http://www.garthstein.com/forum/index.php EN Wed, 03 Mar 2010 19:12:17 -0700 Wed, 03 Mar 2010 19:12:17 -0700 Forum Phorum 5.1.25 60 http://www.garthstein.com/forum/read.php?5,43,45#msg-45 jimwei The Zen Room: Lessons From Enzo http://www.garthstein.com/forum/read.php?5,43,45#msg-45 Wed, 03 Mar 2010 19:12:17 -0700 http://www.garthstein.com/forum/read.php?3,18,44#msg-44 jimwei
We named him after the character Enzo Molinari from the movie The Big Blue. Enzo's character is inspired by the real person Enzo Maiorca, a famous Italian free diver from the 1970's.

A few weeks ago there was a big snow storm here in Raleigh, and we found a nice hill to sled and Enzo was with us chasing us up down the hill. One of the people out playing heard his name and asked us if we have read this book or named him after the book's dog. We haven't, but naturally we have to, so I ordered the book.

I can't remember when was the last book that made me cry so much. I did reading this book.

Our Enzo is suffering from congestive heart failure, diagnosed soon after that snow playing day.]]> The Pound http://www.garthstein.com/forum/read.php?3,18,44#msg-44 Wed, 03 Mar 2010 13:26:31 -0700 http://www.garthstein.com/forum/read.php?5,43,43#msg-43 nibbles The Zen Room: Lessons From Enzo http://www.garthstein.com/forum/read.php?5,43,43#msg-43 Sat, 30 Jan 2010 11:06:08 -0700 http://www.garthstein.com/forum/read.php?5,8,42#msg-42 Myra The Zen Room: Lessons From Enzo http://www.garthstein.com/forum/read.php?5,8,42#msg-42 Fri, 22 Jan 2010 08:27:03 -0700 http://www.garthstein.com/forum/read.php?4,9,41#msg-41 ralfwk It really was an easy read, but at the same time including one such strong and clear message about life in general, which seems often so complex: that you are by your actions the creator of your own destiny.
Additionally I was under the impression that my dog was very close to talking and that it must have been frustrating for her not being able to communicate exactly what she wanted, but most of the time we actually understood her (or so we believed).
Anyways, but there was one minor thing I didn't agree with Enzo ;) : For me Schumacher was equal, if not the better driver than Senna (who was IMHO elevated a bit too high both as a person and as a driver by his death), particularly in the rain. I was witnessing the race 1996 in Barcelona where Schumacher earned his nickname "rainmaster" and lapped at times 3 secs faster than everyone else in heavy rain.

Anyways, thanks for a great read and good luck with future endeavours.

Greetings from Germany,

Ralf]]> The Art of Racing in the Rain http://www.garthstein.com/forum/read.php?4,9,41#msg-41 Sat, 17 Oct 2009 17:28:20 -0600 http://www.garthstein.com/forum/read.php?4,40,40#msg-40 sarah
Personally, I think the golden color is kind of appealing for Enzo, though with some wiry terrier hair.]]> The Art of Racing in the Rain http://www.garthstein.com/forum/read.php?4,40,40#msg-40 Tue, 22 Sep 2009 11:09:01 -0600 http://www.garthstein.com/forum/read.php?4,20,39#msg-39 freetomato The Art of Racing in the Rain http://www.garthstein.com/forum/read.php?4,20,39#msg-39 Mon, 17 Aug 2009 09:53:08 -0600 http://www.garthstein.com/forum/read.php?4,9,38#msg-38 freetomato
I have five (yes five) dogs: 2 elderly chocolate labs, a golden retriever, a rat terrier, and a recently adopted golden retriever/german shepherd puppy. I can honestly say that my labs (the only dogs I had at one point) kept me sane during the worst period of my life. My old labs are now, sadly, in their twilight years. Enzo's eloquence regarding his struggles with aging, his acceptance about the end of his life as a dog, and his anticipation of his next incarnation nearly brought me to tears, as I can almost see those thoughts in the deep, cloudy eyes of my 13 year old friends.

I can't wait to share this wonderful book with my dog-loving friends.

I hope that at some point it is adapted for the screen, and that Mr. Stein's lovely story is adapted by the author himself.

Thank you, Mr. Stein. Based on this exceptional book, I look forward to reading more of your work.]]> The Art of Racing in the Rain http://www.garthstein.com/forum/read.php?4,9,38#msg-38 Mon, 17 Aug 2009 09:50:24 -0600 http://www.garthstein.com/forum/read.php?4,9,37#msg-37 bardot In the book there is just a thing that I don't understand: why does Enzo die before Danny and Zoe leave for Italy?
Enzo's faithfullness and goodness move to cry, he's wanderfull.
IT shouldn't have been the right prize for him to see their happyness?
However it's a great story, one should read it to learn many things.

