Ordinary Heroes: Summary and book reviews of Ordinary Heroes by Scott Turow, plus links to an excerpt from Ordinary Heroes and a biography of Scott Turow.
Ordinary Heroes
by Scott Turow
Hardcover: Nov 2005,
371 pages.
Paperback: Oct 2006,
512 pages.
Stewart Dubinsky knew his father had served in World War II. And he'd
been told how David Dubin (as his father had Americanized the name
that Stewart later reclaimed) had rescued Stewart's mother from the
horrors of the Balingen concentration camp. But when, after his
father's death, he discovers a packet of wartime letters to a former
fiancée and learns of his father's court-martial and imprisonment, he
is plunged into the mystery of his family's secret history and is
driven to uncover the truth about this enigmatic, distant man who
always refused to talk about his war.
As he pieces together his
father's past through military archives, letters, and, finally, notes
from a memoir his father wrote in prison, secretly preserved by the
officer who defended him, Stewart starts to assemble a dramatic and
baffling chain of events. He learns how Dubin, a JAG lawyer attached
to Patron's Third Army and eager for combat experience, got more than
he bargained for when he was ordered to arrest Robert Martin, a
wayward OSS officer who, despite his spectacular bravery with the
French Resistance, appeared to be acting on orders other than his
commander's.
In pursuit of Martin, Dubin and his sergeant had
parachuted into Bastogne just as the Battle of the Bulge reached its
apex. Pressed into the leadership of a desperately depleted rifle
company, the men were forced to abandon their quest for Martin and his
fiery, maddeningly elusive comrade, Gita Lodz, as they fought for
their lives through the ferocious winter battle that would determine
Europe's fate.
Reconstructing the terrible events and agonizing
choices his father faced on the battlefield, in the courtroom, and in
love, Stewart gains a closer understanding of his past, of his
father's character, and of the brutal nature of war itself.
Moving away from books, both fiction and non-fiction, centering on the courtroom, but keeping a character we've met in previous books (Kindle County journalist Stewart Dubin) Scott Turow tries his hand at a World War II story, inspired by his father's own military experience. (Reviewed by BookBrowse Review Team).
The New York Times - Janet Maslin Ordinary Heroes works best through vivid, anecdotal
descriptions: authentic-sounding stories of foxhole ordeals,
battlefield casualties and a particularly terrifying parachute drop.
Even when expressed stiltedly ("and tears still would not come,
leaving me in a state of constipated agitation"), these memories have
immediacy. The author's anguish about war is unmistakably real.
The Washington Post - Stephen Amidon
This inner drama, rather than the battle scenes and action sequences, makes the novel worth reading, leaving the reader with a lasting sense of the corrosive effects of war on even the most civilized souls.
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.
Kirkus Reviews
While some of the writing succumbs to war-is-hell cliche and there are passages of sentimental dialogue that suggest flashbacks from 1940s battle movies, the story of shifting allegiances, divided loyalties, compromised principles and primal instincts is as engrossing as any of Turow's legal thrillers.
Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. Turow makes the leap from courtroom to battlefield effortlessly.
Library Journal - Stacey Alesi
An extraordinary, unforgettable novel, which Turow notes was inspired by his own father's military experiences. Highly recommended.
About The
Author: Despite publishing
about ten books, including his
six legal thrillers (Reversible
Errors, Personal Injuries
etc), Turow continues to work as
an attorney majoring on white
collar criminal litigation and
pro bono work, including
cases involving the death
penalty.
He was born in 1949 in
Chicago, Illinois. He graduated
with high honors from Amherst
College in 1970 and then
attended the Stanford University
Creative Writing Center from
1970-72. He stayed at Stanford
teaching Creative Writing until
1975, when he entered Harvard
Law School, graduating in 1978.
His journal of his first year at
Harvard, One L, was
published in 1977 and became a
bestseller. ...
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The story of a young American pilot and a destitute but spirited young mother who, in 1948, takes the courageous decision to rescue her sister's small daughter out of Berlin on the very day the Russians blockade the city.
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(407 words).
The Washington Post - Stephen Amidon
