Found this book in the charity bin and I decided, against my better judgement, to read the book written before the movie with the same name, traumatised me for life.

I loved the movie. I wanted a dog when I was watching it and I really wanted the same when I started reading the book. I can see why it was an international bestseller.

This No. 1 Sunday Times bestseller tells the heart-warming tale of how a wiggly yellow fur ball of a puppy could grow into a barrelling, ninety-seven pound stramroller of a Labrador retriever who would prove that unconditional love comes in many forms.

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. Along comes Marley, mischievous, hyperactive and so unruly he is expelled from obedience school. How could they possibly know that this incorrigible dog could teach them more about love for life than they could hope to teach him?

“A dog has no use for fancy cars, big homes, or designer clothes. A water logged stick will do just fine. A dog doesn’t care if you’re rich or poor, clever or dull, smart or dumb. Give him your heart and he’ll give you his. How many people can you say that about? How many people can make you feel rare and pure and special? How many people can make you feel extraordinary?”

---

So let me tell you why I loved the book:

• It’s not only about the dog, as cute and wild as it may be, it features a couple’s attempt at starting a family, the three additions that follow, pregnancy issues and accomodating into a parent life when you have a dog, a house and PPD
• It shows the gradual decline of a suburban area where people get attacked at knife point, old ladies get killed in their house and streets not safe enough unless you have a very large dog.
• While it does not show the Wife’s POV, you can see she was a champ and always batting for the family team, ensuring the kids were well raised, taken out and socialised, as well as dealing with a destructive dog
• Of course, Marley – the dog, made me laugh. His antics, his fear of thunder and lightning, his gradual aging process. I cried when he died again (I knew he would, but still!) and I wasn’t left as traumatised as when I saw the movie.
• “. . . owning a dog always ended with this sadness because dogs just don’t live as long as people do.”

I was laughing when he would drag people where he wanted to go despite his barely successful graduation from obedience school, I laughed at his poop antics, the sniffs until he found just the right place to relieve himself, and the mango addiction which caused brightly coloured poops.

As the author pointed out, there are two types of Golden Retrievers – the American and the British type and while one is placid and relaxed and docile, the other is an absolute energy ball and wild and needs a lot of place to run and do things like a farm. Guess which one’s which and which one is Marley. Yes, the American type. Blessed with a huge apetite, a love of the outdoors and exploring everything new. Great with kids and loving dirty diapers.

“In a dog’s life, some plaster would fall, some cushions would open, some rugs would shred. Like any relationship, this one had its costs. They were costs we came to accept and balance against the joy and amusement and protection and companionship he gave us.”

“Such short little lives our pets have to spend with us, and they spend most of it waiting for us to come home each day.
It is amazing how much love and laughter they bring into our lives and even how much closer we become with each other because of them.”