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 enlarge | Author: John Grogan
Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton
Category: Book
List Price: £7.99
Buy Used: £0.01
You Save: £7.98 (100%)
New (26) Used (58) from £0.01
Avg. Customer Rating:  67 reviews
Sales Rank: 655
Media: Paperback
Pages: 368
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.6
Dimensions (in): 7.6 x 5 x 1.3
ISBN: 0340922109
EAN: 9780340922101
ASIN: 0340922109
Publication Date: July 26, 2007
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: In stock in UK. Orders are securely wrapped and dispatched daily.
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| Customer Reviews:
 Sickening... August 14, 2007
2 out of 47 found this review helpful
So many people have praised this book, yet you don't even have to read between the lines to realise it continuously justifies animal abuse. Why can so few people see it?
If it was written as an apology and to implore people to treat animals kindly, it might have had a worthwhile message, but that's not the case.
Poor devoted Marley. Dogs are renowned to show love and loyalty even to those who abuse them but that doesn't mean it's OK to abuse them for any reason. It shows that dogs (and other animals) have wonderful qualities that most humans don't have a snowball's chance in hell of ever achieving.
The author must accept full responsibility for justifying animal abuse to at least three million readers and any suffering meted out to animals as a result.
I tore it up and threw it in the recycling - the only good use I could think of for it.
 Charming, beautiful, about life, family and a loopy labrador. August 6, 2007
22 out of 23 found this review helpful
Sometimes someone, maybe a friend or colleague that knows you love to read, shoves a book into your hand exclaiming: 'you must read this!'
Which is exactly how I came to be in the possession of a book about one man's life during the entire lifetime of his pet Labrador: 'Marley and Me'.
I have to admit the premise didn't really appeal, especially being allergic to animals and not spending much time with them. But I love being recommended books and plucked it from my crowded bookshelf just a few days ago. I closed the tear stained last page, yesterday afternoon.
There are probably a whole bunch of words I could use to describe how this story affected me but I will restrict it to one sentence. The story is charming, beautiful, about life, family, your place in this world, about what is important, and all because of one loopy Labrador.
Pros: Wonderful, laugh out loud funny throughout, understated and all the more remarkable for it.
Cons: You will need a box of Kleenex close to hand for at least the last forty pages.
Laughed & cried - a cathartic book! August 6, 2007
9 out of 10 found this review helpful
I thoroughly recommend this book to anyone who owns a dog - or just wants a book that is funny, sentimental and a darn good read!
I haven't enjoyed a book this much since I left school (many years ago!)
John Grogan writes with an understanding of his reader - he must have visualised people turning each page and nodding - "Yeah, I know how you feel" or "Tell me about it". The description of the fantastic Marley encapsulated the 5 dogs in my family life so far and more than once I questioned why we currently have a dog-less home. Read and enjoy!
A funny and moving story August 5, 2007
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Being an animal lover it was almost a given that I would love this book, and I have to say that I did. I found myself laughing out loud at the book and sympathising with the Grogans - the description of the scene at the outdoor cafe was so close to home!!
If you are not an animal lover you will find the book amusing and enjoyable. If you do have pets then you will relate to every part of this book - to the bad behaviour, to the funny scenes and to the commitment that having a pet brings.
As per the previous reviews, this book has a very moving side. I do most of my reading on the train commuting to work - and when this book had me in tears it was slightly embarassing!!
Definitely worth reading, thoroughly enjoyable, and will touch the deepest buried of the darkest hearts. Recommended with 5 stars!!
It Just Wasn't Right July 31, 2007
4 out of 8 found this review helpful
I read this book after reading Walking Ollie by Stephen Foster. I was really hoping that I would love this read as much as Stephen's. Sadly, I didn't, despite really wanting to.
Perhaps I was guilty of comparing it too much to Walking Ollie, but I couldn't help feel that Marley and Me would be better suited to those readers who are more familiar with the US states, landscape, quirks, and terminology.
I felt that John Grogan took too much for granted from his readership -- presuming that we would care about his family, despite him never even bothering to tell us what they looked like. It made it hard to 'connect' with the family which he features so much in the book.
Overall, I kept wishing things would "pick up" and that the author would inject the text with some much-needed energy. He didn't and the book suffered as a result.
At the end, I couldn't help but feel that John Grogan got more out of writing this book then many readers will get from reading it.
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