Saints and Martyrs

by Aaron Roe

Damian Kurt has one goal: to write his father's story and prove that he was a saint and to become a saint himself to be reunited with his father in heaven.

But how does one achieve such a lofty goal?

First, he must confess for his own recent sins. Then he must get out from under his mother's constant nagging and pious Catholicism. But confession is not in the cards after he gets conked on the head with a barbell and is laid up in the hospital with a concussion. His mother's discovery of his latest transgressions—and the list is getting long—becomes the last straw and he leaves home, only to find himself resisting a secular lifestyle.

Eventually he realizes maybe his mother wasn't wrong and his best shot at sanctity is priestly ordination which he pursues at an eerie mountain-top seminary. Damian quickly finds this place he'd hoped would provide spiritual nourishment and support for his rigorous life of prayer and purity is not what it seems.

Saints and Martyrs is a young man's journey toward maturity—letting go, accepting Earthly life and finding the strength to begin a new life and love that brings healing and hope.

Genres: Fiction, Christian

255 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 1, 2021

Reviews

[Wanda Maureen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Saints and Martyrs by Aaron Roe, and published by Atmosphere Press, is a fascinating and unusual book about a young man’s impossible struggle to become a saint so he can join his saintly (he believes) father in Heaven. It has an incredibly beautiful, detailed description of wherever Damian Kurt goes and plenty of quotable quotes. Examples: “He did not want to hear a saint’s life while sinning” and “Screens are the eyes of Satan.”

The book begins with a grabber (so to speak): contrasting images of Christ and a crucible versus Damian stroking his erection. Much of the book is his attempt to confess his sins and be forgiven. His domineering, overly religious mother is a big part of his struggle. He does the expected, enters a seminary to be a priest, and encounters a whole other level of conflict. The book has a dramatic ending that I will not reveal.

[Robin van Eck · Rating 5 out of 5]

Heart-rending, compassionate and full of humour, Saints and Martyrs, is a coming of age story that teaches us that the realities and fantasies we hold so dear are not always what they seem. Aaron Roe crafts a compelling character in Damian Kurt, who is witty and courageous while a little bit naïve. You can’t help but root for him in all his perfect imperfections.

[J.D. Jahn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Damian Kurt has a problem: he’s a 17-year-old, home-schooled boy with all the normal urges that come with being a teenager, but one who wants to become saintly, if not an actual saint.

Why? He idolizes his deceased father and believes that by leading a life of sainthood he can be assured he’ll join his father in heaven.

That’s the premise of Aaron Roe’s new novel of a young man’s journey to self-awareness. And, what a tortured and twisted path to self-discovery it turns out to be, one that will fascinate the pious as well as the non-believer.

Damian’s journey takes him from his cramped and restrictive home to the free-wheeling apartment of his high-school weight coach and on to a Catholic seminary. Along the way, he battles temptation and struggles to follow the path he’s convinced will get him into heaven, loathing all the while his frequent (if perfectly normal) missteps.

Roe captures the all the self-loathing, contradictions and angst of a young man trying to find his footing in a confusing and changing world. His descriptions of the Kurt household, the gym, Damian’s attraction to women (both imagined and actual) and his revulsion at religious hypocrisy are spot on. And, the settings of Damian’s environments are rich and detailed.

It would be unfair to reveal the startling and powerful ending, except to say that it is wholly satisfying to see Damian step forward confidently into a bright, new world. This is a truly absorbing first novel, one that rewards your attention.

[Edward · Rating 3 out of 5]

Young man coming into adulthood with lofty goals of becoming a saint. Can be amusing.

[Teresa Grabs · Rating 3 out of 5]

Saints and Martyrs was interesting and not really in a good way. The book opens with Damian in his basement room, listening to his mother homeschooling and remembering the lessons she was teaching to his younger siblings. They are a religious house--overly religious--so, obviously, Damian masturbates to a catalog then feels guilty about it because he wants to be a priest. He follows the road that has been determined for him and the story begins its roller-coaster ride. It was a slog to get through and I was not a fan of the characters or writing style. Others may find this to be a great book though.

Thank you NetGalley and Atmosphere Press for the opportunity to read an advance reading copy.

[Sadie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received a copy of this book in exchange for a review.

This is the story of a young man who is attempting to become a priest so that he can reach sainthood and meet his father again in heaven. On this path, he ends up learning a lot about himself and about the people in his life.

I could not put this down. I don't know that I loved the story, but I also read it very quickly. I wanted to find out what happened and I was definitely intrigued with Damien and his story. I am happy with how it turned out for him.

[DianeLikesToRead · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a book about a young boy trying to live a good life so he can become a priest.
Thank you to NetGallery and Atmosphere Press for an advanced copy of this book.

[Becky · Rating 4 out of 5]

Never judge a book by its cover. I would have never chosen this book just by looking at it. This was a goodreads win for me. The story of a young man with idealistic ideas about his 'Saintly' father and what he had to do in order to be just as saintly as him. At first, I did not like the character Damian, I found him judgmental and being just human was all wrong. Having a strong religious mother didn't help in that she was willing to sacrifice her son's happiness for what she thought God was telling her what she must do. Damian's quest of life his total purpose of being on earth was to become a saint, or so the thought. Going to the seminary put a whole new twist on the world of priest, and world of the church. If you see this book by all means read it.

[Dave Buckhout · Rating 5 out of 5]

Aaron Roe has spun out a classic take on the young man's journey towards self-discovery, but with a twist. We follow the lead character, Damian Kurt, as he seeks to escape both the pain of his father's untimely death and the heavy-handed Catholic home life he was left to as a result. And here is where the story steps past fiction and into a very real, very tactile, and very approachable, narrative: one defined by focusing on a goal so literally as to miss the point entirely. Damian follows a prescribed course in the church and onto seminary in the hopes that this purity will deliver him to saintliness and into a heavenly reunion with his father (who, Damian is certain, is among the afterlife's saints). But, Damian comes to realize that things are not so nice and neat, that the story he has told himself is removed from reality, and that this pursuit, itself, has followed suit. Having passed through a rough conflicted season of maturity and experiencing life beyond the constriction he has known—a condition, at once, imposed on him and self-imposed—Damian comes to see the aim of his life's saintly works as something far beyond the institution of the church itself. It is to be something much more personal, much more worthy, not necessarily religious—but most definitely spiritual at its core. He will come to see that in which he sought answers blinded him to the daily ministry of an unsolicited compassion, of living to do good.