The Life and Opinions of Maf the Dog, and of His Friend Marilyn Monroe [Tapa blanda]

On the plus side, The Life and Opinions of Maf the Dog and of his Friend Marilyn Monroe has several things going for it. Firstly, the title which grabs your interest. Some of the writing is quite wonderful too - O'Hagan has a lovely way with words. The concept itself, while not perhaps truly original (an anthropomorphic take on animals and in particular here, the canine narrator) is interesting and this particular pooch is mixing in circles in which there is endless fascination (not only about Marilyn, but also Sinatra, Natalie Wood, Sammy Davis, Kennedy et al). Maf you see is a dog, gifted to Marilyn by `Ol Blue Eyes and it is through his eyes that we see the last period of Marilyn's life. And true there are both some interesting observations (though not particularly about Monroe) and a modicum of humor (although it was not as funny as I had expected).

The problem for me is that all these ingredients don't hang together terribly well and it's a bit of, well, a dog's dinner. In fact, I'd go so far to say that parts of it are really quite dull - and that's surprising given all the other factors. Maf is prone to philosophy - again, I don't have a particular issue with that, but it doesn't really have any effect on the narrative other than to bog it down. It's not particularly funny, nor insightful. In fact it leads to more questions as it's unclear where Maf gained this insight.

And sure, he keeps getting taken out with Marilyn on her trips to parties, sets, therapists etc, but there is little narrative coherence about these events and they seem to just plod along - and it's next to impossible to track the time frames of the book. I had high expectations of this book (which can be a problem) but I was sadly disappointed. It's clearly well researched (canines in history, philosophy, the life of Monroe etc) and perhaps this is its problem - it's too heavily researched and the end result is too stodgy. But most of all, I found it simply dull and this was only partly alleviated by O'Hagan's writing style. Maf understands humans, but we don't understand dogs' communication when they bark. Neither it seems do we when they write a novel. A paw effort from a promising writer.

I ordered this book with a healthy dose of skepticism, as I am a lifelong Marilyn Monroe fan and have read scores of books about this exquisite, supremely talented woman. Would this be another attempt to capitalize on her legend or would this book have something more to offer? Marilyn's fans know that Maf (short for 'Mafia Honey') was a gift to her by her friend Frank Sinatra--the name given to the dog by Marilyn because of Frank's alleged (ahem) Mafia ties. The Life and Opinions of Maf the Dog and of his Friend Marilyn Monroe is narrated by Maf.

This book is truly a mixed bag. There are pages of brilliance and it is quite apparent that the author, Andrew O'Hagan, has an in-depth grasp of the personalities who appear in the book. Detailed minutia, particularly regarding Dr. Kris, abounds and it is obvious that the author has strong familiarity with those in Marilyn's inner circle in New York. He has painted Marilyn in a quite positive light--she is funny, kind, thoughtful and witty--and believable.

Where I had problems with this book--and what kept me from giving a 5 star rating--primarily focuses on the pages/passages which seem to digress from the story and don't have a relevance. Also, and this is my personal opinion swaying this--the characters of Dr. Greenson and Mrs. Murray are a bit too 'kind.' And, spoiler here for the ending--the book itself abruptly finishes somewhere around the point in Marilyn's life (Spring/Summer of 1962) where she was having problems with 20th Century Fox after having flown to NY to sing "Happy Birthday" at JFK's party. Also, there is zero mention even in passing of Joe DiMaggio.

Once you accept that the narrator, Maf, has an eloquence with words and an access to the universal mind (to the point of making esoteric historical references that I had no knowledge of as a reader/lover of history) the story becomes believable. It just doesn't quite pull off the whole story, leaving gaps in the narrative and no real ending (or notations about what became of Maf after Marilyn's death).

The writing is eloquent, lyrical and beautiful. This is a book worth taking the time to read--but be aware that there are no revelations or conclusions about Marilyn's untimely death.

"The Life and Opinions of Maf the Dog and of his friend Marilyn Monroe" by Andrew O'Hagan is a book that will probably sell mostly for its title. Consequently, I suspect, many of those who buy it (and regardless of whether they have sampled its opening pages) will be sorely disappointed with it. The book is based on a number of clever (although far from original) conceits, the principal of which is that dogs (as well as other animals) are sensitive to the thoughts and dreams of humans (most especially for dogs, of their owners) and thus, over time, accumulate a deep understanding of and love for human thinking, which imbues them with a profound propensity for endless philosophising. Sadly, all attempts to vocalise their endless musings are invariably perceived as nothing more than barks, yaps and other meaningless or annoying noises, making the trait more frustrating than useful.

In choosing as his protagonist not only a dog from real life but also one that was known to be the almost constant companion of a famous individual who is nowadays regarded as herself occupying something of a shadowy world of semi-make believe, frustrated in her attempts to find or make her true self known to others -- as well as now heavily shrouded in mystique, notoriety and offering a perfect candidate for voyeurism -- O'Hagan sets up an endless series of potential directions for his novel. And there, I think, is the rub; while providing countless possible themes and in a setting laced with the poignancy, scandal and intrigue, most readers are likely to be disappointed with the direction that the author actually chooses to take. In the end, the period and the setting are nothing more than backdrop in this book and while there are many passing snipes at the petty foibles of the rich and the famous and the powerful, ultimately the book is nothing more than a single, over-extended gag about the nature of dogs (and also, by extension, their owners).

Readers interested in the characters and events of the times portrayed in this book are likely to be frustrated at the long parade of the minutiae of events and random conversations, seemingly at the expense of any coherent presentation of context or the bigger picture -- much indeed as a dog taken for a walk will happily spend its time sniffing around in the leaves without ever knowing (or caring) where it actually is or might have been. Conversely, those without any knowledge of the relationships between Frank Sinatra, Marilyn Monrow, the Kennedy clan -- to say nothing of the great panoply of Hollywood characters of the mid 1960s -- will find the continual digressions into the details of their gatherings confusing, distracting and boring in the extreme.

Andrew O'Hagan has a lovely way with words and many passages in this book are very beautiful indeed. At times is also very clever and witty, and the book is full of sharp observations about the nature of the world, of people and, most especially, of dogs. Sadly though, there are times -- altogether too many times -- when it is just plain tedious and often one can't help thinking: there's a good dog but come along now!