Marley & Me: Life and Love with the World's Worst Dog
by John Grogan
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Book Summary Information
Author: John GroganEdition: Mass Market Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2008-10-28
ISBN: 0061687200
Number of pages: 320
Publisher: Harper
Book Reviews of Marley & Me: Life and Love with the World's Worst Dog
Book Review: Wow that made me mad!
Summary: 1 Stars
I was told several times that this was a good book but having suffered the loss of a childhood dog/best friend, I could not bring myself to read it. (Why bring up sad memories, right?) But after 2 years I caved and bought it as the movie is releasing soon, I decided I would prefer to read the book first.
I read the book in a day, laughing through the first half and thinking Mr. Grogan was a witty person. Marley's antic's had me doubled over in laughter, all the wile remembering all the silly things my beloved Freckles had done.
I did not agree with a lot of his training tactics or the garage lifestyle Marley suffered but no one is perfect and he seemed genuine when he referred to his fondness for the dog. Anyone who has ever had a dog knows that despite their silly or even destructive patterns dogs are just that, dogs. You can not scold them for doing something they did because no one was paying attention to them. Similar to children (you would not scold a child for a mistake if you were not watching them) dogs need supervision and if you cant give it then, why own a dog? But they were a young couple and I kept waiting for the chapter when he said he saw the error in his ways and stopped locking him up and choking him and actually took the time to train him properly, but that never happened.
I read in another review of this book that "it seemed the book was mostly about Mr. Grogan" and the further I got into the book the more I agreed with the statement. He kept rambling on about his life aspirations and Boca Rotan and I thought every time, I thought this was about Marley? He seemed to be wandering further and further from the subject as the book went on.
By the time he got in the last few chapters and Marley had reached old age, I was in tears. Dogs get old you don't just dump them at the glue factory over a few gray hairs, but with each sentence he described in great detail the suffering Marley was enduring and he seemed to be completely oblivious that Marley was ready to go! With NO treatment for his arthritis he just continued to worsen further. Grogan said several times that he could not compare a dog to a human, yet made many references to Marley teaching him as though he were a human and so on. With that said, I kept thinking obviously we don't "put down" our human elderly loved ones if they break a hip but they are suffering we help in some way don't we?
Marley had to endure this suffering for months and months and they did nothing! Except go on vacation and various trips. All the while they would leave him alone to suffer his aging body with out the only people he knew and loved. With no understanding of why.
Mr. Grogan himself said that the kennel was not enjoyable to Marley and yet he just left him. I kept saying over and over WHY would you leave AGAIN?
Another travesty in this book was that Mr. Grogan tried disregarding that the mere stress of being in the kennel caused Marley's stomach to turn. He excused away that it had been completely his fault. He said that a doctor told him that there was no connection. Yet when a doctor told him the flea chemicals had not caused the miscarriage he and his wife suffered they chose to believe that this could have been wrong. Why not now? I yelled at the book, whatever you have to tell yourself so you can sleep at night!
I cried for Marley's suffering while reading this book, not for his death. At least he could finally rest in peace after a horrible last year. He just kept doing what was natural to a dog, following his beloved masters around and they did nothing to help him so that he could not go up the stairs and then FALL down them, or push their vacation a few months and be with him for his final days.
I really wrote this review for my own sanity because after hearing such wonderful reviews about this book I was devastated and I cant believe I wasted my time and money so I could read of such torture!
Originally I had not want to read it because I knew ultimately that Marley would pass away in the end. But after reading it I truly don't have enough words to describe the pain I felt for Marley while he was alive. I thought very angry thoughts about Mr. Grogan at first, but now I just hope that they don't have to endure the suffering that Marley did in his end time. I will cross my fingers for you, Mr. Grogan that Karma does not come back to you!
I definitely wont be watching the movie either!
Summary of Marley & Me: Life and Love with the World's Worst Dog
Is it possible for humans to discover the key to happiness through a bigger-than-life, bad-boy dog? Just ask the Grogans.
John and Jenny were just beginning their life together. They were young and in love, with not a care in the world. Then they brought home Marley, a wiggly yellow furball of a puppy. Life would never be the same.
Marley grew into a barreling, ninety-seven-pound streamroller of a Labrador retriever. He crashed through screen doors, gouged through drywall, and stole women's undergarments. Obedience school did no good -- Marley was expelled.
But just as Marley joyfully refused any limits on his behavior, his love and loyalty were boundless, too. Marley remained a model of devotion, even when his family was at its wit's end. Unconditional love, they would learn, comes in many forms.
Marley & Me is John Grogan's funny, unforgettable tribute to this wonderful, wildly neurotic Lab and the meaning he brought to their lives.
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