Memphis Reads Archive

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Jessie G. Marshall reviews MARLEY AND ME: Life and Love with The World's Worst Dog (Morrow, 2005):

When newly-weds John and Jenny Grogan decide to purchase Marley, a Labrador retriever puppy, their heretofore peaceful life changes forever. Marley makes each day exciting for the Grogans by devouring various inedible items such as bath towels, socks, and even a gold necklace. He flunks out of obedience school, drags a table to which he is tethered through a crowd of diners on a restaurant patio, and suffers destructive panic attacks whenever there is a thunder storm. On the other hand, Marley provides loving comfort to Jenny after her miscarriage, is a gentle playmate for the Grogan children, and becomes the loyal protector of a neighbor who has been stabbed by an intruder. Throughout the book, the reader alternately laughs and cries but can not help but identify with the Grogan family and the impact that owning and loving this unpredictable, hyperactive dog has on their lives.

WHY YOU'LL LOVE IT!: Marley & Me is humorous, heart-warming, emotionally appealing and conversational in tone. This endearing portrait of the relationship between pets and their families contains much action, well-developed characters, and a bittersweet but hopeful ending.

You might also like James Herriot’s All Creatures Great and Small; Jon Katz’s The Dogs of Bedlam Farm: an Adventure with Sixteen Sheep, Three Dogs, Two Donkeys, and Me; and Brian Kilcommons and Sarah Wilson’s Tails from the Bark Side.


Jessie G. Marshall, Business and Science Department

Labels: Reviews by Jessie Marshall