Enzo - Die Kunst, ein Mensch zu sein (Gekürzte Fassung)

Geschrieben von Garth Stein

Erzählt von Helmut Krauss

Im nächsten Leben, da ist sich Enzo sicher, wird er ein Mensch sein. Deshalb beobachtet der kluge Hund die Welt um sich herum genau - und erkommt zu erstaunlichen Einsichten. Sein großes Vorbild ist Herrchen Denny: Familienvater, Rennfahrer und der zuverlässigste Freund, den ein Hund haben kann. Doch dann gerät Dennys Leben plötzlich aus den Fugen...

• Sprache: Deutsch
• Herausgeber: Argon Verlag
• Erscheinungsdatum: 23. Aug. 2012
• ISBN: 9783866108530

Rezensionen für Enzo - Die Kunst, ein Mensch zu sein (Gekürzte Fassung)

[pat_f. · Bewertung: 4 von 5 Sternen]

Tune in Next Week...

It was enjoyable while I was reading it, but I find that I'm forgetting it quickly. The bad-luck story is worthy of a telenovela, for sure.

[bookconcierge · Bewertung: 5 von 5 Sternen]

5***** and a ❤The narrator of this gem is Enzo … a Labrador / ? mix (Airedale, perhaps). Enzo spends much of his time watching television and he has learned a lot. Race videos or the Speed Channel are his favorites, but one memorable program on National Geographic was about the dogs of Mongolia. It was from this program that he learned that when a dog dies, if he has been a very good dog, his soul will return as a man. Enzo is certain this will be true for him, and when that happens he will find his master, shake his hand and tell him “Enzo says hello.”Enzo’s master is Denny Swift, who works as a “customer service technician” for the most prestigious BMW dealership in Seattle but who is a talented (nay, genius) driver who just can’t catch a break. Denny marries Eve, the daughter of wealthy parents who do not approve, and they have a daughter Zoe. It’s Enzo’s job to “take care of Eve and Zoe” when Denny is on the road pursuing his racing dreams. But Enzo can sense that there is something wrong with Eve; he knows, long before his humans do, that Eve has something deadly growing in her brain.The story could be maudlin but it isn’t. Enzo is a philosophical narrator, and also a fair one. (Though he does have a thing for the zebra demon.) There are moments of laugh-out-loud humor, sing-out-loud joy, and sigh-out-loud sadness. When I got to the last page I wanted to start reading all over again. This is a book I WILL read multiple times. Dec 2010 update: I listened to the CD for this re-reading. The audio is performed perfectly by Christopher Evan Welch. Have a hankie ready for the last few chapters.

[andy5185 · Bewertung: 4 von 5 Sternen]

A good, quick read --- but terribly sad at times. I wept at the end!

[auntieg0412 · Bewertung: 5 von 5 Sternen]

Excellent book! I was a little in doubt about a story told by a dog, but a friend recommended it highly so I decided to give it a try. The story seemed to drag a little bit partway through but soon turned around, and by the end Enzo the dog was tugging on my heartstrings and had me reaching for the tissue box. And I appreciated the wisdom in Denny's driving theory that "the car goes where the eyes go". That's a good life lesson for us all.

[lpg3d · Bewertung: 2 von 5 Sternen]

In purchasing this book I broke my #1 rule of book buying: Never buy a book with a dog on the cover, because the dog always dies. Sure enough within a couple of pages, it's obvious that the dog in going to die.

However, that's not why I didn't like this book. The author tries way too hard to be 'deep' and 'meaningful'. I'm sure there's hundreds of high school English teachers having orgasms over the thought of all the symbolism and metaphors in this book. Racing as a metaphor for life, etc. Yeah, well, it just doesn't work. The book is not meaningful in any significant way, and is not cause for deep introspection. It's just a crappy story with every tear-jerking hook possible piled into it. Every twist and turn, every surprise, is obvious from the start. It's a formulaic tear-jerker, and not a very good one at that.

[castlelass · Bewertung: 3 von 5 Sternen]

Denny Swift is an aspiring racecar driver working as a mechanic. He brings home a puppy, Enzo, and they form a close connection. Denny falls in love with Eve. They marry and have a child. The plot revolves around Denny’s many struggles, his wife’s illness, and a clash with his in-laws over his daughter. Along the way, Denny experiences the ups and downs of racing.

This is a melancholy story told from the dog’s perspective, from puppyhood to old age, describing interactions with his family members, and relating philosophical observations about life. Enzo believes his next step after death will be to return as human. This device works well for the most part but breaks down when Enzo must infer what happened in places where dogs are not allowed.

