Absolution

by Anthony Shaffer

1st Corgi film tie-in edition 1979 paperback vg+ book In stock shipped from our UK warehouse

Genres: Mystery

160 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1979

About the author

This profile is for the British playwright. For the American military officer, see Anthony Shaffer.

Anthony Shaffer is best-known as the author of the mystery-thriller play Sleuth, in addition to other plays and screenplays involving crime and mystery themes. His identical twin brother, Peter Shaffer, was also a playwright.

Reviews

[Richard Dominguez · Rating 5 out of 5]

An interesting story that may have been underappreciated. Good plot with well fleshed out characters whom had plenty development throughout the story

[Mikepottz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Father Goddard strict, intelligent, hard-working catholic priest, head teacher at an exclusive, archaic, catholic boarding school will kill his favourite, capable, destined for priesthood student in a maze of confusion, jealousy, awakening, absolution and one other student with manipulate, avenge, drive the priest to a choice of suicide, insanity or prison. Didnt see the ending coming, a good attempt at hard love, discipline and humility.

[Hugh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Adolescence. Proper jungle, that!

[T. Tokunaga · Rating 5 out of 5]

【Absolution / Anthony Shaffer / 1979, Severn House】

--After one paragraph of unintelligible drivel, Goddard decided he would sooner be deafened by another prank with the bells than rattled by the clash of symbols in Dyson's lane analysis of the play [King Lear]. (p. 9., Part One)

--It [an operetta at Catholic school] was an affront to the intelligence and, when performed by an all male cast, verged on the obscene. (p. 16., Part One)

--The orchestra managed to make sense of some of the tunes in the overture [for the operetta]. On the whole though, it remained an incoherent battery of barps and farts. (p. 30., Part One)

Any sensible reader would probably feel fairly uneasy, because they would have already read the blurb which said it was a thriller. The most thrilling part is the predicted but delayed thriller-like plotting, or the absence of thrills in itself, which covers more than half of this rather slim volume.

Absence is, actually, the very essential theme of this book - not only the absence of religious authority:

--'I don't like Latin, Father. It doesn't agree with me,' offered Manning.
'Carbohydrares don't seem to agree with you but that doesn't stop liking to ingest them in vast quantities,' snapped Goddard. (p. 52., Part Two)

--'You know, Richard [Goddard],' Father Rivers continued, 'at times you and Moore and Hoskins treat me like a demented old mother that they don't have the heart to send to a home.' (p. 60., Part Two)

...but also the core of this story as a whole. If you ever had chance to get a copy, you probably should read it.