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| Marley & Me: Life and Love with the World's Worst Dog | 
 enlarge | Author: John Grogan
Publisher: Harper Paperbacks
Category: Book
List Price: $13.95
Buy New: $7.88
You Save: $6.07 (44%)
New (46) Used (24) Collectible (4) from $7.25
Avg. Customer Rating:  1310 reviews
Sales Rank: 373
Media: Paperback
Edition: 1
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 320
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.7
Dimensions (in): 7.8 x 5.3 x 0.9
ISBN: 0060817097
Dewey Decimal Number: 636.7527092
EAN: 9780060817091
ASIN: 0060817097
Publication Date: March 1, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews:
 Awful dog + stupid owners = lame book June 7, 2008
0 out of 3 found this review helpful
There are nine pages of one-star reviews of this book, so maybe the last thing that the world needs is one more person saying why they were completely disappointed with "Marley & Me." The problem is that I keep seeing the same things in the one-star reviews -- "Oh waah. John Grogan was so mean. He used a choke collar on his 100-pound mountain of a dog. He took the family to Disney World when he should have instinctively known his sick, old dog was going to have a problem. His depressed wife lost her temper and walloped the dog when it had randomly destroyed a room for the umpteenth time. These guys are obviously savages. Poor wittle Marley."
Ugh! Stop it already. The only thing worse than Grogan's constant and insipid indulgence of this neurotic, destructive dog is listening to book reviewers try to out-do themselves about how much more indulgent they would've been.
I want to make it clear to anyone who is considering reading this -- the dog in question is NOT (as some reviewers try to make it out) a normal Labrador. This is a dog who is so destructive that it demolishes entire rooms . This is a dog that's so neurotic that it responds to anything like a thunderstorm by thrashing around to the point that the walls are covered with blood and drool.
Other BIG turnoffs:
* The cavalier way that Grogan talks about letting his dog drink seawater at a dog beach until it first vomits and then spews diarrhea in the water where the dogs and people are swimming. I'm sorry, but what kind of an idiot would let that happen? (And he merely remarks as an afterthought that the dog beach was closed down eventually. Hm, wonder why?)
* The jaw-droppingly insensitive passage where he talks of going to Shanksville, PA on the anniversary of 9/11, spending the day talking with people as a part of his job as a columnist (all the time wondering what HIS take on it would be), and what is his epiphany standing on the site where Flight 93 went down? "Hey, you know what? My 90-year-old dog is going to die. What a bummer." It ... was ... unbelievable.
* The ending of the book. Yep, I finally share an opinion with the other one-star reviewers, but again I disagree on the details. I thought there was something really, really cruel and selfish about letting this big, lolloping dog get old, toothless, deaf, and wracked with pain for years and years. Two simple injections take Marley out of his misery, but the author isn't willing to allow that until he has selfishly kept the dog around until it's so sick that even he can't ignore the humane alternative.
So maybe I just seem to all these animal-nutjobs like a big ol' meanie, but don't get me wrong. I have a dog myself and I'm a bit of a nut for her. I think she's the best dog ever. I never have to do anything more than give her a look or a tone of voice when course correction is needed. But that's because (a) I didn't get more dog than I could handle and (b) I did the work of establishing that I was the boss back when she was a puppy and we were building our relationship. I didn't think I was being a genius when I did either of these things, but this book is making me think maybe I was.
 Fall in love- Don't put it down June 6, 2008
After loosing our border collie last year, this book brought back all those funny memories that our dog used to do, but mostly it made me laugh and cry. I couldn't put it down. I truly enjoyed this book because it made me remember the sad passing of our most beloved family pet, our girl.
I think the author said it best stating that once in a lifetime a dog comes into your life that's irreplacable. You wish their short life would continue on forever. Our border collie was not nearly as riotous as Marley in fact she was one of the best dogs who really seemed to know what you were thinking. We will miss our girl just like the author misses his Marley, especially when you come through the door-- and they're just not there anymore to tell you about their day and celebrate your return. You just will miss them forever!
It was so funny to compare our yellow lab to Marley because in a lot of the ways those habits seem to be character traits of the breed. Like the constant shaking, sheading and their annoying habits you just can't seem to break. Beware of labs, they'll grab your heart and you'll get mad at them but you just can't let them go!
I read this book in a about a day and a half. Great book. Great read. Highly recommended, even if you're mourning the loss of your best friend.
 Good Listening June 6, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
Enjoyed the story very much, especially since I love animals. It did bring some tears, but any worthwhile story should do that!
Such a sweet story about a family & their beloved dog June 5, 2008
This book really pulled at my heart strings. It was so loving and touching! It really hit home since we have a yellow lab of our own. He's not quite as mischievious as Marley, but many times during the book I found myself nodding in agreement. I highly recommend this book for all animal lovers.
worth reading June 5, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
This is a great read. It pulls you right along. I'm saving the book to read again someday when I need a happy story to put me back in the mood.
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