I hesitate to write about this book, mainly because Scott Turow’s powers as a novelist far exceed mine as a reviewer. He seems to have been born full-blown, as it were; Presumed Innocent was as complex and satisfying as anything that’s come since. Unlike, say, C. S. Friedman, however, all of his subsequent works have held to the same high standard, which, at seven hefty novels and one novella, is no mean feat.
Ordinary Heroes represents something of a departure, though. For one thing, it’s the only book so far that is set substantially (i.e., beyond the lifetimes of most of the people who will read it) in the past; for another, it has far less courtroom action. In fact, there is hardly any legal wrangling here, which gives the book a very different flavor than its predecessors, more The Greatest Generation than The Burden of Proof. While Turow has been inordinately successful with his past formula, I don’t find the current novel to be a problem. In fact, I think that it may be a good thing, as Turow certainly is a gifted enough storyteller to be able to handle most any theme and setting. Kindle County gives him an admittedly broad canvas to work on, but his talent is broader still.
About the only reason for a Turow fan not to buy this book would be the lack of courtroon drama mentioned above. Other than that, Ordinary Heroes is a fine addition to his canon.
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