It took me quite a while to read it, I admit, which might not be my usual thing. I do tend to want to savor the books I read and linger over them, but I also tend to read pretty fast. I guess you can chalk it down to lack of free time, but I also think that with this one, I really wanted to savor it, to take my time with it, to enjoy every little story it told. Also there's the end, which I'd avoided reading for a while for personal (Pif related) reasons, as it just reminded me how much I'm always dreading that phone call from my parents, giving me news of the inevitable. He is, after all, already 15 years old and in dog years that's pretty old.
The book in question is "Marley and Me" by John Grogan. I heard they were making a movie, just read it on some website and the trailer looked – due to lack of other words – familiar in its destructiveness, and after only a brief research I found out that the movie was based on a book and then I knew I had to get it and I was right. I watched the film – online, admittedly – and it did not rise to the occasion. The dog was brilliant, but the gapy and oddly put together plot as well as the poor choice of actors involved (I'm sorry, I expect more from actors) didn't contribute to its success. It's funny, but that's about it. It's nice to see "Marley" in action, but that's really where it ends. The book, on the other hand, is a whole different story…
John Grogan wrote a brilliant book. Not in terms of it being a Dostoyevsky companion, but certainly in terms of the honesty and sincerity of this somewhat autobiographical piece of writing. He told us the story of Marley only in a way someone who really loved and connected with that dog could have done, and there was not better way to do it. Throughout the book, his relationship with Marley rose from the page and became more than a storytelling – it was real. His words conveyed emotions I could relate to only too well. Some people might not understand it; probably people who keep dogs as accessories around the house or just treat them as mere pets, but it is possible that having read this book, even their opinions could change to a more positive note.
There is no doubt; Marley was a real character. His story is hilarious, touching and, interestingly, profoundly human. He was not the family's pet, but a member of the family. They grew and evolved around him and maybe because of him, and he grew with them. I'm familiar with that only too well as this is also the story of Pif. I do, after all, have my own precious little creep that you want to strangle one moment and hug the next, who could be your best and closest friend and your worst nightmare nearly simultaneously. If I only had a cent for every time my thoughts drifted off to him while I was reading John's book, or for every time I thought that yes, I've been there, or yes, he did that. And still, like John said in an excerpts I will later quote, his love and devotion are unconditional and pure and he gives them freely, never holding back. When you need him, he's there.
So this is it; "Marley and Me", the story of supposedly the world's worst dog (you've got competition, Marley
). Read it, laugh with it, cry with it. Whatever you do, it'll be worth your while. And if you are one of those people whose dog is just taking up space in the house and is mostly left to himself with the exception of feeding and walking, maybe it will prompt you to try and have a real relationship with him, because trust me, the rewards are so underrated. Either way, it's a good read."Was it possible for a dog – any dog, but especially a nutty, wildly uncontrollable one like ours – to point to the things that really mattered in life? I believed it was. Loyalty. Courage. Devotion. Simplicity. Joy. And the things that did not matter, too. A dog has no use for fancy cars or big homes or designer clothes. Status symbols mean nothing to him. A waterlogged stick will do just fine. A dog judges others not by their colour or creed or class but by who they are inside. A dog doesn't care if you are rich or poor, educated or illiterate, clever or dull. Give him your heart and he will give you his."
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