Through Book Sneeze, Thomas Nelson gave me a copy of Eric Metaxas’s intriguing new biography Bonhoeffer (affiliate link) to review.

I found the book inspiring and enlightening, yet unsatisfying. I was impressed with the level of research, but I did not love the style.

Content

The content of this book amazed me. Clearly, Metaxas did quality research drawing from many sources. He also showed skill in combining the facts to show the evolution of the man and his thoughts. From his father’s skeptical rationalism and his mother’s piety to his experiences during his international travels, we can see how Bonhoeffer’s life influenced his thinking. Of course, we can also see how his thoughts influenced his life, such as his decision to return to Germany rather than remaining in the safety of the United Sates or his justifications of his involvement in the plots against Hitler.

Although before the book I was only familiar with Bonhoeffer by his reputation, since I had not read any of his works, I came away from the book thinking Metaxas probably portrayed him well, without distorting or unhelpfully simplifying him.

I also learned a great deal about WWII. Although we certainly studied the war in history classes, I realized while reading this book that almost everything I know is about what happened outside of Germany. Whether in film or book, the protagonists in most of the media I’ve consumed from this time period have been from Austria, Holland, Poland, Italy, Japan, England, or the United States. This might be the first time I’ve really looked inside Germany outside the walls of POW or concentration camps.

The content was also inspiring. Although I’m sure the biographical information will be useful when I get around to reading some of his books, I think the better use is for life. I disagree with some of Bonhoeffer’s conclusions, but I can still put some of his behavior — like standing up for his convictions in difficult times — in my mental file to draw upon when I need some encouragement from history.

Style

Although I greatly appreciated the content, I was not impressed with the style.

At times the writing was almost brilliant, like when Metaxas wrote, "Ideas had consequences, and this idea, now just budding, would flower in his opposition to the National Socialists and bear fruit in his involvement in the conspiracy to kill a human being." (page 54) I love the metaphor in that sentence, and I enjoyed that moment of foreshadowing.

Unfortunately, that moment of foreshadowing was followed by so many moments that I became annoyed with them. I realize that it is natural to build to a climax, and Bonhoeffer’s death (even if I’m not convinced it qualifies as martyrdom) is a natural place to have the climax. However, when I read a biography I want to know the person as they lived, and I felt like the style of this biography was pushing me to the end of the story when I wanted to run the race with Bonhoeffer instead of watching from the finish line.

I was also perplexed by the words and phrases Metaxas used. It was sometimes amusing, like when he said "someone lent Chamberlain a vertebra" (page 58) (as opposed to the more expected "backbone" or "spine"), but I felt distracted by choices that seemed out of place.

From a visual perspective, The font was ok, but certainly not my favorite. I would have like more consistency in section length, I was never certain whether I would find a good pausing point in one page or a dozen pages.

This is also one of those books that "randomly" interrupts the text to put in a few glossy pages of pictures, and I’m generally annoyed by that. I’m sure there are some constraints (like the different type of paper), but I would like visuals to be near where they are referenced in the text. After that, I would prefer them in an appendix. Finally if you have to insert them in the middle of the book, could they at least be between chapters? At least between sections? This book put them in the middle of sections not once, but twice.

Conclusion

This was a solid book, but it doesn’t stand out to me as an exceptional one. I would recommend it if you are interested in WWII or generally enjoy biographies. I would also recommend it if you are interested in Bonhoeffer’s writings such as Life Together or Cost of Discipleship (those are affiliate links).