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Wildcat: An Appalachian Romance
Journey into Appalachia's Love, Loss, and the Resilience of a Forgotten Land
Discover the captivating allure of the Appalachian region as Jeffrey Dunn skillfully weaves a tale of love, loss, and redemption in his exquisitely crafted literary fiction masterpiece, An Appalachian Romance. Immerse yourself in the depths of the rust belt's rugged landscapes, where the echoes of industrial disaster intertwine with the sublime beauty of nature, all while the characters navigate the delicate dance between past and future.
In this poignant narrative, our protagonist, a retired English teacher, returns to his roots, lured back to the once-shuttered Hotel Wildcat, now revitalized as a collective endeavor. As he ventures through this transformed community, a new world unfolds before his eyes. The former mine, once a symbol of tragedy, now thrives as a flourishing mushroom farm. The dairy emerges as a purveyor of wholesome organic milk products, while the mill stands as a vibrant hub for sustainable and artisanal creations.
Yet amidst this promising rebirth, Wildcat’s ominous history remains inescapable—the haunting era of explosions and closures. Similarly, our protagonist’s own dark past resurfaces, entwined with memories of his working-class girlfriend, an indomitable spirit adorned in the trappings of a resilient hippie chic. As he embarks on the ambitious endeavor of penning his memoir—an intimate chronicle you now hold in your hands—he captures both the triumphs and tragedies of those who grappled with the devastating changes that swept through their lives.
Within these pages, Dunn employs prose that dances on the reader’s imagination, evoking a sense of timelessness and historical resonance. An Appalachian Romance breathes life into Appalachia while exploring themes of the redemptive potential of rediscovered friendship, the restorative power of nature, and the boundless capacity for transformation.
Discover the captivating allure of the Appalachian region as Jeffrey Dunn skillfully weaves a tale of love, loss, and redemption in his exquisitely crafted literary fiction masterpiece, An Appalachian Romance. Immerse yourself in the depths of the rust belt's rugged landscapes, where the echoes of industrial disaster intertwine with the sublime beauty of nature, all while the characters navigate the delicate dance between past and future.
In this poignant narrative, our protagonist, a retired English teacher, returns to his roots, lured back to the once-shuttered Hotel Wildcat, now revitalized as a collective endeavor. As he ventures through this transformed community, a new world unfolds before his eyes. The former mine, once a symbol of tragedy, now thrives as a flourishing mushroom farm. The dairy emerges as a purveyor of wholesome organic milk products, while the mill stands as a vibrant hub for sustainable and artisanal creations.
Yet amidst this promising rebirth, Wildcat’s ominous history remains inescapable—the haunting era of explosions and closures. Similarly, our protagonist’s own dark past resurfaces, entwined with memories of his working-class girlfriend, an indomitable spirit adorned in the trappings of a resilient hippie chic. As he embarks on the ambitious endeavor of penning his memoir—an intimate chronicle you now hold in your hands—he captures both the triumphs and tragedies of those who grappled with the devastating changes that swept through their lives.
Within these pages, Dunn employs prose that dances on the reader’s imagination, evoking a sense of timelessness and historical resonance. An Appalachian Romance breathes life into Appalachia while exploring themes of the redemptive potential of rediscovered friendship, the restorative power of nature, and the boundless capacity for transformation.
160 pages, Kindle Edition
Published June 18, 2024
11 people want to read
About the author
Jeffrey Dunn
7 books13 followersAs featured on NPR and Medium, Jeffrey Dunn is a critically acclaimed author and award-winning teacher. His works of cultural fiction include the Washington State Book Award-nominated Radio Free Olympia, his upcoming Wildcat, An Appalachian Romance as well as Whiskey Rebel, the surreal Dream Fishing the Little Spokane, and his poetry collection Hubcap Collection Plate. His Ph.D. in English literature and cultural studies laid the foundation for his 41-year teaching career of addressing student learning issues and implementing educational programs at the local, state, and national levels. Embracing his dyslexia as a gift, this dream fisher and history miner roams the woods whenever possible.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
June 22, 2024
I enjoyed this emotional story that takes a look back over the life, death and resurgence of a town and some of the people. I liked most of this story but was a little disappointed in the ending. I liked how the story starts in the present and goes back to the past to show how everyone got to where they are. I laughed and cried. I received a copy of the book from the publisher for a fair and honest opinion that I gave of my own free will.
