The Art of Racing in the Rain Chapters 26-30 Quotes

The Art of Racing in the Rain Chapters 26-30 Quotes

How we cite the quotes:
(Chapter.Paragraph)

Quote 4

I was on that squirrel and it had no chance. I was ruthless. My jaws slapped down on it, cracking its back, my teeth ripped into its fur and I shook it to death after that, for good measure, I shook it until I heard its neck snap in two. (28.10)

Obligatory yuck aside, this is a scene of death that's meant to alleviate the pain of another death. Enzo doesn't know how to react to the news of Eve's death, so he does the first thing that comes to mind, which is apparently to kill and eat a squirrel.

Quote 5

Oh the joy! Denny and me and our BMW, driving all day and into the evening like a couple of banditos running from the law, like partners in crime. It had to be a crime to lead such a life as we led, a life in which one could escape one's troubles by racing cars! (26.3)

Enzo toys with the idea that you can outrun your problems, that distance and the speed of movement itself is a kind of freedom. Well, that's all very well and good, but no matter how much we've tried, we've never outrun our problems for very long.

Quote 6

Six months came and six months went and Eve was still alive. Then seven months. Then eight. (27.1)

In this instance, space and time constrict to show overlapping months when Eve's absence passes in a blur of distilled time that doesn't need to be detailed. The glossing over of the six months without Eve hints at the fact that they either barely need mentioning, from Enzo's perspective. They're monotonous. There's no need to describe the lonely, angry pain any more than he already has.