(Woof!) Book Review - The life and opinions of Maf the dog and of his friend Marilyn Monroe

The life and opinions of Maf the dog and of his friend Marilyn Monroe by Andrew O'Hagan

This book should come with an advance warning 'Contains whimsical philosophizing animal narrators'. (actually ALL the animals in this book talk in an anthromorphic fashion among themselves)


Once the reader is comfortable with this premise they should be able to enjoy this funny and original look at the last years in the life of Marilyn Monroe as witnessed and narrated by her lapdog Maf. Unfortunately  Marilyn proves to be the least interesting character - the shady Frank Sinatra and eccentric parents of Natalie Woods are bit players in the lives of Marilyn and Maf but are compelling characters in their own right. The loyal Maf does tend to witter on a bit occasionally, to say nothing of the cats who speak in poetry, but this is an entertaining read which made me want to go on to read the biographies of all the movie stars and writers who featured in it.

Other books featuring animal narrators:

Timbuktu by Paul Auster - Mr Bones is the loyal canine companion who narrates the story of his life with poet Willy G. Christmas

Me Cheeta by James Lever - the astonishing tale of Cheeta the Chimp, the REAL star of the Tarzan films
Animal Farm by George Orwell - the classic fable of downtrodden farm animals who overthrow their masters
Firmin by Sam Savage - the story of a bibliophile rat living in an old bookstore
Dog on it by Spencer Quinn - a detective tale told from the point of view of the detective's canine sidekick