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Ordinary Heroes
A Novel
by Scott Turow


7.1

based on 15 reviews
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based on 14 votes
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The bestselling author detours from legal conflict to armed conflict with this novel set predominantly during WWII.

Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 384 pages
11/01/2005
$25.00

ISBN: 0374184216

Fiction
General Literature & Fiction

All reviews are classified as one of five grades: Outstanding (4 points), Favorable (3), Mixed (2), Unfavorable (1) and Terrible (0). To calculate the Metascore, we divide total points achieved by the total points possible (i.e., 4 x the number of reviews), with the resulting percentage (multiplied by 100) being the Metascore. Learn more...

Kirkus Reviews

Without diminishing his page-turning narrative momentum, Turow extends his literary range.

Library Journal Stacy Alesi

While some of the historical facts presented are not 100 percent accurate, the book's emotional wallop more than justifies the literary license and should secure its place in the canon of World War II literature. An extraordinary, unforgettable novel. [1 Oct 2005, p. 70]

Los Angeles Times John Sacret Young

In "Ordinary Heroes," as never before, Turow reaches beyond his belief in and love of the law and into history--one family's and our country's--to discover anew that there still lie in the marrow of human passions motivations and mysteries that can't be captured or categorized. [1 Nov 2005]

Publishers Weekly

Turow makes the leap from courtroom to battlefield effortlessly.

San Francisco Chronicle Stephen Lyons

More brilliantly than his previous works, Turow shows what happens when "ordinary" people are placed in extraordinary circumstances.

Booklist Allison Block

While Turow's fans might prefer the lively verbal skirmishes that suffuse his legal fare, the author's action sequences (like that white-knuckle free fall onto the battlefront) do plenty to quicken the pulse. [1 Sep 2005, p. 8]

Boston Globe Nan Goldberg

What Turow has constructed is an intricate combination of action and sentiment, with a dynamic, compelling plot.

Chicago Sun-Times John Cruickshank

I didn't much like Ordinary Heroes on first reading... but when I went back to document my complaints, the novel won me over. I found it moving and exciting. The powerful inner core of the book defeated my criticisms

Chicago Tribune Philip Caputo

Turow has given us a captivating tale about the things ordinary people are sometimes required to do in extraordinary circumstances. [30 Oct 2005]

The New York Times Book Review Joseph Kanon

This novel provides a showcase for Turow's storytelling skills: he juggles the narratives, shifting back and forth in time with assurance; he is alert as always to character; the plot moves. But not all of it is smooth, and some of the rough patches are the result of the World War II setting.

Washington Post Stephen Amidon

In the end, Ordinary Heroes, like all of Turow's fiction, derives its considerable power from its depiction of a lawyer's disillusionment, his understanding of the dark ironies that await anyone with an absolute belief in the rule of justice.

The Guardian Steven Poole

[A] first-rate war story.

The Independent Barry Forshaw

The novel may strain to accommodate its themes but, by and large, it carries off a vivid period narrative in trenchant fashion.

Entertainment Weekly Jennifer Reese

Even Scott Turow... can't resist the romantic cliches as he moves his latest novel, Ordinary Heroes, from his usual grimy haunts in fictional Kindle County, U.S.A., to the Ardennes, circa 1944.

The New York Times Janet Maslin

"Ordinary Heroes" illustrates something fundamental about Mr. Turow's work: storytelling drives his fiction even when stylistic clumsiness threatens to bog it down. This time, leaving his well-defined courtroom turf to take on wartime experiences that have been written about so exhaustively, he has less narrative verve at his disposal.

The average user rating for this book is 7.1 (out of 10) based on 14 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Linda A gave it a7:
By the time I was done I was sorry I had not asked my dad more questions about him and his life, especially WWII. I liked the book about the child/parent conflict, the war scenes were secondary for me. Since I'm a history teacher I didn't care about the accuracy of the dates, this is a novel, work of fiction, authors take such liberties.

Patricia G gave it an8:
I appreciated the way Turow helped me understand the experiences of the common soldier in WWII. My dad fought in Germany during that same period, and never talked about it. This book hlped me feel closer to him and his war experience. Thank you Mr. Turow. A worthy read.

Will W gave it a1:
Terrible. It's pure and simple racism. There are much better books about WWII -- and I was there!

Joe S gave it a2:
Just another "how terrible was the war to Jews" book, and badly done

nuno m gave it an8:
It was a thrilling book and I found it to be very exciting and realistic, which was due to the stories told by Turow's father who served in the WWII. The downside that I found was the accuracy of dates i.e. U.S. troops did not enter Berlin in May as potrayed in the novel, but rather in July. Also there are instances where the plot does not generate itself clearly to where you might not understand something you've read untill you read about it further in the novel. Overall it was still a pleasure to read.

Joanna L gave it an8:
Just Dubin's story would have been a good read, but with the addition of the parent/child conflict I thought it was great.

robert w gave it a7:
i was a bit disappointed. compared to his more recent books, this was somewhat boring

Ordinary Heroes A Novel by Scott Turow

Ordinary Heroes
A Novel
by Scott Turow