Ordinary Heroes

By Scott Turrow



Aah Historical fiction. I am a fan. Why? Well it’s one thing to read about history but unless you have some firsthand accounts it is not often you get a riveting story about history. Okay that’s not entirely true but you can’t always know what both sides were thinking. So in comes the historical fiction author who can give us insight into both sides and weave it all together to make a gripping tale. Plus you can change events to fit your story and you don’t have to worry about it.

So Ordinary Heroes is loosely based to the events that happened to the author’s father in World War II. How could this not be good?

Well it was great. And finally a book that got it right in regards to jumping between present time and the past. The storyteller is looking back to discover what his dad did in WWII. The WWII parts are told from the point of view of the father. The difference in the book is that each time frame is printed in a different font so you easily can figure out what is going on and when and to whom. Clever, no?

Now I used to work with this guy named Phil. We got along great. Even thought he is working for a different company now I still imitate him. How? Well you see Phil smiled a lot. And he had a weird smile. He would clench his teeth together and open his lips so his smile showed a mouth full of clenched teeth. He would hold this smile to you looked over at him and acknowledged whatever he had said. I thought it was funny. And a bit creepy. My wife and I continue the tradition when we say something that we want to do that we know the other person doesn’t really agree with. Why do I tell you about Phil? Well because the one image that I took away from Ordinary Heroes is that the old man whom the narrator interviews, is described as giving a Phil smile but he throws in a sideways jut of the jaw. I occasionally employ this variation to my Phil smiles from time to time. Give it a try.

I only remember bits of the story, and unrehearsed parachute jump, the mysterious french resistance lady, the son discovering why his dad took him to visit a black family once every year (it was the family of his war buddy who died) and of course the end where the son finds out the French fighter is his mom. When he asks her about it she tells him no it wasn’t her. He guesses this is because she left that life behind when she came to the US, so in a way she is telling the truth. She tells the dad earlier in the book “Who are we, but the stories we tell about ourselves, particularly if we accept them.” How true.