On his arm – just above his left hand – were three black letters. He’s put them there himself when he was twelve, him and Jimmy, done with coal dust pounded in with a nail drove through with a stick. They never thought it would be permanent. But there is was, nearly five years on, his initials, R.A.W (p 3).
Remy Walker and Lisa Perkins live in sleepy Dwyer, West Virginia. Nestled among the Appalachian Mountains, Dwyer has little to boast of with a population dwindling now the local coal mining has dried up. Remy has spent the last couple years with Lisa. She is the magnet that directs his every move.
But as the summer after high school unfolds, Remy must decide if he will follow Lisa as she heads off to college in Pennsylvania or remain in Dwyer with his father in their trailer on Walker Mountain.
Complicating matters is a young artist come to town on a Federal grant to paint the local water tower. Dana is fresh and attractive and she makes no secret about her interest in Remy.
Funny How Things Change is a passable novel about first romance, career decisions, and coming to love and appreciate your home. Basically, the end of adolescence.
Wyatt does far too much telling and not enough showing at the outset. It is through Remy’s dialog (he is a bit witty), actions (picking Dana up for a joy ride), and his reactions (to Lisa) that we really learn who he is. Much of prose is dry in contrast to the lush mountain setting. I will take away a much better understanding of life in the mountainous regions of West Virginia and I appreciate the novel for that.
Remy was not an easy character to enjoy. He seemed rather lazy, like his father, and pathetic for wavering about Lisa while still maintaining he loved her. I don’t think he understands love at any point in the novel. Perhaps, because he only just begins to understand himself at the end, not coincidentally, when he decides to care about the mountain.
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