REMEDIES AND MEMORIES
by Dr. Harry Cooper
(Pan Macmillan Aust).
Australian TV vet, Dr Harry Cooper’s “Remedies & Memories” is, in truth, a wild conglomeration of reminiscences that meander all over the place in search of a topic.
Although quite readable in its 29 chapters, the sequence of events is often jumbled and hopelessly disordered, making the reader confused about his leaps from one thing to another.
In fact, the whole book appears to have initially been based on spontaneously tape-recorded recollections, transcribed, then attempted to be brought together into a coherent whole. Unfortunately, the final product is something of an autobiographical salad that was possibly only granted publication because of the author’s television reputation.
Somewhat self-indulgent in sections, Dr Harry rounds off his geographical ramblings with very sentimental verses by himself, his wife and daughter. An example of this mediocrity is found in the effort with the concluding lines: “If wishes were horses then beggars would ride … And I do hope my horse in the next world abides.”
Some of Dr Harry’s travel notes appear to have been dredged from a distant time. For example, his account of a visit to Ireland records the town of Donegal as few of its current residents remember it. Described as a rather drab, unpainted Celtic village on the brim of nowhere, Donegal is, in fact, a colourful addition to civilization, complete with all manner of introduced American fast-food franchises and a cheeky Irish air.
Unraveling the narrative, Dr Harry describes rather superficially his move from New South Wales to the picturesque hills and valleys of rural Tasmania where he and his second wife established a successful veterinary practice and, in due course, launched a TV career with “Talk To The Animals” and later “Harry’s Practice.”
Some of the book’s more interesting accounts deal with life behind the camera, the production staff and the mishaps that have occurred over the years.
Gamboling through the chapters are the inevitable stories of horses, dogs, sheep and cattle who have imposed themselves on the Cooper household.
As we all know, Harry often lapses into blatant sentimentality when the camera is pointed in his direction. In the latter sections of his book, the same indulgences are perpetrated, often falling, sadly, into bathos.
One cannot help but suspect the publisher pushed the author into throwing together, with embarrassing speed, a stew of memories with the hope of capitalizing on the author’s TV fame.
Regrettably, the book does small credit to either Pan Macmillan or to Harry Cooper, bearing all the stains of a catastrophe concocted with indecent haste and little taste.
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