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The Life and Opinions of Maf the Dog, and of his friend Marilyn Monroe [Paperback]

Andrew O'Hagan
2.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (53 customer reviews)
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Book Description

1 May 2010

In November 1960, Frank Sinatra gave Marilyn Monroe a dog. His name was Maf. He had an instinct for the twentieth century. For politics. For psychoanalysis. For literature. For interior decoration. This is his story.

Maf the dog was with Marilyn for the last two years of her life. Not only a picaresque hero himself, he was also a scholar of the adventuring rogue in literature and art, witnessing the rise of America's new liberalism, civil rights, the space race, the New York critics, and was Marilyn Monroe's constant companion.

The story of Maf the dog is a hilarious and highly original peek into the life of a complex canine hero - he was very much a real historical figure, with his license and photographs sold at auction along with Marilyn's other person affects. Through the eyes of Maf we're provided with an insight into the life of Monroe herself, and a fascinating take on one of the most extraordinary periods of the twentieth century.


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Product details

  • Paperback: 288 pages
  • Publisher: Faber and Faber (1 May 2010)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0571215998
  • ISBN-13: 978-0571215997
  • Product Dimensions: 2.1 x 17.2 x 26.8 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 2.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (53 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 302,049 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Product Description

Review

A voraciously original travelogue through the American century, a love letter to modernity, and a hilarious and often tender insight into the monster of celebrity. O'Hagan's portrait of Sinatra has to rate among the finest and funniest ever written ... O'Hagan has created a comic genius ... Glorious. --Evening Standard

A subtle, funny and moving study of America on the eve of one of its periods of greatest crisis ... Maf the canine savant is a shrewd observer of the modern age and of the American century, a veritable Tocqueville for our times. --John Banville, Guardian

An absolutely delightful, stylishly written, gorgeously lyrical novel. The Life And Opinions ... is his fourth and best yet. --Herald

It's staggering, joyous and somewhat unnerving that [O'Hagan's] new book, in a classic critic-confounding way, should be anarchic, over-the-top, irreverent and gleeful. There is an elegiac undertow, but one that only serves to make the dazzle and delight all the more piquant. --Scotland on Sunday

[One of} the best novels I have read this year ... his crowded and deleriously wonderful comedy of ideas ... O'Hagan has stupendous fluency and sanity, together with a slightly surreal reliance on autobiography.
--New Statesman

Book Description

An utterly unique new novel from one of Britain's most exciting literary writers.

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars Not what I thought it would be 3 Oct 2010
By R. A. Mansfield VINE™ VOICE
Format:Paperback|Amazon Vine™ Review (What's this?)
I so wanted to like this book. Not only had I just read the wonderful Me Cheeta: The Autobiography which has similar elements (an animal narrating), but I've read Andrew O'Hagan's writing before Personality and really enjoyed it.

The premise is that the story is told from the point of view of a dog, Maf, who by convoluted means ends up being owned by Marilyn Monroe, thanks to Frank Sinatra.

Maf is a philosophical dog, who - in the same vein as the aforementioned Cheeta - believes he's far superior to any human and it shows in the commentary.

There are very funny moments in the book and I think the conceit is a brilliant one, but I found eventually found the narrator a tiresome presence and what should have been a five-star book, ended up as a sort of 3-and-a-half star book.

Doubtless, this has been and will continue to be loved and adored by many, but not me, I'm afraid.
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11 of 12 people found the following review helpful
1.0 out of 5 stars Dullfest 11 Jun 2010
By MisterHobgoblin TOP 500 REVIEWER VINE™ VOICE
Format:Paperback|Amazon Vine™ Review (What's this?)
Truly, this novel doesn't work. Please don't waste time and money on it as it is a complete dullfest.

The basic premise is that little lapdog Mafia Honey (aka Maf) was bought by Frank Sinatra as a gift for Marilyn Monroe. This gives Maf special access to the world of celebs to report as a fly on the wall - or a dog on the floor. The trouble is, Maf is a boring dog who witters incessantly about other dogs (famous dogs and dogs of famous people), philosophy and cats. The narrative veers alarmingly from being totally dog focussed to anthropomorphism in excelsis. How are dogs supposed to read philosophy? How are dogs supposed to learn history? It could be cute, but it becomes longwinded, pretentious and dull.

As for the bits that deal with the celebrities, mostly it is just straight reportage of dull people (few of whom ring any bells with this middle aged reader) meeting other dull people and having dull conversations. Nobody actually does anything or says anything interesting. There's no plot, just name dropping. Even in the last years of Marilyn's life there is no feeling of climax - it is impossible to see the passage of time. The conversations in the novel might have taken place over a few days, a few weeks or many months.

