The Deception of the Thrush

As the nation is shattered by the horrors of the Vietnam War and the assassinations of Martin Luther King, Jr. and John F. Kennedy, Jason is torn: His parents want him to accept being drafted, but he doesn't want to risk his life for the war he protests. With the possibility of being forced to fight looming over his head, Jason must choose whether to appease his parents or finally be true to who he really is. "Bruce Spang's novel is a moving, authentic depiction of one young man's progress from the dread of being labeled a "homo" to an awareness of how honesty, be it sexual, political or personal, has its own particular and crucial rewards. The story Spang tells is generational but also perennial: the search for a meaningful identity in a world that seems hell-bent on thwarting that search. The lives of men can be a terrible thing to contemplate. Bruce Spang is both acute and compassionate in his rendering of this story." -Baron Wormser, author of Teach Us That Peace brucepspang.wordpress.com