Short Synopsis
A masterfully told tale of passion, jealousy, heroism and betrayal set in the gruesome trenches of World War I.

Full Synopsis
It is September 1919: 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 Tristan 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.

The Absolutist is a masterful tale of passion, jealousy, heroism, and betrayal set in one of the most gruesome trenches of France during World War I. This novel will keep listeners on the edge of their seats until its most extraordinary and unexpected conclusion, and it will stay with them long after they've finished.

"This is one of the best-read books I can recall, and Maloney's nuanced reading places The Absolutist at the top of this year's list of audio productions." ---Winston-Salem Journal

"A thought-provoking and surprising page-turner that for some readers may recall Ian McEwan's Atonement, another novel with themes of war and recrimination." ---Library Journal Starred Review

"A relentlessly tragic yet beautifully crafted novel from Boyne." ---Publishers Weekly

"John Boyne has produced a gripping, superbly plotted novel, filled with surprises that are by turns confounding, disturbing and tremendously moving. For all its spellbinding narrative momentum, The Absolutist is, in the end, a sober meditation on the heartbreak that ensues when people and principles collide." ---Paul Russell, author of The Unreal Life of Sergey Nabokov

Audie Finalist

AudioFile Earphones Award Winner

Library Journal Review