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63 pages 2 hours read

Garth Stein

The Art of Racing in the Rain

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2008

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Chapters 49-EpilogueChapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapter 49 Summary

Denny receives another visit from Mike and Tony. They discuss the benefits of accepting visitation rights, and how Denny could forego the sex offense on his record and the burden of child support. Denny is about to sign a settlement form, but the pen he’s using catches Enzo’s attention. It’s a pen from the zoo, decorated with a zebra. 

Enzo realizes that the zebra isn’t an external force: it’s an internal one, the embodiment of self-destruction. He steals the settlement contract and makes an impressive escape, then urinates on it. Denny and the others laugh and see the wisdom of rejecting the settlement.

Chapter 50 Summary

Enzo turns 10. Denny continues to pay child support and lawyer fees. On a visit to the tracks, Denny meets Luca—a powerful representative from Ferrari—and takes his F430 for a test drive. This is viewed as an audition to showcase Denny’s abilities. He wows all of the assembled with his impressive driving acumen. 

Luca offers Denny a job test driving vehicles with Ferrari. He would have to move to Italy, but the prospect is extremely promising. The job will be waiting for Denny when his legal troubles are resolved. Luca’s motives for singling Denny out are as of yet unknown. 

Chapter 51 Summary

Enzo and Denny take a walk. Enzo’s health is in decline. He’s incontinent, and more reliant on Denny than ever. They spot Annika outside of a bookstore. Enzo wants to avoid the confrontation, but Denny approaches. He puts the brunt of the blame for their encounter on himself, and describes his current circumstances to her. The conversation ends on an optimistic note, and Enzo leaves it with a spring in his step.

Chapter 52 Summary

Denny’s parents visit his apartment for a couple of days. His mother is blind, and only speaks to his father. Their relationship is tense. 

Chapter 53 Summary

Zoe comes to meet her grandparents. Denny learns that they mortgaged the house and the farm to finance Denny’s legal trouble. They see it as making up for past mistakes, and the opportunity for a new beginning. 

Chapter 54 Summary

Enzo contemplates how a driver must have faith while accepting their circumstances. Getting back on track is a gradual maneuver—it doesn’t happen right away. Better to finish the race last than to crash.

Chapter 55 Summary

Denny tells Mike about his parents. They harbored deep animosity for leaving the family farm, and cut off all contact. They never gave him any money in the past, either. Denny paid for everything with loans. A sad story with a happy ending.

Chapter 56 Summary

Enzo describes the courtroom scene as he imagines it. Witness after witness demonizes Denny as a sex predator. Annika takes the stand, and the court holds a special recess.

Enzo dreams of taking the stand in Denny’s defense, using a Stephen Hawking voice simulator to make his argument.

In truth, Annika recanted her accusations and dropped all charges. Mr. Lawrence did a surprisingly good job at trial. From afar, Enzo forgives Annika with a friendly bark. 

Chapter 57 Summary

Maxwell and Trish drop the custody suit. Denny receives a call from Luca offering a 3-year commitment to work with Ferrari. Luca confides that he lost his wife as well, and someone offered him the same job during a difficult period in his life. He’s returning the favor and paying it forward.

Chapter 58 Summary

Enzo is not afraid of death. He feels a great sense of closure, and contemplates euthanasia. He looks forward to his inevitable shift to humanity. Suddenly he collapses in exhaustion. He anticipates a great life for Denny. In his last moments, Enzo feels a little guilty that he can’t remain Denny’s dog forever, and thinks back to his time at the farm. He wonders if he should have spent more time reveling in the canine experience. Then he sees endless fields made just for running, and Denny urges him to go forward. Enzo pledges to return as a human and greet Denny in the next life. 

Epilogue Summary: “Imola, Italy”

Years later, Denny is a racing champion sitting alone at the track. An older Zoe introduces him to his biggest fan: a young racing prodigy named Enzo. Denny gives the boy his phone number with promises of teaching him the racing craft. As he leaves, the boy echoes one of dog-Enzo’s sayings: “The car goes where the eyes go.”

Chapter 49-Epilogue Analysis

Here the zebra makes its final appearance in the form of a pen. Enzo helps Denny to conquer it, and thus keep custody of Zoe. Not only has Enzo conquered the zebra within himself, but he is finally able to help Denny when he needs it most. The zebra taking this particular form at such a juncture of decisions is also significant. While a pen in itself can be viewed as an innocuous object, the metonymic adage “the pen is mightier than the sword” suggests that that the power of writing can be both beneficial and harmful.

Luca’s contribution to Denny gives the story a sense of passing the torch. Someone did Luca a favor long ago, and Luca is returning that same favor to Denny. By the end of the Epilogue, Denny is continuing this tradition for the young fan named Enzo out of gratitude and recognition. Enzo the dog once wondered if there was a child in the world carrying Luigi Chinetti’s soul. Luca presents a very literal passing of opportunity to the most worthy, which could be construed as a tangible version of that same spiritual tradition.

Just as things begin start to go well for Denny, Enzo passes away, showing how he has successfully completed his duty to protect and help Denny and is now able to have closure. The appearance of the fan named Enzo at the end of the book can also be seen as the fulfilment of Enzo the dog’s wish to be reincarnated after his death. While Stein doesn’t explicitly make the connection between the two Enzos, Denny remarks that there is something familiar about the boy. In addition, the fact that little boy Enzo repeats one of Enzo the dog’s favorite sayings seems to prove this theory that he finally got his wish: to be reincarnated as a human.

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By Garth Stein