Thanks]]> The Art of Racing in the Rain http://www.garthstein.com/forum/read.php?4,9,37#msg-37 Wed, 12 Aug 2009 00:12:23 -0600 http://www.garthstein.com/forum/read.php?4,9,36#msg-36 Pete McCrary
Your triple use of name "Enzo" (two direct, one implied) was an absolutely brilliant twist to the book. Very well thought out writing.

It will be hard to top ARR.]]> The Art of Racing in the Rain http://www.garthstein.com/forum/read.php?4,9,36#msg-36 Fri, 24 Jul 2009 10:17:58 -0600 http://www.garthstein.com/forum/read.php?3,18,35#msg-35 chamster
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/Book-Club-Girl/2009/07/22/Garth-Stein-Discusses-The-Art-of-Racing-in-the-Rain]]> The Pound http://www.garthstein.com/forum/read.php?3,18,35#msg-35 Thu, 23 Jul 2009 13:49:08 -0600 http://www.garthstein.com/forum/read.php?4,20,34#msg-34 ONEBADBUG
Here is something I wrote about my dog who just died.

Bye Bye Birdy

There’s a hole in my heart. People say your heart is broken when you lose someone you love, but that’s not right, because if your heart was broken it wouldn’t work anymore. Mine still works, it just doesn’t work as well as it used to. This is the latest of several holes I have now, and I think that the new hole may have opened some of the old ones too, because I can feel them again and my heart barely works at all.

There’s a farm just outside of town where I used to live, and there’s a lot of dead dogs buried out there. Two of them are mine. Actually, one of those wasn’t supposed to be mine, it was supposed to belong to the lady who owns the farm, but once I left the farm and bought my own house, the farm lady brought her to my new place. I came home one day and there she was, the Shit Bird. That’s what I named her. It was supposed to be a joke, but Bird quickly decided that was her name, so that was that. I took her back to the farm, but the farm lady brought her right back, so I gave in. I really didn’t want to keep her for the same reason the farm lady didn’t want her. Bird had a pretty severe character flaw, she was a vicious killer. That’s all you have to say to a lot of people and they don’t want to know any more, but it’s not that simple.
The remarkable thing is, that was really Bird’s only character flaw. I never had a problem working around it, I learned to always be aware of any possibility for her to attack some other creature, and never let her have the chance. Other people didn’t seem to be able to do that.
A lot of people just didn’t believe that she had a vicious side, she was so gentle with people it seemed impossible. Other people, believing the horror stories, never trusted her at all. They were foolish, her ability to contain her incredible strength was perfect. In 11 years of wrestling and play fighting, I never got a scratch, something I can not say about our other dogs. When she took a treat from your hand it was as soft as a kiss.

I know that I don’t grieve for Bird, I grieve for myself. She had a long and adventurous life and her future would have been one of pain and inactivity. The reason I am so sad is that I will miss all the things she used to do for me. I will miss her waiting at the door with her silly skinny tail banging into the wall. I will miss the way she would look right into my eyes like she knew the secrets of life we humans struggle to understand. I will miss the way she would come show the younger dogs how to do a trick when they just weren’t getting it. I will miss her giant bony head on my lap. I will miss the way she took the high spirited abuse from the younger dogs by pretending they weren’t even there. I will miss her running to me to get a drink straight from the hose. I will miss her coming to comfort me whenever I am upset. And I’m sad for all the people who never got to know her, their lives are lacking and they don’t even know it.
I know I need to learn to be happy again because that was what the Bird wanted for her people and I don’t want her to worry about me.

Bird was never afraid of anything except disappointing me, she was not even afraid of death. I wish she could have taught me how to be that way.]]> The Art of Racing in the Rain http://www.garthstein.com/forum/read.php?4,20,34#msg-34 Wed, 22 Jul 2009 20:47:37 -0600 http://www.garthstein.com/forum/read.php?3,15,33#msg-33 abby The Pound http://www.garthstein.com/forum/read.php?3,15,33#msg-33 Mon, 20 Jul 2009 20:10:17 -0600 http://www.garthstein.com/forum/read.php?3,18,32#msg-32 abby The Pound http://www.garthstein.com/forum/read.php?3,18,32#msg-32 Mon, 20 Jul 2009 20:04:51 -0600 http://www.garthstein.com/forum/read.php?3,18,31#msg-31 Pete McCrary The Pound http://www.garthstein.com/forum/read.php?3,18,31#msg-31 Sat, 11 Jul 2009 21:07:08 -0600 http://www.garthstein.com/forum/read.php?3,18,30#msg-30 Pete McCrary The Pound http://www.garthstein.com/forum/read.php?3,18,30#msg-30 Fri, 10 Jul 2009 10:29:26 -0600 http://www.garthstein.com/forum/read.php?4,29,29#msg-29 DavidL
In my work I try to come up with scalable processes – processes that work as well in larger spaces, as they do in smaller spaces. The concept of scalabiltity is brillantly applied to the individual in the passage about “believing that one’s car is merely an extension of one’s body. About believing that the track is an extension of the car, and the rain is an extension of the track…"

That passage made me think of the recent story of the pilot, Chesley Sullenberger, who landed the plane in the Hudson River (link below). If one was trying to tell the story using the above template it would sound something like this “When both engines died the plane became an extension of the pilot and the river an extension of the plane and the all the people whose lives were impacted by the landing became an extension of the event.”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e88PN6V64gk

There is a certain beauty in a man who took care of his business each day (without seeking fame) being able to instantly scale in a larger space. Not unlike the fictional character of Denny Swift.

