Marley and Me
So, I just finished the book Marley and Me. I will admit that often I am a snob about best sellers and avoid reading them, at least as long as I can, but I got so many good reviews about this book that I decided to jump in. I think I'm glad I did.
What struck me most about the first half of the book was more about family than about the actual dog who is the book's namesake. Having just gotten married about 3 1/2 years ago and having been trying to start a family for awhile now, it was interesting to see how this couple turned into a family. They had their newlywed moments, time with their children, and the sadness of miscarriage, and the dog was there through it all.
As I said, we've been trying to conceive for awhile now which can bring up a lot of fears and insecurities about families. To be honest, at this point it seems like just a pipe dream, something that happens to someone else. But, as with any good book, you get to know the characters; they feel like close friends. It started giving me hope that maybe we too could have this family.
It was also cool to see how to seperate people join together and create a whole family unit. I had a lot more ideas on this subject as it pertains to this book, but I'm exhausted and am being quite a bit less than eloquent right now.
The ending of the book was sad. There's no other way to say it. I hope I'm not ruining the ending by saying this, but I think that anyone who plans to read a memoir about a family dog would know how it ends. I knew this beforehand, and I actually didn't cry at the end, but I did have this overwhelming feeling of dread. I almost stopped reading the book as Marley got older. I kept going though, and I'm glad that I did. We see in the last couple of chapters all that the dog had meant to the family. We see, as he grows older, the silent desperation the parents feel at the thought of losing this family member. I guess it's when he starts to lose his physical and mental capabilities, once he no longer has those, that we remember how precious they were. I don't think it's a matter of not appreciating what you have until you don't have it; I think it's a matter of celebrating the great life that was. Maybe it's like that with everything in life.
All in all, I would recommend this book highly. The writing style is easy to read and familial. We recognize this family in ourselves, and as it's portrayed, we can't help but like them.
What struck me most about the first half of the book was more about family than about the actual dog who is the book's namesake. Having just gotten married about 3 1/2 years ago and having been trying to start a family for awhile now, it was interesting to see how this couple turned into a family. They had their newlywed moments, time with their children, and the sadness of miscarriage, and the dog was there through it all.
As I said, we've been trying to conceive for awhile now which can bring up a lot of fears and insecurities about families. To be honest, at this point it seems like just a pipe dream, something that happens to someone else. But, as with any good book, you get to know the characters; they feel like close friends. It started giving me hope that maybe we too could have this family.
It was also cool to see how to seperate people join together and create a whole family unit. I had a lot more ideas on this subject as it pertains to this book, but I'm exhausted and am being quite a bit less than eloquent right now.
The ending of the book was sad. There's no other way to say it. I hope I'm not ruining the ending by saying this, but I think that anyone who plans to read a memoir about a family dog would know how it ends. I knew this beforehand, and I actually didn't cry at the end, but I did have this overwhelming feeling of dread. I almost stopped reading the book as Marley got older. I kept going though, and I'm glad that I did. We see in the last couple of chapters all that the dog had meant to the family. We see, as he grows older, the silent desperation the parents feel at the thought of losing this family member. I guess it's when he starts to lose his physical and mental capabilities, once he no longer has those, that we remember how precious they were. I don't think it's a matter of not appreciating what you have until you don't have it; I think it's a matter of celebrating the great life that was. Maybe it's like that with everything in life.
All in all, I would recommend this book highly. The writing style is easy to read and familial. We recognize this family in ourselves, and as it's portrayed, we can't help but like them.
posted by Indisposable Mama at 11:28 PM
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