Boyne’s new novel documents the lives of two inseparable men navigating the trenches of WWI and the ramifications of a taboo involvement. The emotive wartime saga is narrated by Tristan Sadler, a soldier en route to visit his dead comrade Will Bancroft’s older sister Marian in Norwich, England, a few years after serving in the Great War. The story oscillates between Sadler’s trip in 1919 to return Will’s letters to Marian, and recollections of wartime, including a forbidden and fleeting homosexual affair with Bancroft, depicted by Boyne with the same polite, properly delicate prose that permeates the book. Bancroft is the self-declared “absolutist” of the title, objecting not only to fighting, but to doing anything at all that would “further the war effort.” Sadler’s feelings for Bancroft bring him shame amid the horrors of battle, eventually making an absolutist of Sadler as well. When the young Sadler confides the details of his time with Bancroft to Marian, she rejects him, a reaction echoed 60 years later, by which time Sadler has come into his own as a literary sensation. Once again he braves Marian’s disapproval, inciting a final heartbreak. A relentlessly tragic yet beautifully crafted novel from Boyne (The Boy in the Striped Pajamas). Agent: Bonnie Nadell, Hill Nadell Literary Agency. (July)
The Absolutist
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.
1104338578
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.
The Absolutist
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.
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.
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Editorial Reviews
Product Details
| BN ID: | 2940170862238 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Tantor Audio |
| Publication date: | 08/20/2012 |
| Edition description: | Unabridged |
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