A Dog's Life

I didn't want to read this book because I knew the dog was going to die. He says so right up front. That he is waiting for death. I almost put it down, gave it back to its rightful owner, and went back to looking for secret Lost plot leaks on the internet. Tropical polar bears or not, I'm glad I didn't give up on this one.

This is the story of Denny, an up-and-coming race car driver, his wife Eve, and their daughter Zoe, told from the perspective of their beloved canine, Enzo. I'll admit that a lot of the racing references and metaphors got away from me at the start, but by the end I was right there in the passenger seat, yearning for that checkered flag.

As Enzo tells, Eve is sick. Very sick. Dying sick. And Denny suffers one gut-wrenching blow after the next as he watches his life fall apart. Nothing is stable, consistent. Nothing stays the same. Nothing is predictible. Nothing except Enzo.

It's funny how sometimes we forget how to take care of one another. Forget that life is not easily lined out for us, just one dot after the next. Who better than a dog to teach us that, should we neglect the small nuances of life, we run the risk of losing the race? The car goes where your eyes go. Don't focus on the road.

You should read this book.