Author: John Grogan
Title: Marley and Me
LSU
Rating: 4
Summary: John Grogan, a newspaper reporter, writes of his love/hate (mostly love) relationship with a rambunctious golden Labrador retriever named Marley.
Marley (named after Jamaican reggae singer Bob Marley) is so very, very rambunctious that the vast majority of the book is filled with descriptions of his destructive or annoying doggy behavior. Combined with a Labrador's typical need for LOTS of exercise, he is apparently severely ADHD. No amount of obedience school will help. He's a two-time dropout. By the time you read the next one of the many descriptions of his ripping the house apart during a typical Florida thunderstorm, you wonder why indeed they keep this dog. Whenever he swallows something he knows is forbidden, he begins the "Marley Mamba", a sashay to get away from his owners' attempt to retrieve it.
Of course, they have fallen in love with him, and in his own way, he is endearing. He is gentle and loving and follows them everywhere. He teaches them about unconditional love and acceptance, about loyalty and fun. He is the perfect playmate for their children as they arrive.
With the author's reporter's eye, you get a nice feel for life in eccentric south Florida, a newspaper columnist's life, the progression from newlyweds struggling with infertility to parents of three living in the burbs of Philadelphia.
It's a fun fluff piece for dog lovers in the summer, easily and quickly read. I understand the movie version with Jennifer Aniston and Owen Wilson will be released this December. I'm tempted, mostly just to see how they capture the out-of-control Marley on a movie set!