Book Review: Marley and Me

"Marley & Me" Book Cover

Author: John Grogan

Genre: Autobiographical Novel

Publication Date: October 18, 2005

Publisher: HarperCollins (US), Hodder & Stoughton (UK)

Pages: 304 pp

ISBN: 0-06-081708-9

 

The story is about a family named The Grogans living with the world’s worst dog named Marley, whom they raised since he's still a pup. Their dog is a pure breed being born from both certified parents. They thought they’re going to raise a good and well behaved dog, but the expectations didn’t go well. 

Throughout the story, John, the main protagonist and also the narrator, told about his new life as a husband of Jenny, a woman in her early thirties. John is a workaholic, realistic, dorky, an opportunity-taker, and always careful on every step he makes in his life.

Jenny, another character already introduced in the beginning of the story, is a neurotic, frisky, and a sarcastic woman who can easily get worried about everything. She also likes to show dominance towards his husband. It's shown when she is about to get a new puppy by underlining the newspaper, she said her plants were died because of "them" not being careful (it refers to John and Jenny, but John strongly states that the one who "killed" their plants is her wife). 

They live in South Florida and after some circumstances they're moving to Pennsylvania to have more country-side feelings. The settings in the story itself were quite interesting, where they often takes some part of the Florida Beach as a place where something had happened, and when they took some stroll on the side road of the neighborhood with Marley. 

                The author himself, John Grogan, wants to tell us about sharing a life with a bad-behaved, aggressive dog, with goofy personality. He then knows the meaning of life the more he reminisced his old days with Marley. I think it’s a pretty heart-breaking story which could make you burst into tears. I’ve never have a dog as a pet before, but the way John explained it all in a book also made me feel like I’m having Marley as a life companion.

                I'd suggest this book for those who have any interest in keeping pets, as this books also giving some jokes related to it. This book showed us about the importance of friendship, even with pets. Their personalities don’t really matter as long as they’re loyal to you. By the time it goes, they’ll give you a true meaning of life.