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4.02 AVERAGE
4.02 AVERAGE
adventurous
emotional
funny
sad
fast-paced
The same day we picked up You’re a Horrible Person, But I Like You, we chose Marley & Me as one of the other titles from Barnes and Noble’s Buy 2, Get 1 Free selection. The movie version was the first movie we ever watched together, so it only seemed fair to read the original material. Dogs have played a central role in our relationship literally since Day One. The day I picked up Daisy was the first time Laura and I ever hung out outside of work. What started as a friendship with a co-worker progressively became far more until I was head over heels for the first time in my life, and I had Daisy to thank.
The book serves a dual purpose as a biopic for an A.D.D. Labrador with a minimally hidden biopic about the author and his wife’s first 15 years of marriage right under the surface. Given that Daisy is half-lab, a lot of the descriptions of Marley’s personality and behavior sounded close to home: the boundless energy, the appetite for destruction, the constant need for attention. The biggest difference is that Daisy’s 35-pound weight she got from her cocker-spaniel side makes her slightly less of a force to be reckoned with. Watching Marley and his bad habits grow into a 97-pound beast is like watching a tropical storm morph into a hurricane right as it hits the shore. The stories keep all attention with minimal effort as the “What’s going to happen next?” curiosity lingers stronger than a Smallville season finale cliff-hanger.
As Marley aged, our desire to continue slowed down and we prepared for the inevitable ending by avoiding it. We had seen the movie, and even before we had seen the movie we had heard the tear-jerker horror stories just like everyone else has. As I’ve mentioned many times before, our book club is a little different from other book clubs in that we ONLY read out loud to each other. For the first 250 pages of Marley and Me, this was awesome. The way the book is written is PERFECT for reading out loud as John Grogan tells the stories from a first person perspective like a father relaying old tales to his children. We spent the majority of the book laughing as I read Grogan’s perfectly told memories aloud.
Then we got to page 256* and I stopped. This wasn’t even THE moment. It was just the realization that Marley, this dog that wasn’t even ours but had made us laugh for hours nonetheless, was nearing his end. I tried my hardest not to cry. I’m the man of the house; I wasn’t allowed to cry over the impending death of a dog I don’t even know. I paused, thinking I just needed to catch my breath and swallow, then tried to continue to no avail. I paused again. I was NOT going to cry. It’s just a book. This dog was like 8,000 years old in dog years. Still, after a third attempt, a tear rolled down my cheek, and I apologized as Laura kindly took the book from me to finish the chapter.
Laura didn’t have the pride barrier that prevented her from reading and crying at the same time, and she read the rest of the book as we cried together over the loss of a pet that we had never even petted.
Marley & Me is a beautiful book that every dog lover should read, but reading it out loud to your pup’s other parent might not be the best strategy. Buy it, love it, then if you don’t already have a dog (or three) go to the shelter and rescue one. All three of our babies are rescues, and even though they’re incredibly trying at times (particularly Daisy), the extra dose of love and happiness a dog can bring into your life makes the ups well worth the downs.
Mine came with the added bonus of the perfect woman.
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*of the 2008 paperback “New York Times #1 Best Seller” reprint
The book serves a dual purpose as a biopic for an A.D.D. Labrador with a minimally hidden biopic about the author and his wife’s first 15 years of marriage right under the surface. Given that Daisy is half-lab, a lot of the descriptions of Marley’s personality and behavior sounded close to home: the boundless energy, the appetite for destruction, the constant need for attention. The biggest difference is that Daisy’s 35-pound weight she got from her cocker-spaniel side makes her slightly less of a force to be reckoned with. Watching Marley and his bad habits grow into a 97-pound beast is like watching a tropical storm morph into a hurricane right as it hits the shore. The stories keep all attention with minimal effort as the “What’s going to happen next?” curiosity lingers stronger than a Smallville season finale cliff-hanger.
