A Review of Saints and Villains as a Lesson in Courage and Faith
by Kristin Michaud

In the novel, Saints and Villians, Denise Giardina speculates upon the life of German theologian & Nazi resister, Dietrich Bonhoeffer.  While the “facts” that are accredited to Bonhoeffer’s life are filtered through the mind of the novelist and create a fictional account of the renowned Nazi resister, Giardina’s exploration into his humanity offers an important perspective on courage, heroic action, resistance and faith in the face of inhumanity.

Giardina explores Bonhoeffer’s life beginning in his childhood and ending with his execution upon the charge of treason against the German government for participating in a failed plot to overthrow the Nazi regime and assassinate Hitler.  In the process, Giardina introduces the reader to a man who is both courageous and humanly complex.  Depicting Bonhoeffer as a man that holds claim to a complicated life filled with self-doubt, love, loss and depression, Giardina challenges the notion that heroes must be exceptional people.  In The Ballantine Reader’s Circle Guide to Saints and Villains, the author states, 

"I don’t believe in such things as paragons of virtue or evil monsters.  I never saw him as a paragon of virtue; I am predisposed to see complexity.  I saw the flaws and was more interested in the complexities and layers that made him a real human being.  As you begin to read about and get to know someone, you find the strange, quirky stuff that makes them distinct and interesting as individuals."      

Bonhoeffer’s humanity demonstrates the average person’s capacity for courage and heroism when faced with injustice.

Additionally, the novel’s exploration of Bonhoeffer’s experiences in the United States, specifically in the Kentucky coal mines on Gauley Mountain, offer an important perspective on the connection between racism against African-Americans in the United States prior to World War II and the initial anti-Semitic policies of the German government at the onset of the Holocaust.  Bonhoeffer’s letters to family members discuss his ethical opposition against the lynching, segregation, and mistreatment of African-Americans in the United States.  Meanwhile, Bonhoeffer returns to Germany to find that the German government’s anti-Semitic policies resemble the treatment of black Americans in the United States.  While the magnitude of the atrocities that characterized the Holocaust are incomparable, the similarities between the origins of the Holocaust and African-American’s treatment in the United States warn the reader of the possible enormity of marginalization if left unaddressed. 

Thus, while the lens that Denise Giardina chooses to view Dietrich Bonhoeffer through may not hold true historical accuracy, it does raise important questions about personal responsibility in the face of inhumanity.  The flaws and struggles that characterize Dietrich Bonhoeffer offer every average person a lesson in courage.  Giardina does an exceptional job of going beyond a discussion of facts, and explores the humanity of an average man that showed not-so-average courage when faced with injustice.

Bonhoeffer's lessons hold profound implications for classroom instruction.  Students can be made aware of Bonhoeffer's classification of individuals during the Holocaust as either victims, perpetrators, or guilty bystanders.  Thus, when students become witness to the disparagement or victimization of their peers, they must self-reflect upon their own role in its occurrence, creating profound implications for student responsibility and leadership.