Marley and Me is an autobiographical novel written by John Grogan and published in 2005. The novel reveals of the narrator’s life within 13 years. During these years, he and his wife have been through a lot, but what is so distinctive of the period is Marley – their Labrador Retriever. The book starts with the purchase of the dog and ends with his death.
Grogan's novel offers a story about the purest love and adhesion in relations of a dog and man. It’s a story about Marley, the huge Labrador who is the most agile dog on the planet, and his “parents” – John Grogan, his wife, and three children. Marley’s tale begins when he was taken from a dogs’ hospice when he was a little 2-week puppy; the story goes through all his life, his victories and defeats, fears and moments of happiness (though happiness distinguishes him almost every day of his life, except for hours when he was home alone or there was a thunderstorm outside). The story can’t help but cut many readers to the heart: the reader will laugh at Marley’s shenanigans and won’t be able to stop crying when Marley is dying, an old white-haired dog.
The novel has been adapted into a family comedy, and directed by David Frankel. Owen Wilson and Jennifer Aniston played the roles of John and Jenny Grogan. The movie itself was released on December 25, 2008.
The book has been rewritten into three different books. “Marley: A Dog Like No Other” was for people who wanted to read the book but did not want or feel comfortable with the sexual content in the original. There was also “A Very Marley Christmas” and finally a shorter version called “Bad Dog Marley!” for younger readers.
