Harridave Dutton

'The Bumpy Lane' is a metaphor for the twists, turns, bumps and difficulties of growing up that are experienced by most people. The author gives a vivid account of his first twenty years and the 'Bumpy Lane' of life that led to his future in an ever-changing Britain. The book presents a marvelous kaleidoscope of social history from the forties to the sixties, seen through the eyes of a very like able partisan! From the first page the author releases, with beguiling humour, incredibly bright sparks of intimacy and honesty, especially in documenting the very human relationships between the people he recalls. The book mirrors and reflects the social and technological changes that affected these very real people as seen through the eyes and experiences of a boy growing up in Bristol. The writer's style is often racy and he is always at the reader's elbow as he guides him or her along the paths of his childhood, his teenage years, and young adulthood.