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

Book review by Jane
This book is an autobiographical account of a man and his dog, a Lab named Marley. We are used to hearing of the heroic Lassie coming to the aid of her owners every time. Marley is not the picture perfect dog that some people may think worthy of a story. However, as the author, Mr. Grogan, found in the course of writing about Marley, there are many owners out there in the real world of dog ownership experiencing dogs like Marley. Marley truly was a dog with a story to tell.

Mr. Grogan tells of Marley’s adventures in a comical way most of the time. The story gets sentimental at times, but carries it well. The dog is a dog being himself throughout the story. Oftentimes, I can picture the Dog Whisperer stepping in and helping the Grogans with their pet’s behavior. Marley gets into one predicament after another with hardly a break in between. However, Marley is the family pet.

I enjoyed hearing about Marley’s schooling. He was kicked out of obedience training the first time, so the second time, Mr. Grogan made such a big deal out of Marley marginally passing that Marley had to be the proudest dog alive on that day. I could recount any number of antics, but I do not want to spoil the book for the reader. This book was laugh out loud funny in spots. I also have to admit that the book made me cry. Mr. Grogan has the reader look at what it is that dogs do for their owners, and it is touching. I recommend this book for animal lovers or anyone who wants to understand animal lovers.

Jane.