Roof Beam Reader
Adam Burgess
Review: These Things Happen by Richard Kramer
These Things Happen by Richard Kramer
Final Verdict: 3.5 out of 4.0
YTD: 53
Plot/Story:
4 – Plot/Story is interesting/believable and impactful (socially, academically, etc.)
These Things Happen opens with the main character, Wesley, and his best friend, Theo. Both of these young men, teenagers in high school, are special as are, we will quickly learn, all of the characters in the book, in their own way. Theo has been in a race for school class president and Wesley has been there, by his side, as campaign manager and whatever else Theo needs. Things turn out well for the dynamic duo, at least until Theo’s acceptance speech, where some breaking news happens to tumble out of his mouth, in front of the whole school. The repercussions are great, and they send Wesley on a quest to discover more about the people in his life. This quest and the questions he asks, the answers he seeks, will ultimately lead him to become more introspective, to learn more about himself than, perhaps, about anyone else. Over the course of a few days, Wesley’s attempts to connect with his parents result in the start of what might be the most meaningful relationships of his life – but not with the people he originally intended. Wesley’s story is one about friendship and family, about finding one’s self and learning to look at life in new ways, to be open to possibilities, and to never assume to know more than we do, about ourselves or anyone else. This is one of those strange books, like Catcher in the Rye, I’ll Get There It Better Be Worth the Trip, and Jumpstart the World, that belongs in the realm of adult contemporary fiction, even though its main character is a youth.
Characterization:
3 – Characters well-developed.
Perhaps my one concern with this book is its characterization. The message that we are all special and unique, with our own personal, valid life stories, is well taken. However, there is an overabundance of “fabulousness” to these characters – one which is pointed out in the book’s synopsis. The main character Wesley and his best friend Theo are both brilliant, and let each other know it all the time. Wesley’s father and his partner both think the other is smart, funny, amazing. Wesley thinks the same of both of them. Wesley’s mom is talented and intelligent, as is her boyfriend. Everyone in the story, it seems, is super clever and wonderful, except in their own eyes. This says a lot about how we see others versus how we see ourselves, but the “wow” factor of each character was so overemphasized that it, to me, made nobody seem very special at all. That being said, these characters certainly are people, and different ones at that. They are special in their own ways – George, in particular. Character is done best, I think, when it is demonstrated through the various relationships. The strained relationship between Wesley and his father, for instance, or the budding relationship between Wesley and George. The way we see Wesley’s mom, behind closed doors, and the way she comes across in public. Viewing the characters in their different situations adds depth to them and allows us to understand each of them a bit better, even if they haven’t quite figured out themselves or each other just yet.
Prose/Style:
3 – Satisfactory Prose/Style, conducive to the Story.
A carry-over issue I have from characterization has to do with narrative voice(s) in the book. Each chapter is narrated from the perspective of one of the characters, which means our relationship to the narrator changes with each chapter, too. In one chapter, we are with Wesley – seeing things from his point of view. In the next, we are with Theo, or George, or Ben. One would expect, then, a very different voice from chapter to chapter but, unfortunately, the language and style are almost identical, no matter which perspective we are witnessing in any given chapter. Wesley is a great character and, with George, probably the best drawn in the book – I just wish he had been more of a stand-out by being completely different from any of the other characters in the story. Mood and tone do shift, depending on the situation that the narrating characters are in at that point in the story, and the language and style in general are fluid, engaging, and appropriate to the overall tone and level of the story. I found the humor to be current and funny, not necessarily an easy task, and while I am not usually a fan of multiple narrative perspectives, it definitely works for this book, because the essence of the book is not just Wesley’s story, but all stories.
Additional Elements: Setting, Symbols/Motifs, Resolution, etc.
4 – Additional elements improve and advance the story.
These Things Happen by Richard Kramer is a modern take on a modern topic. Thankfully, gay and lesbian fiction is on the rise, both in the adult contemporary and the young adult spheres. There is still a lot of work to be done, but Kramer’s new book happily adds to the genre, and in an innovative way. These Things Happen looks at a variety of homosexual (and general life) issues through the eyes of a heterosexual teenaged boy. What is so fascinating is the fact that three of the main characters are gay, and this story is certainly about their lives, but it is also about the main character, Wesley, and how he begins to come into his own, to understand himself – maybe. Told from the perspective of many of its characters, what the reader learns from each vantage point is that no one is really sure of him or herself – we think we know who we are, but we constantly doubt it. Do others see us as we really are, or as we pretend to be? Can others, those closest to us, know more about us than we know about ourselves? How can listening to and learning about our friends, our parents, our children, give us deeper insight into who we are? This book asks a lot of questions and it answers few of them, but that’s the point – the discovery is ours to make. I can easily imagine These Things Happen becoming an indie/cult classic, someday.
Suggested Reading for:
Age Level: 13+
Interest: Family, Alternative/Modern Families, Friendship, Intergenerational Relationships, LGBT Issues, New York City, Bullying/Violence, Prejudice/Bigotry, Self-discovery.
Notable Quotes:
“I like when someone doesn’t know an answer right off, where what they say first is just a start, that can wind up anywhere. Where answers don’t end things.” (18)
“Sometimes I think I’m like forty different people, sometimes not quite one.” (23)
“If I’m gay, which I am, it’s not because my dad was distant. He wasn’t. And besides, that’s just psychology.” (99)
“He understands tonight, as he might not have before, that to accept what someone wants to give you is, in its way, a kind of bravery.” (215)
“Lying is most interesting as an action when you don’t actually have the need to lie . . . Because it allows you to find out what truth, personally, is for you. Because there have to be more categories, quite frankly, than truth or untruth.” (234)
“It is possible to have an experience and only find out later what it means.” (235)
Others’ Thoughts:
Book Review: These Things Happen by Richard Kramer – As the Crowe Flies (and Reads!)
These Things Happen by Richard Kramer – Shooting Stars Mag
Blog Tour: These Things Happen by Richard Kramer – Dreaming In Books
Roof Beam Reader 
Adam, that is an extraordinarily thoughtful review and I especially admire your ability to talk about the book without revealing the big bad that happens, as Buffy might say. Because the narrative voice was essentially the same throughout the book, I felt that it wasn’t the narrator changing so much as simply the narrator’s perspective. Some of the quotations you extracted were the same as the ones I extracted for my review.
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An excellent review.
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