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A review by fizzylex
Marley & Me: Life and Love with the World's Worst Dog by John Grogan
5.0
I'm pretty sure I've never cried so hard from reading a book.
I've really been wanting a puppy recently and have been pushing my mother to get me one as a graduation present (note: I already have one three-year-old puppy who is really enjoying being an only child). As I got to the "old age" part of this book, I started to wonder why in the world I'd want a new dog when I'd inevitably have to go through all the grief. After all, the sadness of losing a dog is some of the most difficult sadness I've ever been through. But after completing the book and thinking over Marley's life, as well as the lives of the dogs I've loved, I find it difficult to ever not want a dog. Even more overwhelming was the realization that I could never love a "normal" dog as much as I could love one with at least a few neuroses. The best memories I have of past dogs are the ones that include chaos -- like when Izzi ate a napkin and it came out almost entirely whole, or when Josie jumped out of our car at my preschool, and more recently, when my grandma's puppy Calypso tried earnestly, a failed on multiple occasions, to reproduce with Chyna. Reading about Marley and all his insane quirks was a truly thrilling, emotional, and delightful experience.
I've really been wanting a puppy recently and have been pushing my mother to get me one as a graduation present (note: I already have one three-year-old puppy who is really enjoying being an only child). As I got to the "old age" part of this book, I started to wonder why in the world I'd want a new dog when I'd inevitably have to go through all the grief. After all, the sadness of losing a dog is some of the most difficult sadness I've ever been through. But after completing the book and thinking over Marley's life, as well as the lives of the dogs I've loved, I find it difficult to ever not want a dog. Even more overwhelming was the realization that I could never love a "normal" dog as much as I could love one with at least a few neuroses. The best memories I have of past dogs are the ones that include chaos -- like when Izzi ate a napkin and it came out almost entirely whole, or when Josie jumped out of our car at my preschool, and more recently, when my grandma's puppy Calypso tried earnestly, a failed on multiple occasions, to reproduce with Chyna. Reading about Marley and all his insane quirks was a truly thrilling, emotional, and delightful experience.