Marley and Me: Life And Love With the World's Worst Dog Review

I bought Marley & Me as a joke for my cousin.  She has a wild Chocolate Lab that destroys things, hates/fears men, runs away at every opportunity, etc. who just happens to be named "Marley".  When I saw the subtitle: "life and love with the world's worst dog", I tossed the book in the cart and decided to include it as part of her upcoming birthday present.  That was two years ago.  For whatever reason, she didn't get around to reading it until this past fall and then didn't pass it along to me until a few days ago.  I started the book yesterday afternoon and finished it earlier this evening.  What a great read!

Basically, Marley & Me follows the lives of John and Jenny Grogan from their honeymoon days up to their experienced parent days 13 years later.  When Jenny kills yet another houseplant, she freaks out and starts to think that she will be a horrible mother.  The couple decides to "practice" parenthood by getting a puppy.  Enter Marley, the sub-normal Labrador Retriever, that they buy and bring home at the age of 2 months.  He is a bundle of non-stop motion, energy, and destruction who manages to get himself expelled from obedience school when he is only 7 months old! Marley and Me faithfully recounts many of Marley's antics (and the changes in John and Jenny's lives) over the course of his 13 years.  Yes, the story does take us through Marley's last year, the inevitable ending, and a bit further beyond.  It is a sad little section of the book, but certainly isn't unexpected, and is followed up by a very positive reflection of the lessons that we all could learn from the dog.

Marley and Me was a fast, easy, and entertaining read that I plowed through in about a day... and that's a day that included several hours of housework and basement wall-painting.  I thoroughly enjoyed the story and would pass the book on to other friends and family members if they hadn't all already read it.  One word of caution: although a book about a goofy lab sounds innocent enough, I wouldn't suggest giving this book to children or young teens.  The author includes information about a first pregnancy resulting in miscarriage and frank mentions of the couple's sex life throughout.  There is nothing obscene or vulgar in the book, but, personally, I just don't think those topics are suitable for younger audiences.  The author has written another book, Marley: A Dog Like No Other, for children. 

All in all, I'd rank Marley & Me as one of the best books I've read in the past year... or even several years.  You don't have to be a dog owner to appreciate the tales that John Grogan shares.  Heck, you probably don't have to be a pet owner at all to enjoy such a well-written story of love and life with a crazy Labrador Retriever.  Highly recommended!