Oh, and then there are the bits where the famous people interact with Maf. Except the humans can't understand dogs - it's only dogs who can understand the humans. Every few pages we are reminded of this as the famous people mistake Maf's inane conversation for inane barking. Of course, if dogs were really much brighter than people I doubt they would be so servile. Or perhaps this is Andrew O'Hagan's message laid on with a trowel: that in worshipping celebrities, people are no better than lapdogs.
... Read more ›
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
1.0 out of 5 stars Maf the Dog 11 July 2011
Format:Paperback
Huge build up in various reviews so was mightily disappointed that this book is almost unreadable. I certainly couldn't be bothered to finish it. What a let down!
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars It shouldn't work but it does 8 Aug 2010
Format:Paperback|Amazon Vine™ Review (What's this?)
- mostly. The tone is obviously tongue in cheek: This dog that is more human than humans, regarding and reading how the humans feel, think and behave. At the same time the dog is philosophising and downright bragging of his literary knowledge and acquaintances in language so arch as to be past silly. So Marilyn is upstaged by her clever dog and she is viewed obliquely, distantly by the reader whose sympathy is engaged but not the sentimentality that could so easily overpower this subject matter. For all the dog's posturings he really is quite wise in places and makes some interesting conjunctions. Something about him reminds me of Tolstoy. He is impartial, kindly even, whilst noting and describing the great fragility, emptiness and nastiness of some of the human protagonists.Marilyn is portrayed as thoughtful and sincere.
I get the impression that the author really enjoyed writing this book, finding in it the opportunity to gather a great heap of glittery ephemera, dog related and other. I wonder if he did it for fun rather than for publishing and then thought that with as good a reputation as his he could get away with it.I think he has got away with it despite some confusing and dense extraneous parts that would have been better left out and the slightly uncomfortable dog's eye view conceit that gets just a little tiresome.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
1.0 out of 5 stars Poor Product 18 Aug 2012
By Max Rebo TOP 500 REVIEWER VINE™ VOICE
Format:Paperback|Amazon Vine™ Review (What's this?)
This is, unfortunately for Monroe fans, a poor read that has little relevance to the Hollywood star's own life. Although the book is not advertised as being inspired by true events, I found its title deceiving and had no idea that it was to be complete fiction - and badly written fiction at that. O' Hagan makes plenty of attempts to humour the reader, but the result becomes tiresome and has no staying power. There is literally little else to say, unfortunately.

Don't waste your money on this nonsense.
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7 of 8 people found the following review helpful
2.0 out of 5 stars Not very good 11 Jun 2010
Format:Paperback
I got this book hearing good reviews about it, expecting something funny, witty and with a refreshing look at the life and times of Marylin Monroe.

Instead, the author sounds like he was raised in a cupboard, constantly ignored by his parents. Every single paragraph feels like a chore to read. It seems like the author has crammed every random, ambulatory thought in there, as the narrative creaks along, just to say "I wrote this!"

A seriously boring novel.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars Maf, the intellectual dog
That Maf certainly is an intellectual dog, which is both funny and a bit heavy going with the philosophical stuff and names at times (not really dog like? Read more
Published 1 month ago by Loreleilee
3.0 out of 5 stars Oddball
Not sure what to make of this very strange biography of Marilyn Monroe. Told through the voice of her dog Maf, it's certainly an original retelling of her doomed existence. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Particular Press
5.0 out of 5 stars book
Excellent service from amazon.The book is long drawn out and quite dreary in parts.Narrated by Marilyn Monroe`s dog,it follows the latter part of her life.
Published 7 months ago by ardmores
1.0 out of 5 stars Arid whimsy with pretentious overlay (shades of Thirlwell)
As satire this is lame verging on pointless, and if it is not satire what is it? Raimond Gaita's The Philosopher's Dog might prove a suitable corrective; it preaches against... Read more
Published 11 months ago by Simon G. Barrett
5.0 out of 5 stars Genius
I bought this for my daughter who 'couldn't get into it' so I took it on holiday. I read it in days. In short, it's a comic masterpiece and, no, I am not a friend of the author. Read more
Published 11 months ago by Denise
1.0 out of 5 stars Dullfest
Truly, this novel doesn't work. Please don't waste time and money on it as it is a complete dullfest. Read more
Published 22 months ago by MisterHobgoblin
5.0 out of 5 stars A delight.
The rolling prose, the take, the groove.

Couple of sentences as I first began reading this novel:

"The skies were friendly, or so they said. Read more
Published 22 months ago by Vincent Eaton
4.0 out of 5 stars Clever Dog!
Andrew O'Hagan's smart, funny and original novel told from the point of view of Marilyn Monroe's dog Maf, a white poodle, is always entertaining. Read more
Published 24 months ago by Jeff Markham
3.0 out of 5 stars A dog's tale
The premise of this book is that it is written by a dog which is given to Marilyn Monroe as a gift by Frank Sinatra. Read more
Published on 11 April 2011 by A. Skudder
2.0 out of 5 stars Not quite what it seemed
I was looking forward to this book as it looked to be about subjects I'm interested in but told in a new way. Very original. Read more
Published on 5 Feb 2011 by P. Wilkinson
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