Marley & Me: Life and Love with the World's Worst Dog

Marley & Me is wonderfully written with many messages of love, frustrations, laughter, sadness, joy and pride we Lab owners share in common. Marley brings us all back to the basics of enjoying and living life to it's fullest potential. Then when life gets rough, during the aging process, a lesson of preserverence and focus is shared by man's best friend.

I have encouraged all of my friends to read this book.

We would find life boring without a Yellow Lab in our world! We are proud to share our lives with two; each having a vastly different personality. They are both trained in search and therapy work; in addition to being our best friends.

The book came without the picture of the dog on the front cover. I contacted the seller and they did nothing to correct it. I purposely purchased it for my grandson because of the cover. Got scammed!

Marley and Me is a quick entertaining read. Don't get all philosophical on it, that's not what it's about. It's just a funny book about a dumb destructive dog that becomes part of the family and is loved immensely.

For many years this book sat on my shelf, kind of one of those "I'll read it after this book" things. I finally decided to read it after realizing that my own canine companion had entered what is most likely his final year (he just turned 13) and as I read it so many times I found myself wandering off to my own dog's similar antics. The amazing thing about this book wasn't so reading about Marley's adventures as it was about recalling my own, thinking back to those episodes long tucked away in the back of my mind. There were so many times in this book that I could relate to on some level and that is the appeal of this book for this is a book that only a dog owner can relate to. Without that common experience so much of the book would see to come across as "what is the big deal?".

Grogan did an excellent job of bringing the reader into the whole experience. If you have a dog there isn't a moment in the book where in the back of your own mind you won't be relating to somehow. Granted not ever dog will have Marley's personality (thankfully) but they are the types of things that all dog owners do through at one point or another. Grogan just doesn't write about Marley but also Marley's affect on the family whether directly involved or not. This is critical point to having a dog is that affect so much around them directly or indirectly that we do not even realize it.

I generally don't read reviews of books because I want the reading experience to be my own. I'll look at the rating and the review title if it has one but rarely do I go into more than a sentence or two if I do. So, I was about half done when I read some of the reviews and was amazed at some of the negative comments about how dare they adopt with research first or the reader that aghast at some supposed violation of the dog raising code. Relax people this wasn't some science experiment, this was a couple taking a living being into their lives and making him apart of their family. For all those naysayers you completely missed the point of this book and I would question you having a dog in the first place.

I would recommend this book for anyone who has ever had a dog. Even if reading is a catalyst for your own long tucked away memories it is still worth the time to read. I would also recommend it for anyone thinking about getting a dog. We can read all the breed and training websites but this book is the unvarnished truth to have a canine family member, the good, the bad and the ugly. Fortunately, the good will always outweigh the other two.

I Purchased this book as a gift for my great uncle for his 85th birthday who is a huge dog lover. I ordered a hardcover copy so he could handle it easily without ever having to accidently tear it like a paperback. It just showed up at my house this afternoon, and I cannot comment on the condition of the item. I know that my great uncle will really enjoy reading this book. Peter Smith

It showed me the devotion of a dog to his family and his love and loyalty and caring, but it also showed the havoc and destruction he reeked. John could have left out the stuff about his and Jen's sex life before marriage, though. It was deeper than the movie.

This is one of the best books I have ever read and it makes me cry just as much as the movie did. There are so many things in this book that remind me of my life with my own dog Harley who is no longer with me. This is easily one of my favorite books and I read it often. This is the 2nd copy I have purchased. There were some things I was surprised about with Marley and his family, some things I didnt agree with. However, as far as the book goes I thought it was great and honest and the people who gave it a 1 star...not everyone is a perfect dog parent, and we learn as we go.
Michael J Melville
author of Running Northwest

There are so many things to enjoy about this book and so many things not to enjoy. While I can like the diligence put forth into writing an entertaining book, there were some things in this book that disturbed me. And it's actually more of a memoir than a story about a dog, the owner's life is first and foremost here.

As a practice run for a baby, John and Jenny decide to get a dog. They decide on a Labrador because they're fun and goofy, and purchase a puppy. Right away they realize they've gotten in over their heads. Marley is a whirlwind on four paws and constantly into trouble. He also grows into a behemoth who is hard to control and somewhat untrainable for them. But they love him and as the years pass he becomes a part of their family (joined later by 3 kids).

This is a book about John's life. Not Marley's. I like memoirs, but I was expecting more about Marley. Having to hear about his wife's pregnancies and contractions and all that kind of stuff was something I wasn't really interested in. And there's not much mention of his kids, so if it was going to be that type of memoir, you'd think there would be more in there. There is a lot of Marley though, and it usually is the author describing the antics Marley gets into. So since there is a lot of Marley in it, I'm not going to fault the author too much on that point.

But there were a lot of things that bothered me. First and foremost, the buying from a backyard breeder. I like to volunteer at shelter's and it always pains me when people go out and buy puppies. I understand the allure of a pure bred, but there's so many dogs out there that need homes (some purebreds). And now I'll get off my soapbox. I also couldn't believe the way they trained the dog, and the most disturbing scene is when the wife, suffering from post partum depression is found by the husband hitting Marley. Now he goes on to say that the dog wasn't hurt physically, just emotionally because his person was upset, but it still doesn't bode well. Especially since the author does nothing about it when it sounds like the wife could have probably used some help even before that incident so she didn't get into that state. Everyone makes mistakes, but you have to rectify them too.

The book overall was well written. It flowed easily and was edited ok. Obviously there is childbirth, dog poop, and other messy things in the book, but it wasn't overly descriptive. And towards the end, since dog's lives are short, I felt tears coming to my eyes at Marley's plight. Animal lovers should be well aware this book details the entire life of the dog and the inevitable. And have tissues on hand as a result. It's true that this family loved the dog, even if they were a bit misguided. And that's why so many people think Marley is a funny read, because of the screw ups committed by the author and the people, not the dog. But again, this book is more about the people than the dog, which was kind of disappointing.

A book full of mixed emotions, it does have some sensitive topics. Because people have so many opinions on animal care, training, specialized collars, etc. it can be kind of a volatile subject. But this is a book about a family who loved a dog.

Marley & Me
Copyright 2005
289 pages

Review by M. Reynard 2013

This book was so great! I mean, how can you NOT buy a book with such a cutie-pie doggie on the front cover?! I simply couldn't resist, despite the juvenile "judging a book by its cover" lesson. I had so much fun riding the roller coaster of highs and lows this author put me through. Having been raised with a dog (golden lab, too!) in the house might have contributed to my enjoyment of the story, but regardless if you had a pet growin' up, it was goodreadin'! I imagine that Owen Wilson did a stellar reenactment of the author in the film (I haven't seen it). I had read this book almost as soon as it was put on the shelves, especially since the story takes place not 20 minutes from where I was living and attending school at the time. It was a refreshing and "Beethoven-y" type experience for me (Beethoven, the movie with the Saint Bernard, not the musical composer) and I'm sure you'll feel the same way, too.

I truly enjoyed this story about a man's journey through the joys and disappointments in life along side his mischievous, yet faithful companion. Even as a non-dog owner, I could feel the emotions the author was exemplifying through his words. Written by a newspaper columnist, the story is presented beautifully and coherently that will make you laugh out loud and tear up a bit. I highly recommend it if you're looking for a good read or a good gift for a book lover.