Books: The Absolutist

This spring, Other Press publishes a new edition of The Absolutist, the gripping novel from John Boyne, the bestselling author of The Heart’s Invisible Furies and The Boy in the Striped Pajamas. Originally published to great acclaim in 2012, The Absolutist received a starred review from Library Journal and was named an Amazon “Best Book of the Month,” a Yahoo “Editor’s Pick of the Month,” and a Daily Beast “Hot Read.”

It is September 1919, and twenty-one-year-old Tristan Sadler takes a train from London to Norwich to deliver a package of letters to the sister of Will Bancroft, the man he fought alongside during the Great War.

But the letters are not the real reason for Tristan’s visit. He can no longer keep a secret and has finally found the courage to unburden himself of it. As he recounts the horrific details of what to him became a senseless war, he also speaks of his friendship with Will–from their first meeting on the training grounds at Aldershot to their farewell in the trenches of northern France. The intensity of their bond brought Tristan happiness and self-discovery as well as confusion and unbearable pain.