As Marley aged, our desire to continue slowed down and we prepared for the inevitable ending by avoiding it. We had seen the movie, and even before we had seen the movie we had heard the tear-jerker horror stories just like everyone else has. As I’ve mentioned many times before, our book club is a little different from other book clubs in that we ONLY read out loud to each other. For the first 250 pages of Marley and Me, this was awesome. The way the book is written is PERFECT for reading out loud as John Grogan tells the stories from a first person perspective like a father relaying old tales to his children. We spent the majority of the book laughing as I read Grogan’s perfectly told memories aloud.
Then we got to page 256* and I stopped. This wasn’t even THE moment. It was just the realization that Marley, this dog that wasn’t even ours but had made us laugh for hours nonetheless, was nearing his end. I tried my hardest not to cry. I’m the man of the house; I wasn’t allowed to cry over the impending death of a dog I don’t even know. I paused, thinking I just needed to catch my breath and swallow, then tried to continue to no avail. I paused again. I was NOT going to cry. It’s just a book. This dog was like 8,000 years old in dog years. Still, after a third attempt, a tear rolled down my cheek, and I apologized as Laura kindly took the book from me to finish the chapter.
Laura didn’t have the pride barrier that prevented her from reading and crying at the same time, and she read the rest of the book as we cried together over the loss of a pet that we had never even petted.
Marley & Me is a beautiful book that every dog lover should read, but reading it out loud to your pup’s other parent might not be the best strategy. Buy it, love it, then if you don’t already have a dog (or three) go to the shelter and rescue one. All three of our babies are rescues, and even though they’re incredibly trying at times (particularly Daisy), the extra dose of love and happiness a dog can bring into your life makes the ups well worth the downs.
Mine came with the added bonus of the perfect woman.
-
-
*of the 2008 paperback “New York Times #1 Best Seller” reprint
This guy has a pretty bad case of Precious Snowflake Syndrome. He's the kind of guy who appears to have a pretty average life with a pretty average wife and kids. Lives in an average house. Makes an average wage. But that's all too boring so instead he has to act like he has the Craziest Dog in the World! His dog (and everyone else in his life) is a precious snowflake more beautiful and unique than anything else in the universe.
His dog's digestive tract cleans gold better than any chemical! His dog is just crazier than any dog that ever lived in the entire history of dogs! His wife is so brilliant and perfect she can be cured of postpartum depression practically overnight with no drug interventions at all. His children sit quietly and only occasionally pop up to say adorable things in childish speech impediments. He probably rides to work on a unicorn and poops rainbows. While I'm sure he's a delightful man to know in real life, reading the book equivalent of a Norman Rockwell painting is not really all that riveting or funny.
His dog's digestive tract cleans gold better than any chemical! His dog is just crazier than any dog that ever lived in the entire history of dogs! His wife is so brilliant and perfect she can be cured of postpartum depression practically overnight with no drug interventions at all. His children sit quietly and only occasionally pop up to say adorable things in childish speech impediments. He probably rides to work on a unicorn and poops rainbows. While I'm sure he's a delightful man to know in real life, reading the book equivalent of a Norman Rockwell painting is not really all that riveting or funny.
I feel like the last person in America to read this book. It was much funnier than I could have imagined. As a true dog-lover and owner of a semi-paralyzed old girl, I found the ending wrenching. He did veer into the maudlin a bit but who can blame him. I liked how he weaved his life story in with the dog's antics. They really are just another member of our family.
I saw the movie first and laughed and bawled my eyes out. And I laughed and bawled some more reading the book. I'm glad I read the book because there was a lot of funny writing and good Marley stories that didn't make it into the movie.
Very sweet book about the life of a dog. Fast read, a good gift for any dog lover.
I bawled like a baby. This was a very difficult book to get through as a dog lover but it was very well written.
having worked in a bookstore when this first came out i never wanted to have anything to do with it. now a stay at home mom and needing something to pick me up a bit i finally got into it. it was need i say fabulous! grogan has a wonderful way with words in describing some of the most hilarious incidents i have ever read about. however i must admit i didn't read the ending b/c i heard it was pretty sad....