I enjoyed the first half of this book the most, where the dog-human relationship is the focus. The second half felt like a soap opera. Be aware that the story opens with Enzo near the end of his life. It contains a little too much sentimentality for my personal taste, but I liked the racing analogies and descriptions of the close bonds formed between people and their pets.

[sriddell_8 · Bewertung: 5 von 5 Sternen]

Loved this book. I laughed and cried through the whole thing.

[atdcross · Bewertung: 5 von 5 Sternen]

And unexpected gem of a book! It's funny here, serious there, intriguing in another place, and a downright tear-buster in another. This book will grab your emotions as well as your mind and you enter, unbeknownst to you, into a philosophical experience of the human life through the eyes of a dog.While, as a Christian, I do not share the religious premise the book seems to espouse, nevertheless, I recommend it as a different way of thinking and experiencing what we all go through in one degree or another, at one time or another.

[dantarlin · Bewertung: 3 von 5 Sternen]

Story told from the perspective of a dog, of Denny, a race car driver, and his family as they encounter the trauma of his wife's untimely death. The dog is of course a racing fan, and heaps on the metaphors between racing a car and life. Quick read, with some good insights. I didn't love the story itself, culminating in a nasty and depressing custody battle that was hard to read when things were going bad for the hero. Maybe if I myself were a car racing fan I would have liked it more. It was a bit long for me- I think there could have been less padding of the story.But I am a dog fan, and the "dog saves the day with his love" trope is OK with me, and was very poignant. Not a book that will stick with me much, but a decent read.

[slsmith101 · Bewertung: 4 von 5 Sternen]

Heart warming and philosophical.. loved it!

[scolgo · Bewertung: 2 von 5 Sternen]

Hi! My name Enzo. Enzo like man that buy him from mean alpha man when Enzo little puppy. Enzo like that man is race-car driver. Ezno no like man's girlfriend. Enzo accept girlfriend when man marries her. Enzo like daughter they make. Enzo no like wife's parents - calls them 'Evil Twins'. Enzo no like that wife dies. Enzo no like that Evil Twins take daughter from man. Enzo help man get daughter back. Enzo die before man gets super-duper-great job racing cars in Italy. Enzo reincarnates as human Italian boy and meets great race-car driver champ at end. Enzo happy, happy, happy!Meh.

[skavlanj · Bewertung: 3 von 5 Sternen]

A Book That Made You CryThe Art of Racing in the Rain lived up to the reason I included it on my list, although not to the degree other books not picked for their ability to elicit tears have done. That lesser emotional impact results partially because you know it’s coming and have steeled yourself against it, as well as from knowing it was designed to provoke that response and so to a degree feels contrived. Not annoyingly so, although you will look at Eve’s parents as caricatures more than characters and the incident with Annika is more plot device than plot.I liked Garth Stein’s writing style and the structure of the book. His narrative - told from Enzo the dog’s point-of-view - is interspersed with analyses of racing strategy and technique that foreshadow coming events. Very little in the book is surprising or deeply insightful, but as it progresses you find yourself overlooking its flaws and simply letting it flow over you to its predictable but satisfying conclusion.A redeeming story of good guys winning - how can any story told by a dog not be - that doesn’t require more time to finish than it should.

[kittycunningh-815148 · Bewertung: 3 von 5 Sternen]

This a tear jerker.

[curious_squid · Bewertung: 4 von 5 Sternen]

On the first page I was wary, as I would typically avoid a book where an animal is a narrator. But my friend recommended this book highly, and I thought I would give it a chance. I am glad I did.

[nancy_lipetri · Bewertung: 5 von 5 Sternen]

At barely halfway through the story, I thought surely it's finished making me cry. Get your tissue box out and keep reading. I could picture my old retriever doing and thinking what Enzo does. I've never read such perfect descriptions of a dog's personality before. But the reasons I cried went beyond my experience with dogs to relating to family dynamics, love, loss, living. And although I'm not much of a race fan, I do live in the Nascar hub and felt the racing analogies to life were genius. A very enjoyable and moving read.

[sarah220-732610 · Bewertung: 2 von 5 Sternen]

I love dogs and thought that the idea of the narrator being a dog was cute. But it ended up distancing me from the human characters. Also, the dog was overly philosophical, excessively discussed auto racing, and focused on details that I wasn't interested in. The majority of the book is just unrelentingly sad and shows life as a nearly insurmountable struggle. The characters were too vague and unconnected and the moments of hope were not enough to redeem the story as a whole.

