Marley & Me

This post first published February 24, 2014.

Author: John Grogan
First Published: 2005
Publisher: Harper
320 pages (paperback)
 
I got this book for Christmas 2013 from my sister. I never saw the movie before (though I want to now!) so I didn’t really know what to expect going in. All I have heard about Marley & Me is that it is quite sad at the end.

This book is a memoir/autobiography so it’s actually a non fiction book; however, if you didn’t know that, it reads like fiction as well. I didn’t realize it was a memoir until halfway through the book. The book is about the author, his family and their “crazy”, disobedient, but wonderfully affectionate Labrador retriever. John has fond memories of his childhood dog Shaun, and so he and his wife Jenny decide to go looking at some puppies, eventually deciding to bring home a Labrador retriever puppy. They name him Marley. Right away, they realize how completely rambunctious and difficult to train this new puppy is. They struggle to raise Marley and teach him to be an obedient, well behaved dog as they also embark on their live adventure as a couple, eventually starting a family with three children. Even though Marley makes life difficult at times — well, a lot of times — Marley’s love of life and loyalty binds the entire Grogan family together.

Since this is a memoir, there isn’t a traditional plot per se. It is more like a collection of memories, and it is obvious that Marley has left a lasting impact on John and this family. Even though I, obviously, have never known or met Marley, I felt quite attached to him as well and was very upset with the inevitable but predictable end. I rarely ever cry from reading a book (the only book I have cried over is The Book Thief by Markus Zusak), but this book’s last few chapters definitely had me in tears. I think anyone who owns a dog will find this book very easy to relate to, and the inevitable ending of the book is something that every dog owner will probably have to experience at one point or another.

While I think most dog lovers/owners would enjoy this book, as a person who frequents dog forums, I can also totally see the opposite happening too. There are some types of dog owners who would roll their eyes at an untrained dog, thinking, “Geez, these people didn’t even try to train their dog at all. Hire a professional!” I also read some reviews where dog owners, instead of just enjoying the book, spend the whole time judging Marley’s owners, saying they would have done certain things differently. So, I suppose, it depends what kind of dog owner you are … Personally, I think that is the wrong approach to reading this book. It’s an owner’s memories of his time with his dog, not a dog training journal.

Anyway, I really enjoyed this book. I thought it was lots of fun and like I mentioned earlier, I was really touched as well.

My Rating: 5/5