The Absolutist in Queereaders

May 27, 2012 Erastes rated it liked it · review of another edition

I was immediately drawn to the book because it’s partly set in my stamping ground of Norfolk. The protagonist Tristan is on his way to Norwich at the beginning to meet a mysterious someone or other which is nicely protracted until it needs to be revealed. There’s a irritating and lengthy section in his boarding house which achieved nothing other than to tell the reader “oh no, homosexuality is verboten in England” as if they wouldn’t know and “people don’t like it” which of course they know too. ...more

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Aug 01, 2012 Chris rated it it was amazing

Beautifully written. Love everything about this novel--the characters, the story, the time period, the writing style. Would love to have this as a book club book to discuss the issues of cowardice and courage and all of their many, many manifestations. Perhaps they're better understood on a continuum, and certainly with a huge dose of context. How easy it is to point out and condemn others for what's currently a hot-button social or situational transgression and completely let one's self off the ...more

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Aug 02, 2020 Colleen Chi-Girl rated it really liked it

Shelves: audio, england, ww1, historical-fiction, france, 2020

It is hard to write a review immediately after finishing this stellar novel. Heartstrings pulling and emotions strong. This is my 3rd or 4th book by John Boyne and it’s not the first time I feel this way at the end of his novels.

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Sep 08, 2012 Grady rated it it was amazing

Weaving the vulnerabilities of men with the atrocities of war

John Boyne is already a highly regarded writer (perhaps his most famous story is that unforgettable THE BOY IN THE STRIPPED PAJAMAS that described war and its permutations as well as any novel written) and it should come as no surprise that once again he has come up with a story so profoundly moving and so elegantly written that it becomes an instant landmark. Boyne joins the ranks of writers who deal with love stories between men in t Weaving the vulnerabilities of men with the atrocities of war

John Boyne is already a highly regarded writer (perhaps his most famous story is that unforgettable THE BOY IN THE STRIPPED PAJAMAS that described war and its permutations as well as any novel written) and it should come as no surprise that once again he has come up with a story so profoundly moving and so elegantly written that it becomes an instant landmark. Boyne joins the ranks of writers who deal with love stories between men in the time of war and his novel could not be more timely.

The setting for this novel is during the time of and the time after the Great War, with the accompanying fractures and sounds and scars that accompanied that era. In September of 1919 the 20 year-old Tristan Sadler takes a train from London to Norwich to deliver some letters to Marian Bancroft, the sister of Will, Tristan's closest comrade in battle. Tristan fought alongside Marian's brother during the Great War but in 1917, but Will laid down his guns on the battlefield, declared himself a conscientious objector refusing any role at all in the campaign (and `absolutist') and was shot as a traitor, an act which has brought shame and dishonor on the Bancroft family. The letters Tristan carries 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 they stroll through the streets of a city still coming to terms with the end of the war, he recalls his friendship with Will, from the training ground at Aldershot to the trenches of Northern France, and speaks of how the intensity of their friendship brought him from brief moments of happiness and self-discovery to long periods of despair and pain.

The manner in which Boyne unfolds this story, moving effortlessly back and forth between the war experience and the post war time, is steeped in atmosphere and in language that fearlessly describes the times and the thoughts and the incidents that build toward the rather surprising ending. Tristan is the son of a butcher, a handsome lad never quite accepted as he matures. In the early part of the book (after the war when Tristan is delivering the letters to Marion) Tristan sees himself as wasted physically, his once desirable body now masked by scars and loss of sensuousness. But at the same time he is sensitive to men he meets in the pubs or on the street - the first suggestion that this is a man we will discover has been in a same sex relationship with his beloved Will. It takes great sensitivity on the part of an author to gain the reader's attention and emotional involvement before the facts of the story - at times achingly real and strange - are evident. It is here and in many other areas, where Boyne excels. Writing of this sensitivity and simply verbal beauty is rare. Boyne is rapidly becoming one of the great writers of the century.

Grady Harp
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Jan 16, 2023 Andy rated it really liked it

Shelves: lgbtq

While I tore through "The Absolutist" in three days, it wasn’t a page turner in the traditional sense. Several chapters left me rapt but others had me bored to tears. At times it felt like John Boyne was being paid by the word.

What pushed me forward was a desire to know why our main character, Tristan, harbored so much guilt. In true Boyne fashion, the last two chapters didn’t disappoint - I was shocked by the turn of events - but I can’t say the journey to get there was completely worth it.

Wh While I tore through "The Absolutist" in three days, it wasn’t a page turner in the traditional sense. Several chapters left me rapt but others had me bored to tears. At times it felt like John Boyne was being paid by the word.

What pushed me forward was a desire to know why our main character, Tristan, harbored so much guilt. In true Boyne fashion, the last two chapters didn’t disappoint - I was shocked by the turn of events - but I can’t say the journey to get there was completely worth it.

While a World War I narrative at its core, it reads more as a homage to E.M. Forster. Boyne infused many elements of the acclaimed author’s life - not to mention his writing style and structure - into the narrative, which anchored the story into its 1910s setting.

However, if you’re not a fan of books from that era, you won’t like this one either. It’s a talker, which isn’t necessarily bad except a lot of dialogue here isn’t great. This is one of Boyne’s earlier novels (published in 2011), and he’s certainly become more skilled at making characters more human and less caricatures. Outside of Tristan, the supporting players chewed the scenery.

Part of the unevenness of the novel is also due to the alternating timelines, which was similar to Forster’s “Maurice,” so I can see why Boyne used this structure, but it wasn’t as effective as I think he thought it would be.

The present day (1919) sections felt unnecessary, truly. It’s strictly a plot device that accounts for 50 percent of the novel. There’s little action, little revelation and a lot of awkwardness. It’s the flashbacks (1915-1916) that provide the narrative juice and intrigue to keep the reader hooked. They are harrowing, emotional and captivating. It’s exactly the novel I wanted to read - full of social commentary (for the time), forbidden love and harrowing scenes of war - although I can’t speak to accuracy.

Fans of Boyne should read this, but I’m not a fan of books that only redeem themselves in the end. Therefore, this ranks in the lower echelon of his novels, in my opinion.

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