July 19, 2024
Wildcat: An Appalachian Romance-Jeffrey Dunn, author
The place is a typical town in Appalachia; it is a place where everyone lives a hardscrabble life. The “new kid” has come to town with his parents. He lives in a nice house, better than most residents. His dad is there to close the mine in Wildcat. It isn’t personal. It is his job. The “new kid” meets the first love of his life, Carolyn, and he makes a good friend, Dominic. They are from opposite ends of the rainbow, however. When the mine explodes, everyone is touched by it, and soon, other tragedies follow because of desperation or foolish choices. The people of Wildcat can either move on or remain. The mine is the lifeblood of the town. Who will stay? Who will leave? Is the town doomed to die. Does it?
Carolyn and the "new kid", are just teenagers struggling to discover who they really are and what they really want to do. They wrestle with their lives for a long time. Five decades later, Dominic suggests that the “new kid” should return to Wildcat. Coincidentally, Carolyn is there too. They have found a new kind of Wildcat; it has moved on the way they did.
Struggling to survive, the people who remained find a way to use nature to subsist contentedly. They grow their own food, make their own paper and ink, and they provide necessary simple goods and services. They care for each other. They are fifty years older. The Hotel Wildcat houses many of the people full-time and provides the residents with meals. There is an openness and honesty among all of the residents. They tolerate and respect each other’s different ways. It seems each of them has something valuable to offer.
The ”new kid” is still a newcomer, but they make room for him in the hotel. Carolyn is not a newcomer. She returns and begins to restore her former home. Do they find a way back to each other? Is it possible for anyone to find true happiness at last? Is the simple life of Wildcat a desirable one? Do we all need as many creature comforts as we demand? Does the abundance make us less appreciative of what we really have? Can anyone truly move on and live with their little “sins” or do they follow us forever?
This brief little novel is a tale written with a lyrical simplicity about what life can offer even to those who least expect it. With hope, a bit of fortitude and industriousness, the residents of this forgotten town in Appalachia rebuilt their lives finding friendship and solidarity in their effort to survive. They found each other and a purpose. Don’t all of us wish for that?
The author is having a personal conversation with the reader that works. His language is poetic; his message is magical. The Shadows of Wildcat come and go to reunite them with their memories. They connect the past to the present and even to the coming future. Many of this book’s readers will wish they could find such a place to retire.
The place is a typical town in Appalachia; it is a place where everyone lives a hardscrabble life. The “new kid” has come to town with his parents. He lives in a nice house, better than most residents. His dad is there to close the mine in Wildcat. It isn’t personal. It is his job. The “new kid” meets the first love of his life, Carolyn, and he makes a good friend, Dominic. They are from opposite ends of the rainbow, however. When the mine explodes, everyone is touched by it, and soon, other tragedies follow because of desperation or foolish choices. The people of Wildcat can either move on or remain. The mine is the lifeblood of the town. Who will stay? Who will leave? Is the town doomed to die. Does it?
Carolyn and the "new kid", are just teenagers struggling to discover who they really are and what they really want to do. They wrestle with their lives for a long time. Five decades later, Dominic suggests that the “new kid” should return to Wildcat. Coincidentally, Carolyn is there too. They have found a new kind of Wildcat; it has moved on the way they did.
Struggling to survive, the people who remained find a way to use nature to subsist contentedly. They grow their own food, make their own paper and ink, and they provide necessary simple goods and services. They care for each other. They are fifty years older. The Hotel Wildcat houses many of the people full-time and provides the residents with meals. There is an openness and honesty among all of the residents. They tolerate and respect each other’s different ways. It seems each of them has something valuable to offer.
The ”new kid” is still a newcomer, but they make room for him in the hotel. Carolyn is not a newcomer. She returns and begins to restore her former home. Do they find a way back to each other? Is it possible for anyone to find true happiness at last? Is the simple life of Wildcat a desirable one? Do we all need as many creature comforts as we demand? Does the abundance make us less appreciative of what we really have? Can anyone truly move on and live with their little “sins” or do they follow us forever?
