Today I finished Marley and Me. Thanks to a group of fellow teachers at school who gave the ending away, the last half of the book was intense. I AM NOW GOING TO TALK ABOUT THE ENDING, SO QUIT READING THIS POST IF YOU PLAN ON READING THE BOOK. While we were eating lunch one day, I mentioned reading the book and asked if anyone else had read it. Since I grew up with labs, I found the book extremely true and hilarious. Each lab we had while I was growing up including the lab I had while I taught in Iowa came to mind as I read the book. Nalo, my Dad's dog, was maybe the most like Marley since his file with the vet is an inch thick. In the middle of the conversation, someone mentioned something about the sad ending. "Does he die?" I asked.
"It's a dog book," J so kindly put it.
Oh! The book continued to be heartwarming and hilarious, but each time another incident happened to or with the dog, I waited for the dog to die. It was excruciating. Tonight I finished listening to the book as I was doing errands. I was actually a little upset with the end of the book. It wasn't because Marley died. Being upset came from the way the owners prolonged Marley's life because it was what was right for them and not necessarily right for the dog.
Now, the very end of the book proved to salvage two chapters of the owners' selfishness. If I had to reread the book, I would have skipped the two chapters in which I felt the dog was in undue pain. This seems like harsh criticism. Overall I thoroughly enjoyed the book. It made me laugh over and over again. Although this may seem surprising, I would even highly recommend the book for any dog lover. After you read it, however, let's talk about those two chapters.
"It's a dog book," J so kindly put it.
Oh! The book continued to be heartwarming and hilarious, but each time another incident happened to or with the dog, I waited for the dog to die. It was excruciating. Tonight I finished listening to the book as I was doing errands. I was actually a little upset with the end of the book. It wasn't because Marley died. Being upset came from the way the owners prolonged Marley's life because it was what was right for them and not necessarily right for the dog.
Now, the very end of the book proved to salvage two chapters of the owners' selfishness. If I had to reread the book, I would have skipped the two chapters in which I felt the dog was in undue pain. This seems like harsh criticism. Overall I thoroughly enjoyed the book. It made me laugh over and over again. Although this may seem surprising, I would even highly recommend the book for any dog lover. After you read it, however, let's talk about those two chapters.
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