The Art of Racing in the Rain

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2008

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Chapters 26-31Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapter 26 Summary

Denny drives for a commercial in California and takes Enzo along. They arrive at the track early to get accustomed to it. For the first time, he lets Enzo ride in the passenger seat while he takes the car to top speed. Enzo finds this utterly thrilling, and pleads with Denny to go faster, always faster. He arrives at a better understanding of how Denny views racing strategically, not just as a matter of gut instinct.

Chapter 27 Summary

Eight months have passed, and Eve is still alive. The Twins hold a dinner at their house to celebrate the first day of living beyond her prognosis. Zoe seems beaten down, full of Maxwell and Trish’s influence.

Eve is brave and accepting of her mortality. She embraces death with an enlightened attitude. That night, she dies. Enzo imagines her soul rising to join with eternity and transform into a new shape.

Chapter 28 Summary

Denny is resolved to put the family back together. When he learns about Eve’s death, he breaks down in a dog park with Enzo. Enzo flees into the wilderness and hunts a squirrel, ferociously tearing it to shreds. He recognizes that he’s engaging his most animal self, but it seems preferable to the human emotions that he can’t seem to handle. He dreams of killing crows in Eve’s honor.

Chapter 29 Summary

Maxwell and Trish reveal that they want custody of Zoe, and they’re willing to sue for it. They blame Denny for Eve’s death, since he was complicit in her not seeking medical care.

Chapter 30 Summary

Enzo draws a comparison between drivers who know when to strategically give up their advantage and those who know when to hold a position. No matter which strategy, the smarter driver is always the winner.

Chapter 31 Summary

Denny meets with his lawyer, Mark Fein. He’s able to pay for the consultation by offering some vehicle maintenance in exchange. Mark insists on meeting at the same coffee shop because he’s infatuated with a young barista. He expresses absolute confidence in Denny’s ability to win the lawsuit, but his services are expensive.

Denny ultimately leaves the meeting concerned and felling less than in control.

Chapters 26-31 Analysis

Eve’s death demonstrates a turning point. Denny’s choices, and his ability to calculate the best course of action, will become all-important for the rest of the novel. Enzo’s revelation about thinking strategically will also play a significant role.

Denny’s lawyer, Mark Fein, is also introduced in these chapters. He refers to Zoe as “the child,” hinting at a clinical detachment from the case, which makes Denny uncomfortable. Despite the fact that he is overly confident and clearly capable of representing Denny, his lascivious behavior towards the barista is offensive to Denny and also foreshadows that he might not be the right representation for the case.