What if Denny narrated the novel?
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What if Denny narrated the novel?
Can you imagine the novel being told from Denny's point of view? How would it make the story different?
I can imagine it. I definitely think it would take away from some of the fun of reading the book. Usually, we have to assume a narrator's telling of events is biased to himself. The irony of this book is that Enzo so incredibly worshipped Denny that I imagine the dog's telling of the story is even more biased in Denny's favor than if Denny told the story. That relates to one main thing I love most about this book: that the author artfully left so much open to interpretation. In this case, we have the question of whether Enzo is a reliable narrator or if maybe Denny is not really as great as Enzo tells us he is.
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Scott, what an insightful post. I agree with your comment that there is a lot open to interpretation, particularly whether Denny is as wonderful as Enzo tells us. I can imagine the novel being told from Denny's point of view, but the book takes on a special quality from having Enzo narrate the story. Dogs worships their owners, so I think there is a lot in the book that is biased toward Denny doing the absolute "right" thing in all situations. The book becomes so much more interesting from the dog's perspective, especially during times of stress and crisis.Scott wrote:Following is a discussion question from the author for the December 2014 book of the month, "The Art of Racing in the Rain" by Garth Stein.
Can you imagine the novel being told from Denny's point of view? How would it make the story different?
I can imagine it. I definitely think it would take away from some of the fun of reading the book. Usually, we have to assume a narrator's telling of events is biased to himself. The irony of this book is that Enzo so incredibly worshipped Denny that I imagine the dog's telling of the story is even more biased in Denny's favor than if Denny told the story. That relates to one main thing I love most about this book: that the author artfully left so much open to interpretation. In this case, we have the question of whether Enzo is a reliable narrator or if maybe Denny is not really as great as Enzo tells us he is.
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I can't imagine he would be mention much at all. Certainly some of the most charming parts of the story -- the race car ride that Enzo went on -- would not have even been mentioned.
I agree with most of the other posters about the charm of the story is due to the special narrator.
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librarydancer wrote:An interesting counter point to the question of if Denny narrated the book would be to ask how frequently Enzo would be mentioned if Denny was the narrator.
I can't imagine he would be mention much at all. Certainly some of the most charming parts of the story -- the race car ride that Enzo went on -- would not have even been mentioned.
I agree with most of the other posters about the charm of the story is due to the special narrator.
Good point! I wonder if it would have been just about his racing and family... with hardly any mention to Enzo. You're probably right. Awwww.... what a sad thought.
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like mafia