[weezer41 · Bewertung: 4 von 5 Sternen]

Have the kleenex ready.

[juju2cat · Bewertung: 5 von 5 Sternen]

Have you ever read a book and felt so grateful for having been introduced to the characters? I felt blessed to have met these wonderful people and Enzo. I started crying on page 8 and seldom stopped. It is a beautiful guide to life and a beautiful guide to the end of life.

[vickimarie2002 · Bewertung: 5 von 5 Sternen]

Such an incredible book! I am such a dog lover so this book was perfect for me! I loved that it was told from Enzo's perspective. Enzo is the dog and a race car driver at heart with a human soul. It's a tear jerker and really a heart warming story.

[bjellis_1 · Bewertung: 2 von 5 Sternen]

Couldn’t finish it. Totally predictable, and the narrator as dog had such an educated white male vocabulary and point of view that I just couldn’t buy it. Why is this book so popular?

[obtusata · Bewertung: 3 von 5 Sternen]

The writing is good, the drama with the in-laws made me want to throw this book across the room.

[letora · Bewertung: 1 von 5 Sternen]

I was excited for The Art of Racing in the Rain because it is written from the dog Enzo's point of view. However, this is in no way what I expected. Yes there are scenes that scream dog, but most of the book is too human.

What I expected was something similar to Watership Down. A world translated into what Enzo believed it should be based on his experiences. Instead there is a supposed dog who knows way too much about racing and can spout philosophy. And the best part? TV taught him everything.

And the racing....the entire first half was about race cars. I suppose if you are a fan of the subject like the author seems to be then it would probably be great. I don't care about racing and the analogies on life it teaches.

By the time tragedy strikes the family I could care less. I didn't know anything about the family. I never had a chance to bond with the characters, let alone grieve with them.

How was this a bestseller? How?

[carmenere_1 · Bewertung: 4 von 5 Sternen]

If you ever needed proof, Enzo will prove to you, two negatives really do make a positive. As Enzo says, "Gestures are all I have, sometimes they must be grand in nature." You see, Enzo is a canine, unable to talk on the level of humans yet he has a human mind, is observant and above all listens and learns. His human companion Denny is a race car driver, through him, Enzo learns some important life lessons such as “That which we manifest is before us..." and "The car goes where the eyes go." These mindfulness tips come in handy when Denny's and Enzo's world take on tragic and despicable events. Through their, ok - Enzo's grand gesture and a Miracle on 34th Street climax this book comes to a satisfying, hopeful and teary eyed conclusion. Highly recommend for it's not over the top sentimentality.

[beth.clarke · Bewertung: 2 von 5 Sternen]

POV from a dog just didn't work for me. Certainly. I am in the minority, but I wasn't connected to the characters. For most of the book I listened to the audio version, so that may have amplified the problem of the dog narrator. I only finished the book because it's for book club. From my POV, the plot should have been a lighter subject matter since a dog was telling the story.

[5eva5 · Bewertung: 2 von 5 Sternen]

The story of a family going through illness and other trouble told by the family dog. It seems as if many people have thoroughly enjoyed this story, but it didn't really work for me, partly because of how inconsistent Enzo's insights are - he understands philosophy and can watch television, but has no concept of how a cellphone works (just an example, but there are many) - and partly because the voice gives the impression of departing wisdom, but most of what is said is common ideas and frankly quite trite. I did like the racing parts, but I absolutely disagreed with pretty much all of the parallels made between race-car driving and life, so those parts didn't work for me either. I could also never figure out what is gained by having the story told from a dog's perspective as he is set up to talk and understand like a human (except for those odd moments when he doesn't understand that moving boxes means moving house, but understands how cancer works). Not for me.

[lisa5127 · Bewertung: 5 von 5 Sternen]

This book was not what I expected it to be. The book opens with knowing that Denny's wife dies and that his dog, Enzo, is old and ready to die. I thought that meant I knew where the book was headed, but the story does not take the path I had expected at all. I won't ruin the story with any of those details.I checked this book about because the preview for the movie looks so good. The book is always better than the movie, so I wanted to read it before the film is released.The story is told from Enzo's perspective. He must be the wisest dog ever to live. He notices everything. He is convinced that if he is good enough at being a dog, then when he dies, he will be able to come back as a man. He wants to be a man so that he can have a tongue that is the right size for his mouth; he will be able to say what he is thinking and to have thumbs. He works so hard to find ways to tell Denny what he is thinking. As the reader, we can hear it all from his point of view. At one point, he has a dream that they figure out how to set up a voice translator for him so that he really can speak. In his dream, he is surprised that he doesn't sound more like James Earl Jones - that made me laugh out loud!Without ruining anything, I also really liked the way the book ended. Now I can't wait to see the movie!

