The Art of Racing in the Rain

页数：  321页

出版社：HarperCollins Publishers，2008，New York

RT- S; RV- Occ Notes only

       邻居的女士们搞了个读书会，第一本要读的是玛格丽特推荐的 The Art of Racing in the Rain,  当时想着我既不喜欢赛车也不热爱狗狗，说不得，勉为其难读一读吧。谁知道开卷有益，读读自己以为绝不会喜欢的书其实颇有收获，说明纽约时报的畅销书排行榜还是比较靠谱的。

      故事从一只狗的口气开始叙述它主人一家的故事，开篇即提到重生、前世回忆什么的，接受起来毫无困难，只是有些奇怪男人怎么有那么多话给他的狗说，而好多女人抱怨她们的丈夫不和她们说话。为什么男人不能像和他的狗倾诉一样，和他的妻子好好倾诉呢。因为狗不会说话？

书中说，记忆有时不是件好事，to remember is to disengage from the present, 要活在当下，完全同意。That which me manifest is before us ——老实说我没彻底弄懂这句的意思，还好下面有一句简单明白的，we are the creators of our own destiny.  命运在一定程度是是由自己造成的，你的性格和选择决定你的结局。连主人翁狗狗 Enzo 都知道，要改变女主人 Eve 对自己的态度和他们之间的关系，自己要 “By changing my mood, my energy, I allowed Eve to regard me diferently”.

这条哲理的喜欢赛车的狗还指出，“your car goes where your eyes go”，为了让自我实现的预言这条难懂的哲理通俗易懂些，Enzo 给出了赛车的例子：“The driver who cannot tear his eyes away from the wall as he spins out of control will meet that wall; the driver who looks down the track as he feels his tires break free will regain control of his vehicle.” 真的吗？我可没胆子一试。

哲理的狗有个同样哲理的主人 Denny，他说，“No race has ever been won in the first corner; many has been lost there”. 是说放弃就玩完，只要不放弃就还有希望？书中的Denny 是个善良又正直的男人，看多了国内“表现人性复杂层面”的小说，简直不敢相信世上还有这么纯真正派的男人。

Denny对自己的责任有清醒的认识。他在赛场被其他赛车的错误牵连因而失败了，他说是这不是其他人的责任，因为 “you need to watch the drivers around you, understand their skill, confidence, and aggression levels, and drive with them accordingly.  Know who is driving next to you.  Any problems that may occur have ultimately been caused by you, because you are responsible for where you are and what you are doing there. ” (原文无黑体标注)

Denny 对成败也有自己的见解：“There is no dishonor in losing the race.  There is only dishonor in not racing because you are afraid to lose.”

书看到一小半的时候，我理解了Enzo 和 Denny 对赛车和人生原理的比喻。人生就是赛车，各种不可预见的变数和横逆就是雨，而生命就是在雨中赛车的艺术， 需要平衡、预见和耐心——“it is about balance.  It is about anticipation and patience.”  作者还说了一通灵魂统治身体，就像赛车是车手的延伸一类的，佛教或瑜伽对此早有阐述，我们的身体只是我们灵魂的载体。好奇邻居的女士们会怎么看待这些“非常东方”的观点和说法。

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