Author: Patrick Hutchison
Reviewed by Chloe Fuksa
Rating: 3/5 stars
With Father’s Day right around the corner, I’ve been trying to focus on reading books that could make for a good gift. Cabin, by Patrick Hutchison, caught my eye back when it was released in December 2024, and I was very excited to finally pick it up and give it a read.
We meet Hutchison as a twentysomething in the Pacific Northwest, working a dull desk job, and struggling to find a sense of purpose. One day, on a whim, he decides to buy a cabin off of Craigslist – a completely run-down, 120 square-foot cabin – with no construction experience himself at all. There are so many problems with the cabin: the roof leaks, the rim joists are rotten, the insulation inside is completely exposed, and the spiders and mice have taken over. We follow along as Hutchison, thanks to countless hours of internet research and a great group of friends, is able to fix the cabin into something quite unique. And more importantly, through the process, he discovers that direction and meaning that was missing in his life.
I know I’m perhaps not the exact target audience for this book, but if you’re anything like me, I would advise just a little patience with this book. At the start, I frankly found Hutchison hard to root for. It seemed like this all was just an excuse for buddies to sit around drinking loads of beer and doing sloppy repair jobs. I do think, though, that ultimately it shows the growth and maturity of Hutchison as he starts to learn more and take pride in the work. Other than that, I did find him to be really quite hilarious, and yes, there are lots of pictures of the cabin too. I think a lot of people dream of having a getaway place like this deep in the woods, so the fathers – or whoever – in your life can enjoy living vicariously through Hutchison in the meantime.
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