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Summary and Reviews of Marley & Me by John Grogan

Marley & Me by John Grogan

Marley & Me

by John Grogan
  • Critics' Consensus (4):
  • Readers' Rating (43):
  • First Published:
  • Oct 1, 2005, 304 pages
  • Paperback:
  • Mar 2008, 320 pages
  • Rate this book

About This Book

Book Summary

Is it possible for humans to discover the key to happiness through a bigger-than-life, bad-boy dog? Just ask the Grogans!

John and Jenny were just beginning their life together. They were young and in love, with a perfect little house and not a care in the world. Then they brought home Marley, a wiggly yellow furball of a puppy. Life would never be the same.

Marley quickly grew into a barreling, ninety-seven-pound streamroller of a Labrador retriever, a dog like no other. He crashed through screen doors, gouged through drywall, flung drool on guests, stole women's undergarments, and ate nearly everything he could get his mouth around, including couches and fine jewelry. Obedience school did no good—Marley was expelled. Neither did the tranquilizers the veterinarian prescribed for him with the admonishment, "Don't hesitate to use these."

And yet Marley's heart was pure. Just as he joyfully refused any limits on his behavior, his love and loyalty were boundless, too. Marley shared the couple's joy at their first pregnancy, and their heartbreak over the miscarriage. He was there when babies finally arrived and when the screams of a seventeen-year-old stabbing victim pierced the night. Marley shut down a public beach and managed to land a role in a feature-length movie, always winning hearts as he made a mess of things. Through it all, he remained steadfast, a model of devotion, even when his family was at its wit's end. Unconditional love, they would learn, comes in many forms.

Is it possible for humans to discover the key to happiness through a bigger-than-life, bad-boy dog? Just ask the Grogans.

We were young. We were in love. We were rollicking in those sublime early days of marriage when life seems about as good as life can get. We could not leave well enough alone. And so on a January evening in 1991, my wife of fifteen months and I ate a quick dinner together and headed off to answer a classified ad in the Palm Beach Post.

Why we were doing this, I wasn't quite sure. A few weeks earlier I had awoken just after dawn to find the bed beside me empty. I got up and found Jenny sitting in her bathrobe at the glass table on the screened porch of our little bungalow, bent over the newspaper with a pen in her hand.

There was nothing unusual about the scene. Not only was the Palm Beach Post our local paper, it was also the source of half of our household income. We were a two-newspaper-career couple. Jenny worked as a feature writer in the Post's "Accent" section; I was a news reporter at the competing paper in the area, the South Florida ...

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Reviews

Media Reviews

The New York Times - Janet Maslin
Mr. Grogan knew the workings of Marley's mind. He makes that abundantly clear in Marley and Me, a very funny valentine to all those four-legged "big, dopey, playful galumphs that seemed to love life with a passion not often seen in this world." It's a book with intense but narrow appeal, strictly limited to anyone who has ever had, known or wanted a dog.

Publishers Weekly
Grogan's chronicle of the adventures parents and children (eventually three) enjoyed with the overly energetic but endearing dog is delivered with great humor.

Booklist - Nancy Bent
Marley, incorrigible though he was, had inserted himself into the author's life in a way no normal dog could. A warm, friendly -memoir-with-dog.

Kirkus Reviews
Maudlin, embarrassing ode to a pooch ... Please, no sequels! Only the most alarmingly devoted dog lovers should bother with this one.

Reader Reviews

Devon Collins

Marley and Me
This is such a great book! I have never related to a book so much. " Marley and Me" is a great book for kids that aren't really used to chapter books yet. its a very easy book to read and understandably is great.
destiny rollins

awesome
This book reminded me of my dog that I had. His name was Tucker, and when we brought him home he ate everything
Elizabeth Krigbaum

Very touching story definitely worth 5 stars my new favorite book!
I went into this book with an open mind and left it with an even opener mind... if that's possible. I had to read this book and watch the movie for school and now its my favorite.
kojo meantic

OMG
OMG I luvvvved this boook it was awesooomeee..hehehehehehehe SOOO manny laughs with my friends and bumps with my heart it was truly well written

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Read-Alikes

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