Death and Dying

Death and dying as concepts and plot points underlie the entirety of The Art of Racing in the Rain. The novel opens with Enzo, the narrator and a dog looking back on his life and recollecting those moments that made the most significant impact. Enzo eventually dies, but Enzo's attitude toward death could be called optimistic, to say the least. While he has thoroughly enjoyed his life as Denny Swift's friend, confidante, and protector, Enzo is nonetheless overjoyed at the prospect of reincarnation. Enzo looks forward to death because of what comes after death and not because he finds his present life to be drudgery. Enzo is old and his body is failing. His physical condition is merely a necessary evil for Enzo. At the most, he finds such things as incontinence and weakness in the limbs to be minor inconveniences. Enzo is upbeat about "crossing...