David Levins]]> The Art of Racing in the Rain http://www.garthstein.com/forum/read.php?4,29,29#msg-29 Sun, 07 Jun 2009 13:37:51 -0600 http://www.garthstein.com/forum/read.php?3,6,28#msg-28 michaelsean The Pound http://www.garthstein.com/forum/read.php?3,6,28#msg-28 Wed, 27 May 2009 17:27:16 -0600 http://www.garthstein.com/forum/read.php?3,6,27#msg-27 torrentl The Pound http://www.garthstein.com/forum/read.php?3,6,27#msg-27 Sat, 23 May 2009 12:37:27 -0600 http://www.garthstein.com/forum/read.php?4,20,26#msg-26 torrentl The Art of Racing in the Rain http://www.garthstein.com/forum/read.php?4,20,26#msg-26 Sat, 23 May 2009 12:35:00 -0600 http://www.garthstein.com/forum/read.php?4,9,25#msg-25 torrentl The Art of Racing in the Rain http://www.garthstein.com/forum/read.php?4,9,25#msg-25 Sat, 23 May 2009 12:33:13 -0600 http://www.garthstein.com/forum/read.php?3,6,24#msg-24 maxlin The Pound http://www.garthstein.com/forum/read.php?3,6,24#msg-24 Wed, 20 May 2009 20:15:57 -0600 http://www.garthstein.com/forum/read.php?3,23,23#msg-23 michaelsean
To follow Garth and his Italian travels, you can find his Twitter account at:

http://twitter.com/garthstein]]> The Pound http://www.garthstein.com/forum/read.php?3,23,23#msg-23 Wed, 13 May 2009 11:18:18 -0600 http://www.garthstein.com/forum/read.php?4,22,22#msg-22 michaelsean
In this, his third novel, Garth Stein gave himself the almost impossible task of telling his story from the perspective of the one participant whose faith in the protagonist can never be doubted: his dog. In so doing, Stein has created, in Enzo, an aging and surprisingly wise mutt, who is perhaps the most memorable narrator of the year.
--PNBA Awards Committee

Link to the Youtube.com video can be found below!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gF28kEX7t5k]]> The Art of Racing in the Rain http://www.garthstein.com/forum/read.php?4,22,22#msg-22 Tue, 12 May 2009 18:01:14 -0600 http://www.garthstein.com/forum/read.php?3,18,21#msg-21 michaelsean The Pound http://www.garthstein.com/forum/read.php?3,18,21#msg-21 Tue, 12 May 2009 09:47:51 -0600 http://www.garthstein.com/forum/read.php?4,20,20#msg-20 michaelsean
http://www.robotnine.com/2009/05/church-signs-do-battle-over-dogs-souls.html

It does bring up an interesting question though... do dog's have souls? Feel free to response with a serious response or an amusing quip. Maybe just share your opinion on the dogma of Enzo. Whatever it is, we want to hear from you!]]> The Art of Racing in the Rain http://www.garthstein.com/forum/read.php?4,20,20#msg-20 Tue, 12 May 2009 09:44:50 -0600 http://www.garthstein.com/forum/read.php?4,9,19#msg-19 michaelsean The Art of Racing in the Rain http://www.garthstein.com/forum/read.php?4,9,19#msg-19 Mon, 27 Apr 2009 14:41:01 -0600 http://www.garthstein.com/forum/read.php?3,18,18#msg-18 michaelsean
So... if you named your dog Enzo or know of a dog named Enzo, we would love to hear from you here! In fact, feel free to include photos if you can!]]> The Pound http://www.garthstein.com/forum/read.php?3,18,18#msg-18 Mon, 27 Apr 2009 14:40:01 -0600 http://www.garthstein.com/forum/read.php?4,9,16#msg-16 Samijo
Although I don't make crying on the train a habit, I thank you Garth for this wonderful story....you are a genius!!!

:-)]]> The Art of Racing in the Rain http://www.garthstein.com/forum/read.php?4,9,16#msg-16 Wed, 11 Mar 2009 10:00:03 -0600 http://www.garthstein.com/forum/read.php?3,15,15#msg-15 Desert Dawg
I can only hope that this book is read by people who have not had the honor of sharing their life with a dog and that it will inspire them to open their heart and home to one.

I would love to send anyone a photo of our car from the Las Vegas to Reno race last year. jefflee@hughes.net

Thanks Garth for the great book!

Jeff Lee
Team Member, Desert Dawgs 2009 Race for Homeless Pets]]> The Pound http://www.garthstein.com/forum/read.php?3,15,15#msg-15 Sat, 10 Jan 2009 23:49:51 -0700