The Life and Opinions of Maf the Dog, and of His Friend Marilyn Monroe - Hardcover

O'Hagan, Andrew

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0151013721 ISBN 13: 9780151013722

Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2010

Synopsis

Meet Maf: The hilariously opinionated, well-read, politically scrappy, and complex canine companion to Marilyn Monroe.

In November 1960, Frank Sinatra gave Marilyn Monroe a dog. His name was Mafia Honey, or Maf for short. Born in the household of Vanessa Bell, brought to the United States by Natalie Wood’s mother, and given as a Christmas present to Marilyn the winter after she separated from Arthur Miller, Maf was with Marilyn for the last two years of her life, first in New York and then in Los Angeles, and he had as much instinct for celebrity and psychoanalysis as he did for Liver Treat with a side order of National Biscuits. Marylin took him to meet President Kennedy and to Hollywood restaurants, to department stores, to interviews, and to Mexico for her divorce. Through Maf's eyes, we see an altogether original and wonderfully clever portrait of the woman behind the icon—and the dog behind the woman.

About this title

From the Back Cover

Everyone loves Maf

This is one of those rare books, written with such sureness of pace and lightness of touch that you find you have read a hundred pages without looking up. It is filled with sly jokes, funny wisdom, and deep feeling for character and scene. But more than anything, it is a book utterly alert to the reader s pleasure; and that pleasure, so sheer and total, is what makes this book so special. Colm Tóibín

Andrew O Hagan s new novel, The Life and Opinions of Maf the Dog, is a miracle and will become a classic. I loved, loved it. If only Marilyn Monroe were alive to read it. Edna O Brien

It s brilliant, a joy to read. Moving, and very funny and sad. Maf is wonderful. And so is Marilyn. Roddy Doyle

Why is it the most moving book I ve read in many years? Why is it dazzling and true? The re-creations of the Actors Studio and the Partisan Review party are uncanny. The whole book is uncanny . . . Maf is magnificent. John Guare

Andrew O Hagan s novel perfectly captures the legendary actress. There are numerous scenes between famous people, some of whom I have known, and O Hagan makes the dialogue sound absolutely authentic . . . I can t imagine there was ever a dog as erudite and well spoken as dear old Mafia Honey . . . Enthralling. Peter Bogdanovich, Daily Telegraph

What a dog, and what a life . . . Maf is a shrewd observer of the modern age and of the American century, a veritable Tocqueville for our times. John Banville, Guardian

From the Inside Flap

In November 1960, Frank Sinatra gave Marilyn Monroe a dog. His name was Mafia Honey. Maf for short. He had an instinct for celebrity. For politics. For psychoanalysis. For literature. For interior decoration. This is his story.
Given as a Christmas present to Marilyn the winter after she separated from Arthur Miller, Maf offers a keen insight into the world of Hollywood s greatest star. Not to mention a hilarious peek into the brain of an opinionated, well-read, politically scrappy, complex canine hero.
Maf was with Marilyn for the last two years of her life, first in New York, where she mingled with everyone who was anyone: visiting Leo Castelli at his gallery, taking classes with Lee Strasberg and the Actors Studio set, gossiping about Truman Capote with Carson McCullers at the Oak Room, bantering with the Trillings at aPartisan Review party where Maf bites some big shots, watching Sammy Davis Jr. onstage at the Copacabana. Back in Los Angeles, Marilyn took Maf to meet President Kennedy, to the set of Something s Got to Give, to Italian restaurants for spaghetti with Natalie Wood and Sinatra. My fated companion, Maf calls her. She was always on the way to a discovery, to a large recognition that would change everything.
With style, brilliance, and panache, Andrew O Hagan has drawn an altogether original portrait of the woman behind the icon, and the dog behind the woman.
Back flap:

Reviews

“Good book. Good dog,” (St. Petersburg Times) was the general consensus from critics, who had begun reading Maf the Dog with extreme skepticism. Who could blame them? That said, reviewers in the United Kingdom were able to suspend their belief far more easily than those in the United States. But in the end, most were won over, or at least entertained, by this canine memoir. While critics described it as witty, elegant, and original, they also acknowledged that awareness of both Hollywood, high literary culture, and the 1960s is helpful when navigating Maf’s thoughts. One exception to the solid reviews came from the Washington Post critic, who begrudged every minute spent with that “pedantic pooch.” Be forewarned: even those who enjoyed the book admitted it wasn’t for everyone.

O'Hagan (Be Near Me) conjures canine narrator Maf, short for "Mafia Honey," to introduce readers to a world where dogs' playful manners belie their capacity for philosophy--Maf is a Trotsky fan--cats speak in poetic form, and animals provide a gateway into their owners' thoughts and dreams. A circuitous path leads Maf into the arms of Frank Sinatra just as he's looking for a gift for Marilyn Monroe. With his new owner, the lucky pup has a period of perfect companionship in New York City, attending Sammy Davis Jr. shows, sitting in on analyst appointments, witnessing Sinatra tantrums, and attending literati gatherings where those whose artistic sensibilities run counter to his risk being bitten. Between Maf's ruminations on dog and human nature, his favorite famous dogs, and the best parks in the world, he bemoans Marilyn's decline. O'Hagan's witty novel is packed with allusions, and though Maf gives color and nuance to some historical A-listers, Marilyn, remains unfortunately elusive. This familiar slice of Americana gets a much-needed shaking up from an erudite pooch.
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If there’s a prize for surprising readers, O’Hagan should be short-listed: his follow-up to Be Near Me (2007), a gorgeously melancholic tale about a Scottish priest accused of pedophilia, is about Marilyn Monroe—voiced by her dog, Mafia Honey, or “Maf,” for short. Maf is, naturally, versed in the classics, and as he and his owner spend time with such notables as Natalie Wood, Frank Sinatra, and JFK, he offers erudite commentary, sometimes in dialogue with other dogs, on such subjects as interior decorating, celebrity, authenticity, religion, and death. The strangeness of the scenario becomes more sensible as the book goes on—Maf’s riffs on the way people project their thoughts and feelings onto dogs suggest the way they view celebrities—and O’Hagan ornaments his wry humor with sparkling gems of prose. As literary canines continue to crowd the market, it’s become abundantly clear that dogs are truly the windows to our souls—unless, of course, you are a cat person. Not O’Hagan’s best, but it’s an enjoyable, thoughtful diversion nonetheless. --Keir Graff

Edition details

• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
• Publication date: 2010
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0151013721
• ISBN 13: 9780151013722
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 277