Garth Stein comes to town to cap Spokane is Reading

Seattle author Garth Stein compares it to being selected by “a particularly massive book group.”

Stein’s mega-selling novel, “The Art of Racing in the Rain,” is this year’s selection for the annual citywide book group called Spokane Is Reading.

This means that people all over greater Spokane this month have been immersed in Stein’s whimsical, sad, funny tale of a Seattle race car driver (and auto repair counter man) named Denny.

Stein arrives in Spokane on Thursday for two public discussions, sponsored by Spokane Public Library, Spokane County Library District and Auntie’s Bookstore.

Here’s a fact that should stimulate discussion: The entire story is narrated by Enzo, Denny’s cute, elderly and wise dog.

“When I first started writing the book, I knew that the voice of Enzo was special,” said Stein, by phone from his Seattle home. “And I knew it was compelling, and I knew people were really going to like it if they could get it.

“But I had a real problem when I finished the first draft of the book and sent it off to my agent. He said, ‘No, I can’t represent this book because it’s narrated by a dog. And adults don’t read books narrated by dogs.’ ”

Stein sent it to a few more agents, who said the same thing. Finally, he found an agent who understood.

Turns out, adults will read books narrated by dogs, especially if the dog possesses a particularly wise old soul. “The Art of Racing in the Rain” has turned into a publishing smash, selling hundreds of thousands of copies and being translated into 27 languages.

“Now, everybody is like, ‘You’re so crafty – everybody loves dogs and cars!’ And I’m saying, ‘Gee, that’s really funny because two years ago …”

Don’t get the idea that Stein was an instant best-selling success.

“I was an instant mid-list failed writer,” he said.

His first novel, 1998’s “Raven Stole the Moon,” went nowhere. His second, “How Evan Broke His Head and Other Secrets,” won a Pacific Northwest Booksellers Award, yet sold modestly.

Enzo the dog changed all of that.

Stein said the idea of a canine narrator first popped into his head when he was watching a Mongolian documentary, “State of Dogs” (mentioned in the book), about the belief among nomadic people that dogs are reincarnated as humans.

“That struck me as a profound idea,” said Stein, who started out as documentary filmmaker.

Then he heard former U.S. Poet Laureate Billy Collins read a poem narrated by a dog. Stein said “it all came together for me at the right time.”

It doesn’t hurt that Stein is a dog owner, with a labradoodle named Comet. Just like Enzo, Comet was born on a farm in Spangle.

“My publicist said, ‘You have the dog in Spangle, but you know what? Spangle doesn’t have a bookstore. Move it to Yakima or Wenatchee or somewhere with a good bookstore and we can do a reading!’

“I said, ‘You know what? You market the books and let me write the books.’ ”

Stein has also done some race-car driving, which is another of the book’s themes.

“Drivers really do sit around and talk about things like, ‘Your car goes where your eyes go,’ and these philosophies,” he said.

A “community read” event like Spokane Is Reading is particularly satisfying for an author, said Stein.

On a regular book tour, the author is trying to entice people to read the book. At these events, most people will have already read it.

“It’s a lot more in-depth,” he said. “It makes for a stronger conversation.”