Harvey's Hutch by Philip Dodd is a fabulous memoir, a book I enjoyed reading very much. He has set down his memories on the page in fine prose, so that his book reads like a first person novel, at times. His philosophical, poetic lines make his memoir stand out. Harvey's Hutch is a unique memoir that can be read with interest and pleasure. In the first chapters, the author concentrates on the year 1956, when he was four, and knew nothing, apart from what he could see and hear. With the following lines, he begins his memoir:
"My mind creates mirrors in the air. They reveal pictures from my past. The people, structures and objects contained within them look cleansed of any dust or drabness. They appear, therefore, more alive, more compelling, than those I see around me in the present. I have no control over the mirrors. I cannot urge them to be or to vanish. They become solid in the air by their own will, not by mine. It is they that direct this memoir, not my pen.
"There I am, in the first mirror, sitting at the kitchen table, having my breakfast. I am a small boy, four years old."
I was especially touched by Chapter Six, The Hole In The Wire Mesh, which speaks of Harvey's disappearance. Indeed, I read it with tears in my eyes.
"I glared at the hideous hole in horror, my stomach, cold and empty, my head heavy, hollow." Thus the author writes of how he felt when he stared at the hole in the wire mesh of Harvey's empty hutch, the evidence that he had been stolen in the night. The four-year-old boy feels the loss of his pet rabbit.
Brought up with love and care by his parents, the author had a happy childhood, nonetheless. His memoir is not only a moving drama, it has some light-hearted moments, too. He speaks not only about his past but his present, too. In Chapter Fifteen, The Land of Lavash and the Pomegranate, he writes about his visits to Armenia.
"I have never been to the Holy Land. I am certain I never will. Armenia is the closest I will ever be to stepping on holy ground. I am moved by its history as the first country in the world to abandon its pagan past and accept Christianity as its religion." Thus he writes in that chapter, revealing how impressed he is by the ancient history of Armenia.
I give this great book five stars. It must be read. ( )

This a book by a non professional writer, self published. Technically there are some issues like repeating the same happenings and impressions and a not totally coherent composition, also attention to unimportant details. Having said this, it is okay and I wanted to read the book to the end. It is told by someone who honestly tries to show how life was to him in general and especially what it was like to loose a pet. The rabbit disappeared by an unknown cause. As the writer grew up, things went not as one might have hoped out of sympathy for this kid. Maybe the direct cause was that he could not enter the grown-up world by finding an interesting job that suited his talents. This is the moving and recognizable part. A suprise is the description of the love that the writer found in an Armenian woman. Yes, it's a very honest story. ( )

I enjoyed this book and it was extremely well written. The memories of the child Philip were extremely well articulated and he has a great way of explaining memories (mirrors). I run a peer support group for people with mental health problems and so the book was interesting for that reason but I do try and get away from it in my leisure time so that was a bit unfortunate! There were a few oddities which annoyed me a bit - he went to a JUNIOR School at the age of 5 which was odd and surely a mistake? The proof reading needs a bit more care as 2000 is written for the Covid pandemic rather than 2020! The book was an interesting reflection of how early experiences affect later life and a bonus for me that it was set in Liverpool where my mother grew up during WW2. Overall a moving and captivating story of Philip's life. ( )

I really liked this book even if I found the first chapters rather dull. But the book improves and the author’s memories from the early 60 were a delight to read. Perhaps so because I about the same age as the author and remember all the artists and other people he is writing about.

Throughout the book, I have a clear feeling that the author is very honest when he describes his memories. ( )

It’s often astounded me today how celebrities, for want of a better word, feel that after a short time in the public eye they are compelled to offer their life story in book form. I have held the belief that a true autobiography should be attempted towards the maturer years as it is only then that a true reflection of life‘s journey and it’s lessons can really be effectively written about. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve read and enjoyed some of these autobiographies and been thoroughly entertained but often been left with the feeling that the lives I’m reading about are only half lived and there’s more to come. The other thing that strikes me is that when you remove the celebrity aspect of these books what you have left is………. ordinary lives of ordinary people or extraordinary lives of extraordinary people because really we’re all rather unique. And I think that if we were all compelled as part of some dystopian direction to write our own memoirs we would all come up with our own anecdotes and observations that might be interesting and entertaining to read.

And that brings me neatly to the subject of this blog piece, this charming memoir of Philip Dodd – Harvey’s Hutch. It’s not an autobiography, as such, it is very much a memoir where Dodd likens memories to mirrors in a quite captivating way and demonstrates how a pivotal event in a younger life can impact irrevocably on their future life. Here the four-year-old Phil finds that Harvey, much beloved rabbit, has disappeared in the night through a hole in the wire mesh of his hutch.

Dodd’s memory mirrors allows us glimpses into his life and his philosophies of life. It’s a gentle lyrical consideration of people and events that may have contributed to the person he has become. It’s full of relatable anecdotes, well relatable if you’re a certain age I guess! I am! And so it was sheer delight to read of life in the 60s with Ready Steady Go, the progress of the Beatles (Liverpool feature strongly as Mr Dodd’s hometown), the crumbling of Oxo cubes and the sobering reminder of how the war shaped our parents. I thrilled at some of the parallels between my life and this writer’s. From a hutched pet in early years to the desire to pursue literature, the impact of family and friends from our younger years and that profound sense of loss when beloved grandparents pass away.

It’s a memoir of honesty and earnest belief. I found something so profoundly refreshing about the lack of desire to impress the reader that is so often present in other such works and it was also very moving. it is taking those things that happen in our lives and giving them a credibility that is uplifting when you read because you can identify and think, oh yes, I remember. We all have mirrors, they hold the reflection of our very souls. Not all of us have the capacity to commit them to a full length book as Philip Dodd has done. And done so very well. ( )