Meet John Trow

by Thomas Dyja

Book Overview

Steven Armour, though only forty, is already fighting off a midlife crisis-his once-brilliant career fizzling, his marriage going stale, his inner life taking strange, disorienting turns. Then, on an impulse, Steven joins a group of Civil War reenactors, and much to his own and everyone else's amazement, his life suddenly turns around. Assigned to portray a Connecticut private named John Trow, Steven throws himself into the weekend exercises with...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0670030996
• ISBN13: 9780670030996
• Release Date: June 2002
• Publisher: Viking Books
• Length: 355 Pages
• Weight: 1.45 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 6.2" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

Strangenessosity

Do you like books about civil war reinactors?...Me either. Do you like books about possession?...Naw, I could do without them too. Huh, who would've thunk I'd have loved this? Not me. I don't know why I even started it. I'm glad I did though. Yet another book about a corporate lacky learning that we have been tricked into thinking unnecessary things are important. Althewhile, fighting what he thinks is his possession by a dead civil war vet. Ha! try and beat that for weirdosity, though it's written straightforward and serious.

A Page-Turner!

Don't let the very lame cover fool you: this is an excellent book. The descriptions were vivid, the characters interesting, likeable and three dimensional. Many times I was *there*, not only smelling the smells and seeing the sights, I was *feeling* the emotions of the protagonist. The prose have an easy, lyrical quality (aside from a few tangential run-on sentences that requires the reader to follow along with the main point the way a novice surfer might cling to an oversized wave). The dialogue had an easy, realistic quality. Several times I found myself laughing out loud at funny things the characters said and did.At its best it was like reading a really good Stephen King novel. For those who like a touch of the paranormal without going over the top, this book serves nicely. For the Civil War fan that wonders what it would be like to be a re-enactor, this book answers the questions.The story is presented in 5 "parts" or acts and it went on about an act too long. I would have given this five stars if it had concluded at the end of Act 4. There, the reader is still feeling the chills of a plot twist worthy of M. Night Shyamalan. As it is, it plods on for another 50 pages trying to tie up all loose ends, when in fact having it conclude at the end of Act 4 would have left us with the chills AND the ability to speculate as towhat exactly happened. It would have even left a question mark as to the supernatural nature of what had taken place. In life, not all questions are answered, not all loose ends are tied up, and it would have left a realistic touch if the same had happened here.I'd recommend this book. If you have the will power, close the book at the end of Part 4 and call it a story.

Meet Thomas Dyja!!!

I loved this book! I think this author is very talented and I don't understand some of the other critics. Who cares if you don't know how to pronounce a name?? I can't believe that would stop someone from reading Russian novels or great story for that matter. Before I get too far off track here - let me say again, I really enjoyed this book and plan to recommend it to one of my books groups and I hope I don't have to wait too long for another book from this fine writer.

Every now and then one should listen to ones friends!

More and more frequently it's been proven to me that one should listen to the reading suggestions made by friends with similar interests. Since I enjoy expository prose more than narrative, I tend to resist recommendations when they are novels rather than books of information, but every now and then someone who shares my interests will recommend one that is a "good fit." Meet John Trow by Thomas Dyja is a example. It is a very complex novel, recommended by a friend at work with whom I'd like to write ghost stories and with whom I share a number of interests. The book is part ghost story, part murder mystery, part Civil War history, and part a search for a philosophy of life. Whether any of these things are subjects in which the author himself has a real interest or experience or whether he just did his homework, the book works, at least for me. The central character, Steven Armour, is bogged down in a mid-life crisis. His wife Patty seems angry all the time, his son is a stranger to him, his daughter suffers undiagnosed petit mal seizures which cause difficulties at school, his coworkers treat him with the indulgence reserved for the "elderly" and "out of the loop," and his elderly father, a widower, perennial child and the arch antagonist of Steve's wife Patty, is hoping to move in with the family. It's not that Steve's problems are unique; but his solution to them is. Introduced to a Civil War reenactment group while on a family outing, he is goaded into joining, and once involved gets REAL involved. While I was a little disappointed in the ultimate solution of the mystery part of the book--I'm a romantic at heart--I felt that the book was greater than the sum of its parts. On the way toward recreating the life of a private John Trow, Steve learns things about himself and his life. We should all be so lucky. He comes to view the goals and purposes that he had accepted as grounding principles from the perspective of an outsider which helps him make some changes. Freed of the group think of modern life, at least for brief periods, he manages to become more centered and clinical in his judgement. For anyone caught up in the hectic pace of modern life as Steven Armour is, some of the points that Dyja makes about choices, taking control, taking responsibility, owning mistakes, and making changes are significant. In fact they are far more significant than the actual plot of the story, which is in fact a little light weight. The book is a good read for anyone with an interest in ghosts, the Civil War, Civil War reenactment, and family dynamics. More important it's a good book to prod one into considering ones own priorities and where they lead.

Read this book!

"Meet John Trow" is an incredible book! I lost myself in the story by page 10 and was able to abandon my own modern life pressures by escaping into the world of Steven Armour as he escaped into the world of John Trow. The writing is beautiful, imaginative, complex and ironic, taking us back in time with rich details of life in 1865 and returning us suddenly to the world of tv reruns and the internet. Tom Dyja has risen to the top of my list of favorite authors.