Meet John Throw

by Thomas Dyja

"Steven Armour is a man at a at forty-one, his rise up the career ladder has slowed to a crawl, and his family is slipping out of control. But life takes a dramatic turn for Steven when, on a whim, he joins a local group of Civil War re-enactors." Assigned to immerse himself in the life of Private John Trow, Steven soon finds that his weekends at the living history village on Connecticut's Mt. Riga let him escape his everyday disappointments. The complex drills of the Union army seem to come to him naturally, the men of the regiment become his friends, and his growing infatuation with Polly Kellogg, the wife of the regiment's captain, fires a passion that had cooled with his own wife, Patty. While the world around him races faster and faster toward the millennium, Steven turns to the simple consolations of nineteenth-century life, a choice that, strangely enough, starts to straighten out both his family and his job. But so thoroughly does Steven embrace the life of John Trow that even Steven begins to wonder if he is just playing a part, or whether the unquiet spirit of John Trow is taking him over. As Steven's identity slips through his fingers, he must ask himself what - and who - he is willing to sacrifice to become the man he believes he should have been.

Genres: Fiction, Civil War

Hardcover

First published June 3, 2002

About the author

I've written three novels and two works of non-fiction before THE THIRD COAST. I've also worked as an editor, book packager, and many years as a bookseller in Chicago, New York, and Boston. I currently live in Manhattan with my wife and daughter, who's in high school; my son is away at college.

Reviews

[Bill Davis · Rating 1 out of 5]

Have to give this one a low rating. Almost put it down so many times and any book you have to force yourself to finish isn't good! It wasn't until page 150 that I was interested at all, and then soon after that the plot got so confused and contradictory, Dyja lost me again.

Main problems in a nutshell: a totally unsympathetic main character, Steven Armour, even as an antagonist. Dyja just never got me interested in the guy or cheering for him. I won't go into all details, but there were many. Here are just a few... Steven's wife and children were nowhere near bad enough to justify his "answer" to the family situation, which was abandoning them by being away at a Civil War village as much as he could, much less his committing mindless, relationship-free adultery. I also just could not come close to relating to the MC's new obsession of Civil War reenactment, much less his being turned on by corsets.

Lots of editing errors. Whew! I won't list them all here. And there were many out and out contradictions. I also was bothered by many inaccuracies (like a 12 year old boy in 8th grade at "grammar school" for one! and the boy acts out like he's 15); a 5 year-old girl who acts like she's anywhere from two to eight; wild turkeys that allow themselves to be seen and shot at multiple times; I could go on and on here, but won't.

Finished it, but can't say it was a good read at all.

[Clint]

This book shows a dark side of Civil War reenacting, but it's a great read if you're into the hobby.

[Cindy · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was not what I was expecting. There was a great deal of self reflection on the part of the main character and it really leads you nowhere.

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this book -- particularly interesting is the way the author chooses to present the events, making the reader have to decide for themselves throughout most of the book if there is any sort of fantastical or paranormal act at work of if Steven is simply projecting his desire for change onto his life. Although about 3/4 of the way through I got fairly bored with the book, it's a good read.