Marley and Me

Life and Love with the World's Worst Dog

By: John Grogan

Narrated by: John Grogan

Length: 6 hrs and 3 mins

Publisher's Summary

John and Jenny were just beginning their life together. They were young and in love, with a perfect little house and not a care in the world. Then they brought home Marley, a wriggly yellow furball of a puppy. Life would never be the same.

Marley quickly grew into a barreling, 97-pound streamroller of a Labrador retriever. He crashed through screen doors, gouged through drywall, and stole women's undergarments. Obedience school did no good, Marley was expelled.

And yet his heart was pure. Just as Marley joyfully refused any limits on his behavior, his love and loyalty were boundless, too. A dog like no other, Marley remained steadfast, a model of devotion, even when his family was at its wit's end. Unconditional love, they would learn, comes in many forms.

©2005 John Grogan (P)2005 HarperCollins Publishers

Critic Reviews

• 2006 Quill Award Winner

"Grogan's chronicle of the adventures parents and children (eventually three) enjoyed with the overly energetic but endearing dog is delivered with great humor. Dog lovers will love this account of Grogan's much loved canine." (Publishers Weekly)

Read this one!

The story is great. Like everyone else says, if you are a dog lover, you can't miss this one. I'm not sure how the "behind the scenes" thing works for picking the right narrator, but it can literally make or break a book. Had the actual writing not been so enjoyable, I would never have made it through. What a poor idea it was for the author to narrate his own book. The only 2 books that (for me) were an exception to that were Eat Pray Love and The Kite Runner.

I would have enjoyed this book much more if I had read it instead of listening to it.

Amazing Book

I was skeptical about this book at first...but after 2 minutes of listening, I was hooked. My wife and I listened to this book during a recent road trip and loved the story of the trials and tribulations of Marley and his owner. After listening, we were ready to go get our own "marley" :)

Tears - laughter and saddness

This book was so well written to the true dog owner, that you can see Marley and his antics. Once I started listening, I just could not stop, and ended up with a box of tissue for the tears of both the laughter and sorrow that this dog's person spoke. I have recommended this book to many people this week, and could not say enough. One has to remember, it is not a story of fiction, but one of the author's memories of his beloved family pet. My mother was listening in the car for just 25 minutes with me last weekend and she is now wanting to borrow my book, which I may have to listen to again. It is well worth the time and money spent for a good, honest read (listen).

Entertaining

Have a new dog, so this is TOO real !
Funny.
Book and movie both have their merits.
Movie focused too much on the latter years of Marley's life, in my opinion.
Listening to the AUDIBLE book was difficult ... this is the only book that I have "listened" to that I would rather have read (or seen the movie).

Good read

I love this book! I laughed deeply; I cried deeply. Anyone who has raised a puppy to adulthood will appreciate this book. The only negative is the narrator.

lovely story, terrible reader

the story was sweet and enjoyable for anyone who loves dogs. however, the recording was pretty irritating. the author reads rather slowly, like he's addressing an elementary school classroom. if you can get past him, it's a fun, sweet book.

Stiff Read

I purchased this book because I have a dog and love him unconditionally. Perhaps if I had read the book, I would have thought it "cute." Listening to the author read his own work made me very uncomfortable. I think the publisher should have gotten someone else to read it for audio. VERY stiff and very disappointing.

SO GREAT

Really a wonderful story. I laughed and cried (lucky for me I have a long commute and the sad part was at the beginning so I was able to compose myself before work!) I am a dog person so I really connected with the author's story, but I think that anybody would enjoy the story. The author narrates which gives it a more personal approach. I loved it!!!

Good story, bad narrator

What a great story. Anyone who owns or has ever owned a dog will totally relate. Had to wait to listen to the last part because I knew I would cry and I was on my way to a meeting and didn't want smeared makeup all over my face.

Unfortunately, I wish I read it instead of listened to it. Grogan is a good author, but a lousy narrator. It was difficult to listen to at times. Considering it was the Grogan's own story, he read with a suprising lack of authentic emotion.

Hard Voice to Listen To

The story itself was fine. Funny and sad. As a dog owner/lover I could relate to much of it. However, the author was perhaps not the best suited to read his own story. His voice nasaly and with a heavy mid-weastern accent, his narrating lacking any emotion, it was a bit of a struggle to listen through to the end. I would recommend the actual book for sure, but not so much the audio. Definitely listen to the sample before you buy.