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Chapter 40
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Art of Racing in the Rain, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
What It Means to Be Human
Language and Storytelling
Love and Family
Illness and Death
Destiny and Spirituality
Summary
Analysis
In another narrative pause, Enzo introduces the reader to a forgotten historical driver, Luigi Chinetti. Chinetti is best known for winning the first Ferrari victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans endurance race in 1949. He drove for 23 and a half of the 24 hours. A brilliant businessman, he later convinced Ferrari to begin selling vehicles in the United States. He ran the first dealership in the US, keeping his client list confidential. He died in 1994. Enzo wonders if a child somewhere knows that he possesses Chinetti's soul. Enzo says he doubts it, but somewhere, he knows a child is accomplishing something easily that others find hard, and this child's soul is awakening.
Enzo's belief in reincarnation doesn't only include dogs being reincarnated as men; it extends to include men, particularly great ones, being reincarnated as other men. At this point in the novel it seems to matter little that Enzo is discussing Ferrari, but Ferrari will become an important entity later (and Enzo Ferrari is probably Enzo’s namesake). Additionally, Chinetti is loosely tied to Denny by their shared skill at driving endurance races.
Themes
