Saints and Villains (Ballantine Reader's Circle) (Paperback)

~ (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Sometimes the universe produces a man or woman whose life seems ready-made for fiction: Joan of Arc, for example, or Robert Falcon Scott; John Brown, Martin Luther King Jr., or Jesus of Nazareth. Fiction writers are attracted to larger-than-life personalities and each of the above-mentioned luminaries have indeed appeared in fictional works. Now German theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer joins their ranks in Denise Giardina's novel Saints and Sinners. Bonhoeffer was born in 1906 in Breslau, Germany. As a young man, he found his vocation in the church, and his theological education took him to England, Spain, and eventually New York, where he spent a year in post-doctoral studies at Union Theological Seminary. He returned to Germany imbued with both the ideals of ecumenicalism and of the Church's responsibility to participate in social and political debate. These ideals, unfortunately, were hardly compatible with the rise of Nazism in the Germany of the '30s and '40s. Bonnhoeffer, true to his beliefs, spoke out against the Nazi regime, and participated in Germany's small Protestant resistance. He was eventually arrested for helping Jews escape to Switzerland and was hanged in the concentration camp in Flossenberg in the waning days of the war.

Denise Giardina knows the stuff of drama when she sees it, and in writing this fictionalized account of Bonhoeffer's life and death, she has drawn heavily on his own writings. Though she sticks to the facts where chronology is concerned, she does introduce three fictional characters into her protagonist's life as a means of illuminating his most private aspects. There is Elisabeth Hildebrant, Bonhoeffer's Jewish lover; Alois Bauer, his Nazi nemesis; and Fred Bishop, a black American seminarian Bonhoeffer meets during his year in New York who serves to politicize and radicalize the German theologian. After reading Saints and Sinners, readers might want to take a look at Bonhoeffer's Letters and Papers from Prison, written during the last two years of his life, for a taste of the real man. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Dietrich Bonhoeffer was a German Protestant theologian, philosopher, and author executed in 1945 for his role in a plot to assassinate Hitler. In this first novel, the title of which is drawn from Bonhoeffer's Ethics, Giardina re-creates Bonhoeffer's story, from his privileged childhood in Berlin, through his travels abroad both before and during the war, to his final days in an interrogation prison. Fiction should have provided Giardina with the means of exploring Bonhoeffer's essence and engaging the reader in an understanding of his beliefs and motives. While Giardina captures Bonhoeffer's aloof and abrasive style, she fails to create a heroic or even compelling central character. Not all lives are suitable to fictional biography, and as Giardina herself writes in a postscript, "a collection of facts does not make an engaging story." Yet Bonhoeffer's story, told from a different perspective, could have been an epic morality tale of World War II. Recommended where interest warrants purchase.?Caroline M. Hallsworth, Cambrian Coll. Lib., Ont.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 512 pages
• Publisher: Ballantine Books (February 9, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0449004279
• ISBN-13: 978-0449004272
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #387,146 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great introduction (only) to the life of Bonhoeffer., July 6, 1999

By	[e-mail] (Atlanta, Georgia) - See all my reviews

Great introduction into the life of a facinating man, but seriously lacking in portraying an acurate sense of his beliefs. Read "Letters and Papers from Prison" to find out how this modern man really understood the connection between a truly Christ centered life while living through the nadir of human existence as represented by Nazi Germany. I don't believe that this book comes close to understanding Bonhoeffer's theology and faith. Giardina seems to filter his theology through a 90's social/cultural perspective. What's left is only a shallow portrayal of this man of faith. The value of the book to me is that it made me want to know more. Still, it was a very good read, providing an interesting sense of the insidiouness of Nazism in Germany in the 1930s. Check out the Bonhoeffer home page for more about this modern saint.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent insight into one of great theologians of century, November 19, 1999

By	Ellen Feliciano ([e-mail]) (Chicago, IL) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Saints and Villains (Audio Cassette)

This is a heavily biographical novel about Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a noted German theologian and martyr. This book gives significant insight into Bonhoeffer's personality and to the events that shaped him. It also paints a grim picture of the onset of World War II and the mentality of Germany and England at the time. This book shows Bonhoeffer's human side as well as the strong character for which he is famous. It clearly outlines the struggles he went through on his faith journey, and the fortitude with which he faced prison and death for his beliefs. This is an emminently readable book, and I highly recommend it. It was one of those books you hate to see end.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful account of one's man heroic response to hitler!, September 14, 2001

By	Jonathan Robbins "Jonathan Robbins" (Redwood City, CA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This book is several things. First, it is the story of a heroic man's struggle to do his part to fight the evil that he knew existed in Germany during World War Two. Second, it is a story of a boy growing into a man, imperfections and all. Third, it is about the development of one man's soul and sense of purpose. Finally, it is the story of Germany, of a country as it descends into an abyss.

The book is extremely well written. It introduces us to an "inside" view of Hitler's rise to power and Germany's response to it. We meet our hero as a boy, and watch as he grows into a man. We follow him through school, through his search for self and meaning. The main character is undoubtedly a hero, but not in a story-book sense. He is - like all of us - not a perfect being. He has trouble with relationships. He has fear - great fear. He has uncertainty. But that makes his heroism all the more striking.

Bonhoffer is from a very wealthy, famous German family. He is safe - had he sat back and kept quiet, there is little doubt that he would have made it through the war untouched. Yet, he rises to the occasion. The story is fascinating in its unique perspective - this man, from this very German family, gives us a glimpse of how Germany descended into insanity. We watch as he struggles with his own doubts, his own feelings of frustration and anger, and as he struggles with doing what is right versus fighting against his own country and government. It is simply gripping to read.

The writing is clear and crisp and filled with meaning. The story literally flows... you will find yourself unable to put the book down. Read this book and watch and as an incredible man faces danger and fear, and rises above it. A great read!