Marley & Me
Encyclopedia
Marley & Me: Life and Love with the World's Worst Dog is a New York Times
bestselling autobiographical book by journalist John Grogan
, published in 2005, about the thirteen years he and his family shared their life, home, and heart with Marley, a possibly neurotic, and certified "untrainable", yellow Labrador Retriever
with a heart of gold.
, the book portrays Grogan and his family's life during the thirteen years that they lived with their dog Marley, and the relationships and lessons from this period. Marley, a yellow Labrador Retriever
, is described as a high-strung, boisterous, and somewhat uncontrolled dog. He is strong, powerful, endlessly hungry, eager to be active, and often destructive of their property (but completely without malice). Marley routinely fails to "get the idea" of what humans expect of him; at one point, mental illness is suggested as a plausible explanation for his behavior. His acts and behaviors are forgiven, however, since it is clear that he has a heart of gold and is merely living within his nature.
During his escapades he makes a two-minute credited appearance in the movie The Last Home Run
(filmed in 1996 and released in 1998).
The strong contrast between the problems and tensions caused by his neuroses and behavior, and the undying devotion, love and trust shown towards the human family as they themselves have children and grow up to accept him for what he is, and their grief when he finally dies from gastric dilatation volvulus (a stomach torsion condition) in old age, form the backdrop for the biographical material of the story.
following the death of his dog received more responses than any other column he had written in his professional life up until that point.
In 2008, the novel was adapted into a family comedy-drama motion picture, also titled Marley & Me
. Released on December 25, 2008, the film stars Owen Wilson
and Jennifer Aniston
and is directed by David Frankel
.
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
bestselling autobiographical book by journalist John Grogan
John Grogan (journalist)
John Grogan is an American journalist and non-fiction writer. His memoir Marley & Me was a best-selling book about his family's dog Marley.- Career :...
, published in 2005, about the thirteen years he and his family shared their life, home, and heart with Marley, a possibly neurotic, and certified "untrainable", yellow Labrador Retriever
Labrador Retriever
The Labrador Retriever is one of several kinds of retriever, a type of gun dog. A breed characteristic is webbed paws for swimming, useful for the breed's original purpose of retrieving fishing nets. The Labrador is the most popular breed of dog by registered ownership in Canada, the United...
with a heart of gold.
Plot
Told in first-person narrativeFirst-person narrative
First-person point of view is a narrative mode where a story is narrated by one character at a time, speaking for and about themselves. First-person narrative may be singular, plural or multiple as well as being an authoritative, reliable or deceptive "voice" and represents point of view in the...
, the book portrays Grogan and his family's life during the thirteen years that they lived with their dog Marley, and the relationships and lessons from this period. Marley, a yellow Labrador Retriever
Labrador Retriever
The Labrador Retriever is one of several kinds of retriever, a type of gun dog. A breed characteristic is webbed paws for swimming, useful for the breed's original purpose of retrieving fishing nets. The Labrador is the most popular breed of dog by registered ownership in Canada, the United...
, is described as a high-strung, boisterous, and somewhat uncontrolled dog. He is strong, powerful, endlessly hungry, eager to be active, and often destructive of their property (but completely without malice). Marley routinely fails to "get the idea" of what humans expect of him; at one point, mental illness is suggested as a plausible explanation for his behavior. His acts and behaviors are forgiven, however, since it is clear that he has a heart of gold and is merely living within his nature.
During his escapades he makes a two-minute credited appearance in the movie The Last Home Run
The Last Home Run
The Last Home Run is a 1996 film directed by Bob Gosse.It tells the story of Jonathan Lyle, an elderly man in a nursing home who is transformed by a mystic, for five days, into a 12-year-old boy playing Little League Baseball.The Last Home Run also starred Jordi Vilasuso and Vinnette Justine...
(filmed in 1996 and released in 1998).
The strong contrast between the problems and tensions caused by his neuroses and behavior, and the undying devotion, love and trust shown towards the human family as they themselves have children and grow up to accept him for what he is, and their grief when he finally dies from gastric dilatation volvulus (a stomach torsion condition) in old age, form the backdrop for the biographical material of the story.
Novel
In the autobiography, the author states that the eulogy he wrote in his newspaperThe Philadelphia Inquirer
The Philadelphia Inquirer is a morning daily newspaper that serves the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, metropolitan area of the United States. The newspaper was founded by John R. Walker and John Norvell in June 1829 as The Pennsylvania Inquirer and is the third-oldest surviving daily newspaper in the...
following the death of his dog received more responses than any other column he had written in his professional life up until that point.
Adaptations
Marley & Me has been rewritten into three different books:- Marley: A Dog Like No Other, for younger readers who would enjoy reading about Marley's story, without the sexual content in the original
- Bad Dog, Marley!, a picture book for readers learning to read in lower grade levels
- A Very Marley Christmas
In 2008, the novel was adapted into a family comedy-drama motion picture, also titled Marley & Me
Marley & Me (film)
Marley & Me is a 2008 American comedy-drama film directed by David Frankel. The screenplay by Scott Frank and Don Roos is based on the memoir of the same name by John Grogan...
. Released on December 25, 2008, the film stars Owen Wilson
Owen Wilson
Owen Cunningham Wilson is an American actor and writer, known for his roles in the films The Haunting, The Royal Tenenbaums, Zoolander, Meet the Parents, Wedding Crashers, You, Me and Dupree, Bottle Rocket, the Cars series, The Darjeeling Limited, Marley & Me, Midnight in Paris, Shanghai Noon,...
and Jennifer Aniston
Jennifer Aniston
Jennifer Joanna Aniston is an American actress, film director, and producer, best known for her role as Rachel Green on the television sitcom Friends, a role which earned her an Emmy Award, a Golden Globe Award, and a Screen Actors Guild Award.Aniston has also enjoyed a successful film career,...
and is directed by David Frankel
David Frankel
David Frankel is an American director, screenwriter and executive producer. He is the son of Max Frankel, a former executive editor of The New York Times...
.