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The Absolutist

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The Absolutist

By: John Boyne
Narrated by: Michael Maloney
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About this listen

September 1919: 21-year-old Tristan Sadler takes a train from London to Norwich to deliver some letters to Marian Bancroft. Tristan fought alongside Marian’s brother Will during the Great War, but in 1917 Will laid down his guns on the battlefield, declared himself a conscientious objector and was shot as a traitor, an act which has brought shame and dishonour on the Bancroft family. But the letters are not the real reason for Tristan’s visit. He holds a secret deep in his soul. One that he is desperate to unburden himself of to Marian, if he can only find the courage. As he recalls his friendship with Will, from the training ground at Aldershot to the trenches of Northern France, he speaks of how the intensity of their friendship brought him both happiness and self-discovery as well as despair and pain. The Absolutist is a novel that examines the events of the Great War from the perspective of two young soldiers, both struggling with the complexity of their emotions and the confusion of their friendship.

©2011 John Boyne (P)2011 Random House Audio Go Fiction Genre Fiction Historical Historical Fiction Literary Fiction Literature & Fiction War & Military War Emotionally Gripping Heartfelt Inspiring Tear-jerking Thought-Provoking Friendship

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All stars
Most relevant
Beautifully told, painful in places but only because we would all be guilty of the same judgement

I loved it. Life changer of a story.

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This should be ready by anybody thinking of war as glamorous, noble or necessary. I have read many books on both world wars but somehow this touched me the most. It may have been the flattish tones of the narrator (and yes, the geordie accent of the sergeant was ghastly), the lack of drama that made the conditions in the trenches so horrific. No wonder so many men and women were broken by what they experienced. I read this shortly after John Boyne's The Hearts Invisible Furies (which is now my favourite book ever). This has a similar thread running through it of unrequited love. Yes - I definitely recommend it.

Uncomfortably descriptive and thought provoking

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a Wonderful narrator. I hurtled through this so quickly. The ending throughly broke my heart.

So very sad

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As enthralling a book as I have ever read. Superb in every aspect. An author of tremendous ability.

Stupendous

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WW1, the attitudes that surround those times beautifully and painfully evoked. And the narration is superb.

As ever, John Boyne is brilliant

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