Marley and Me

Marley and Me
Author: John Groban
Publisher: Harper-Collins
ISBN: 978-0-06-168720-4

As with the 'Hitchhiker's Guide' series (or at least the first volume), this is another example where I saw the movie before I read the book. Going along with that, it was also another example where the movie adaptation was very accurate to the book.

The story follows the author, his wife, and their adventures with their dog, Marley. It starts in southern Florida where Marley is a puppy, and it shows a lot of gradual change in their lives. John works in journalism, and it describes his eventual move to a columnist position. At first he is reluctant by this, but as he gets used to the job, he realizes that he can use the position to his advantage by writing about Marley, who is a Labrador retriever that likes to get himself into a lot of trouble.

I found myself to be really emotionally invested with this particular novel. A lot of the emotion was mostly humor, because that was really how the story felt. By the end, however, the happiness turned sad and depressing and for the first time, I really felt that particular raw emotion with this story. Yes, I can say that now, since I have read the book, but initially, when I saw the movie, I didn't really get that emotion, but that could be because I was at a different place in my life than I am now. 

Would I read the book again? Probably so, but seeing as how I am right in the middle of a Colorado winter, I would hold off for a couple of months because apparently winter depression runs in my family (presumably from both sets of parents). At any rate, I would highly recommend picking this book up and giving it a try. Like 'Hitchhiker's Guide,' its movie counterpart is very accurate to the book, and if there are any deleted scenes on the DVD, they are probably very minor and don't cut out any majorly important plot points.