This brief little novel is a tale written with a lyrical simplicity about what life can offer even to those who least expect it. With hope, a bit of fortitude and industriousness, the residents of this forgotten town in Appalachia rebuilt their lives finding friendship and solidarity in their effort to survive. They found each other and a purpose. Don’t all of us wish for that?
The author is having a personal conversation with the reader that works. His language is poetic; his message is magical. The Shadows of Wildcat come and go to reunite them with their memories. They connect the past to the present and even to the coming future. Many of this book’s readers will wish they could find such a place to retire.
June 17, 2024
A retired English teacher returns to the small Appalachian mining town of Wildcat where he lived for a year of high school. During that year, he found friendship, love and witnessed a series of traumatizing events that shook the town and its inhabitants. The mine that the townspeople relied on for their economy blew up, killing three. Leaving soon after for college, the narrator misses the fallout and rebuilding after the explosion. Upon his return, he learns that everything has changed and yet nothing has changed. He falls back in with his friend Dominic and explores the town's new businesses, honey, mushroom ink and leather as well as produce. However, he still must confront the real reason for his return, Carolyn, his high school girlfriend and the ghosts he left in Wildcat.
Wildcat: An Appalachian Romance is an ode to an Appalachian town, it's people and their resilience. The writing is very natural, poetic, and shows a flow of thought as the narrator creates a story that you are experiencing along with him at the moment. It took me a little bit to get into this flow with the writing, but once I was in it, the story moved very quickly. The writing felt very cathartic as the narrator observed the changes to Wildcat since he left and simultaneously reflected on the past of the characters and how Wildcat has sculpted them. I loved the addition of the shadows as characters, an element of magical realism that everyone acknowledged and added to the ambiance of the area. Overall, a beautiful, fast paced story of change and redemption.
This book was received for free in return for an honest review.
Wildcat: An Appalachian Romance is an ode to an Appalachian town, it's people and their resilience. The writing is very natural, poetic, and shows a flow of thought as the narrator creates a story that you are experiencing along with him at the moment. It took me a little bit to get into this flow with the writing, but once I was in it, the story moved very quickly. The writing felt very cathartic as the narrator observed the changes to Wildcat since he left and simultaneously reflected on the past of the characters and how Wildcat has sculpted them. I loved the addition of the shadows as characters, an element of magical realism that everyone acknowledged and added to the ambiance of the area. Overall, a beautiful, fast paced story of change and redemption.
This book was received for free in return for an honest review.
May 13, 2024
ARC for review. To be published June 18, 2024.
The unnamed narrator is a retired English teacher who returns to Wildcat, a place he lived for a very memorable year during his young adult life. He resides in the former Hotel Wildcat which has been redone and reopened as part of a collective. A former mine site is now a mushroom farm. An old dairy is up and running and a mill is creating artisanal delights, all for the benefit of the small group that make their home there. They live, eat and work communally.
But Wildcat has a dark history, as do many coal mining towns, and the narrator has secrets of his own. He is hoping to connect with Carolyn, his lost love of that long ago time, but would she be interested in him now?
This was an interesting story, not quite sure where it is set. It sounds like West Virginia but one of the characters refers to West Virginia as an “other” place, so perhaps eastern Kentucky or western Virginia.
I felt the “romance” of the subtitle was more with Wildcat than Carolyn. I also thought the narrator was a bit too sure of himself in returning to Wildcat. There were people there who had every reason to dislike him, and maybe all that fades over the years, but maybe not. I also wondered if the narrator was paying his way in funds, because he didn’t seem to contribute much to the common good, since he’s writing, I guess.
Anyway, nice, dreamy feel. Appropriate length.
The unnamed narrator is a retired English teacher who returns to Wildcat, a place he lived for a very memorable year during his young adult life. He resides in the former Hotel Wildcat which has been redone and reopened as part of a collective. A former mine site is now a mushroom farm. An old dairy is up and running and a mill is creating artisanal delights, all for the benefit of the small group that make their home there. They live, eat and work communally.
