Marley & Me - John Grogan
Firstly, there's something you should know about me; I love dogs. Not only do I love dogs, but when I read stories/see films/see pictures of them, I go into an emotional frenzy. For example, when I was four I watched an episode of The Simpsons where the family dog ran away due to neglect - I cried. More recently, around two months ago my school teacher made a slide show of pictures dedicated to her recently deceased dog - I cried. I well up simply at the sight of those wretched RSPCA leaflets you get through your door. So, naturally when an American journalist wrote about the story of his life alongside the 'World's Worst Dog', at the end, I cried.
Luckily, I think I was able to disguise my tears as sweat or sea water. The snot was a little more difficult to conceal as I was on the beach in sunny Montenegro and sandy grit kept sticking to my top lip. Not attractive, especially compared to Little Miss Pretty to my right and Big Boobs Super Tan to my left. Nevertheless, I was happy to persevere with this book until the very end in full public view. Sadly, although the book had such an emotional effect on me, it could never be one my favourites.
For me, Marley & Me was a special book before I'd picked it up; it was a gift from two American friends. We hosted Michelle and Melina for five days, and at the end of their short stay, Michelle gave my family and I this book. We'd never heard of it, but apparently it was very popular in America. It was only about two weeks later that I saw Marley & Me on sale in the supermarket where I work. However, the main reason that she gave it to us was because the hero of the story, Marley, is a golden Labrador retriever. My dog too, is a yellow Lab; exactly the same as Marley, minus the 'World's Worst Dog' qualities. Stig (yes, Stig) is in fact the World's Best Dog; he only chewed through two wooden steps, three phone wires, a PlayStation controller and one windowsill. Not bad, I think you'll agree. Anyway, with the antics of my dog in my mind, this book looked like I would be able to relate to it sufficiently enough to enjoy it.
The book itself, begins when John Grogan and his wife, Jenny, are thinking of purchasing a puppy. As the story unfolds, it becomes clear that Marley, the puppy of their choice, is a hyper-active, destructive, nervous monster. However, in my opinion, this dog is no worse than many others and all of his expensive antics were never conducted in a malicious manner. Marley is all fun, his very existence in the centre of a growing family being enough to keep him overjoyed almost all the time. The book covers Marley's life time and during that, the growth of the Grogan family from a couple of newlyweds to the experienced working parents of three young children. From miscarriage to moving house, Marley shares it all and Grogan now takes the time to share it with his readers.
I would not like to say I didn't enjoy it, because I did. However, there were certain aspects that I disliked about Grogan's style. For one, it screamed American. Every paragraph, every sentence, every word just oozed the stuff. Of course, the vocabulary was spelt slightly differently, according to American grammatical rules, but you couldn't rule out the Yankee lifestyle. The stylish house, the perfect family and of course, the patriotism. Oh yes, even a story about a rogue Labrador can include the "valor and sacrifice" that the US flag represents. OK, I should give Grogan a break; his style is American because he is American and everybody loves a bit of patriotism, don't they? Naturally, I'm biased for being British, but by golly don't the Americans love America.
The second thing I disliked about Grogan's writing was his tendency to repeat himself. Over and over it seemed the author was writing about the destruction his dog had caused as if it was something new to get excited or horrified at. The dog constantly flung slobber over furniture, chewed through walls and stole food... for his whole life. Whereas it was interesting to learn each new destructive technique when it first arrived, Grogan began telling his readers what they already knew. It made some aspects of the book, sometimes whole chapters, slightly irrelevant.
The third thing, I think was down to personal taste. On the back of the book read comments such as "very funny" and "heartfelt and frequently hilarious". In my opinion it was not frequently hilarious. The stories he told had the potential to be very funny, I'll admit, but the style in which Grogan retold them was not. Grogan is a magnificent story-teller, recounting events with much detail. For this reason, each 'hilarious' event was easy to conjure up in your mind. However, despite this, I still didn't find reason to laugh. A frequently hilarious novel is one that actually makes you laugh out loud - frequently. For me, this book did neither.
However, don't be put off, my mum has just stuck her nose into the first few chapters and already she's giggling - out loud. So, for some this book obviously does carry the characteristics of a comedy. As well as this, as I've already mentioned, Grogan is a fantastic story-teller and he most definitely appeals to his audiences well. Obviously, this comes from his experiences as a columnist, where he must find a subject of appeal. Even I, despite a few grumbles, felt totally drawn in by my relationship with my own dog. Everything he said about dogs, particularly Labradors, was complete truth; they really are an extremely loyal breed. Just like Marley, my dog follows me round the house like a magnet, despite stiff hips. It was the fact that this book told a completely down-to-earth story of love and devotion, happiness and despair that makes it a bestseller. If you're a dog lover, you'll enjoy it. If not, I doubt you'll find much enjoyment in it at all. Nevertheless, don't hesitate to try it; it's well written and has been well enjoyed by many.
Please comment if you have anything to add to this review of 'Marley & Me'.
Paul Merton's Birth of Hollywood (BBC2, Friday 27th May 2011)
