Marley & Me

Author: John Grogan
Published: October 2005 (William Morrow)
Category: Memoir
Rating: 6/10

There was so much hype about Marley & Me that I think my expectations rose to unrealistic levels. The book isn't really about Marley the badly behaved Labrador retriever, but about John Grogan. The thing is, I didn't really care about Grogan, or his experiences beginning a family. Sure, some of Marley's escapades are funny, and I've been through some of them myself, having grown up with a rowdy beagle with a penchant for escaping at any given opportunity.

One part of this book really bothered me. After giving birth to their second child, Grogan's wife Jenny suffers from post-partum depression and she begins lashing out at Marley, saying she wants to get rid of the dog. Grogan even comes home one time to find Jenny beating Marley (ineffectually), screaming and crying. It just made me think about all those family dogs that are given up when newborns arrive, and Marley just happened to get lucky in his situation. He was so close to being given up by the family that took him in, and that was so sad.

Would you give away your child because he was being difficult? But yes, I know that most people would say that you can't use that kind of comparison. I'll use the example provided by an idiot I used to work with. Chuck had a cat, but then Chuck got a dog, and the cat didn't like the dog, so they gave away the cat. So it's easy to handle your problem like that, by giving it away? It's the most cowardly, loserly example of giving up and I can't stand when people do that. When you take these animals into your home, you promise to give them a home and they trust you. What choice do they have? It's not like they can reason with you or plead their case to you if you think it'd be easier to ditch them.

The serious tearjerking moment is in the last few chapters of the book, describing Marley's decline. I'm not sure if it's just from the story or thinking about my old dog who's approaching the end of his breed's lifespan. After reading the book, I didn't care any more for Grogan or his family than I did at the beginning. Marley was everything a dog should be: an unconditional best friend.

However, if you're looking for a great animal story, read James Herriot instead. It's funny and less fluffy, and I felt like I actually learned something after reading his books. After reading Marley & Me, I thought there was a possibility I'd lost a few brain cells because it really didn't go anywhere, and Grogan didn't seem like a real person until he had to deal with his dog dying.