[rmarcin-630843 · Bewertung: 5 von 5 Sternen]

Absolutely loved this book. Enzo is the type of dog/friend that everyone should have.

[clara53_1 · Bewertung: 4 von 5 Sternen]

This was a good read... not in an ebullient way that I suspected at first when I picked it up, but on a different level. A bitter sweet story. I loved the perspicacious dog Enzo, the true protagonist of the book, who tells the story and ruminates on the meaning of life, who longs to be a human being in his next life ("Here is why I will be a good person. Because I listen....") - ha!...; even though he wonders "...how difficult it must be to be a person. To constantly subvert your desires. To worry about doing the right thing, rather than doing what is most expedient" (hmm... indeed!); who discerns so well what people are all about: that "be it through intention or ignorance, our successes and our failures have been brought on by none other than ourselves"...; who likes "to live every day as if it were stolen from death, that is how I would love to live"... (much agree!). And I truly don't think that the idea for this book is too miraculous - in my own experience dogs are extremely sensitive and intelligent creatures.What I didn't care for was the "car racing" metaphor for "life", or, rather, I didn't care for the technicalities and history of car racing itself (I really felt like skipping those parts...). Even though it is so interconnected with everything that's going on in the book, Enzo's master being a car race driver... But for me, it didn't take away much from the novel. A case in point is this quote: "There is no dishonor in losing the race... There is only dishonor in not racing because you are afraid to lose" (even though it's a bit of a cliche). This is not a book where you rapturously re-read this or that sentence, just for the beauty of expression. The characters are at times over-simplified in their description. But it's nevertheless, a good, fast, and even poignant read.

[cassandrat-1 · Bewertung: 2 von 5 Sternen]

An easy read; I can't decide if I should rate it with two stars to voice my distaste or three stars because I really am a fan of fairy tales. My biggest beef with this book is in the spoiler that needs to be clicked to be read. My brief, spoiler-free review would be as follows: the book is narrated by a dog who loves his owner. The owner experiences love, life, and hardship and we share in it through the eyes of the dog. The owner is a race car driver, but I never quite understand the analogy between racing and life. I greatly suspect any appreciation that I have for this book is from my appreciation of dogs and the kind of cute perspective of a dog's hopes and dreams. As for the life hardships, it felt like there was an axe to grind with bad guys and good guys. The only interesting thought is that perhaps the fairy tale, villain hero aspects are due to the dog and not the author and as a reader I am left to find the truth. I would give it three stars only because I think there could be something there beyond face value.


Here come the spoilers: False rape accusations should not be used as literary devices. It provides a false sense of reality to readers who are already prone to disbelieve victims of rape. It's lazy and offensive. There you go. Having it all just turn out all right at the end was weird. One reviewer called a character the fairy-Ferrari-godfather, and I agree. I love happy endings. I think it's ridiculous when people poo poo light hearted, happy books and film because the characters have normal issues and no one is remarkably deranged or troubled or violent or something. BUT this everything-works-out happy ending was quite over the top to the point that I highly doubt my one saving thought of the book, that really the main character is more flawed than the dog thinks.. (flawed as we are all flawed).

[publiusdb-1 · Bewertung: 3 von 5 Sternen]

This month's Manly Book Club selection, a book about a family told by its dog, falls into one of the categories that I typically avoid.

Namely, it's a book that caused me to feel. Thanks, Pat. Thanks a lot.

Really, though, feelings aside, I ended up really enjoying The Art of Racing in the Rain, by Garth Stein. It has a dog on the cover so that automatically put it in a superior class of books about dogs, along with Old Yeller, Summer of the Monkeys, Where the Red Fern Grows, Savage Sam, White Fang and, yes, that crowd favorite, The Pokey Little Puppy. Those also evoke feelings, but the right kind of feelings, because feelings about dogs are always good ones.

The Art of Racing in the Rain, though its narrator is Enzo, the dog, it is not specifically about the dog. In fact, Enzo is largely a supporting lead character. Instead, it's a book about a family, and Enzo tells their story, his story, and we see it through his eyes. It's heart-wrenching (there are those feelings again), and while I typically avoid that kind of deep feeling, I found myself quickly flipping pages as I approached the final denouement.

Manly book club usually ends up talking about culture, politics, and, according to my wife who manages to walk in at the opportune moment every month, war. I don't know how we'll get to that with this one, but I certainly think there will be plenty to talk about.