Marley & Me
by John Grogan
Harper Collins, 2005, 289 pp., $19.95
ISBN 9780060833985
In Marley and Me, John Grogan draws you in because he has many different stories about his dog who is supposedly the worlds worst dog. His story’s have many moods; happy, sad, angry and everything in between. He makes Marley seem like a funny lovable dog who would lick someone to death before they could cry out for help. Obedience did no good and he finally managed to shut down a public beach. He was able to catch the hearts of many and Grogan did a good job showing that. It also won the Best Selling Book of the Year award.
There are many characters in Marley and Me and they all have very different personalities. John Grogan wrote the book and was one of the owners of Marley along with Jenny Grogan who was Grogan’s wife. They are both very outgoing and love their family. They end up having three kids: Patrick, Conor and Coleen. Marley was “the big lab that really seemed to enjoy life”, one of the dog owners commented as Grogan was trying to walk Marley down by the waterway by their Florida home. These are only a few of the characters.
The book demonstrates the bond between human and animal relationships and contact because Grogan was really attached to Marley and Marley really loved Grogan and his family. The themes are love, memory, bond and parenthood.
In the beginning of the book we meet Marley as a puppy and are able to read while he grows. Conflicts occur when obedience training and storms come about. Marley is an adventurous dog who can get himself into a lot of trouble if he wanted to. Grogan’s writing style gives numerous details and brings humor and some sadness to many people who have read this book. Marley and Me story is written in first person.
I recommend this book to dog lovers and/or readers that enjoy humorous lovable animals. I think that people would enjoy it from the age of 10 to 100. I liked this book because Marley seemed like a sweet dog and the things he did were very funny and some unforgettable.
~ reviewed by Maren M.