But Wildcat has a dark history, as do many coal mining towns, and the narrator has secrets of his own. He is hoping to connect with Carolyn, his lost love of that long ago time, but would she be interested in him now?
This was an interesting story, not quite sure where it is set. It sounds like West Virginia but one of the characters refers to West Virginia as an “other” place, so perhaps eastern Kentucky or western Virginia.
I felt the “romance” of the subtitle was more with Wildcat than Carolyn. I also thought the narrator was a bit too sure of himself in returning to Wildcat. There were people there who had every reason to dislike him, and maybe all that fades over the years, but maybe not. I also wondered if the narrator was paying his way in funds, because he didn’t seem to contribute much to the common good, since he’s writing, I guess.
Anyway, nice, dreamy feel. Appropriate length.
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July 18, 2024Received copy from the publisher for an honest review , Travel back with a retired English teacher who is known as The New Kid in this captivating read as he returns to his boyhood home Wildcat, a rural Appalachian community. Experience his childhood and current adventures and memories in a diary-like format that flows with reading ease but includes palpable inner tension in a story that should keep readers’ curiosity burning. Also, we experience the writing process road to redemption and how Wildcat was reborn after several disasters with the help of those who lived through them and those still living and experiencing the community, and all the joy the people who are there can bring and also the beauty of its landscapes, friendship, love, and loss. Highly recommended for quick but insightful read.
July 5, 2024
Wildcat by Jeffrey Dunn erupts into a story of a retired man returning to the town where he experienced his first love. The town consisted of a mine, a dam, and a mill. In a devastating sweep all three plummet to ruin. Will the town survive? The town inhabitants turn to nature and flame new life into this sad town. The characters need further development. This short novel does not have precise chapters, but thoughts woven into a story. At first, the experiment peeked through the despair when describing the hard and difficult life of the miners and the mill workers, but later the words just filled the pages as the emotion slipped away like the precious otters vanished.
March 18, 2025
How much abuse can America stand? We’ve all heard about or seen the pictures of the wreckage left behind in the wake of industrial failure—skeletons of steel works, hollow store fronts, faces desiccated by alcohol. We all imbibe invisible toxins—lead, arsenic, mercury—like they’ve bubbled from a pristine artesian well. We all live in a country that prays for some new technology to save us. In Wildcat: An Appalachian Romance, the characters send their Rust Belt village back to future by living and dining collectively and by turning a failed iron works and coal mine into hubs for sustainable artisanal creations.
July 19, 2024
Weaving Shadows is a novel that starts strong but struggles to maintain its momentum. Its innovative structure and powerful early chapters showcase the author's talent for capturing the harsh realities of life. Yet, as the narrative unfolds, it loses some of its initial impact, leaving readers with a sense of what could have been. Despite its shortcomings, the novel offers a thought-provoking exploration of the lives of miners and mill workers, making it a worthwhile read for those interested in experimental literature and stories of resilience and hardship.
July 30, 2024
Thank you NetGalley, Jeffery Dunn and publishing team for this ARC in exchange for an honest review. This story was a nice short story which I was able to get through in one sitting. I appreciated the development through the story, the world building was good but I struggled with the dialogue, addressing the readers, character development and feeling immersed in the book. I definitely have a few friends who would love this book a lot and have recommended it to them. Overall, it was a good quick read showing you a true love for a small town vibe.
April 30, 2024
Thank you NetGalley for the ebook in exchange for an honest review.
I liked how this was divided, it made it easy to read and I finished it in one go. I liked the writing style for everything descriptive, the setting, the stories told and the way the author addresses the reader a couple of times. But the dialogues, unfortunately, I thought were a bit weak. Still, the story was beautiful, and immersive. Bit of mystical with a bit of reality, this was unexpected but lovely.
I liked how this was divided, it made it easy to read and I finished it in one go. I liked the writing style for everything descriptive, the setting, the stories told and the way the author addresses the reader a couple of times. But the dialogues, unfortunately, I thought were a bit weak. Still, the story was beautiful, and immersive. Bit of mystical with a bit of reality, this was unexpected but lovely.
February 16, 2025
Easy to read but made zero sense.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews