying closer attention than anyone realized.